Justin Thomas birdied the final two holes to shoot a 5-under 67 at the CIMB Classic on Saturday and take a share of the lead with American compatriot Brendan Steele going into the final round of the PGA TOUR event in Malaysia.
The duo were a shot clear of last year’s runner-up Kevin Na, who equalled the best round of the day with a 64 and move to 19-under par/
Just four strokes separate the top nine players, including former World No. 1 Adam Scott.
Steele added a 66 to his blistering second round 63 as he pushes or his second victory on TOUR, after winning the 2011 Valero Texas Open.
Justin Thomas remains on target for a first PGA Tour victory. (Picture: Thos Caffrey | Golffile)
“I learned a lot from winning the Texas Open,” Steele said. “Feel like I’m in a better place now, mentally. I’ll be trying to be a little bit more patient and a little bit more positive, not kind of (putting) so much pressure on myself.”
Thomas, who is a good friend to four-time Major winning Rory McIlroy, is striving for a maiden PGA Tour success in his 43rd tournament and kept that goal alive with a round of eight birdies but also three bogeys in his five under par 67.
“This is where you want to put yourself at every event,” Thomas said.
“I’m just going to use my past learning experiences in the other events I’ve played in and just try to go out there and hit a bunch of fairways.”
Earlier this month, he also led into the final round of the Frys.com Open only to slide out of contention with a final-round 76.
Na, the 32-year-old Korean-American who has a history of coming close to tournament titles but missing the big prize, feels his luck may have turned after an extraordinary recovery at the par-5 10th hole.
“Eight times in my career I finished second. I’ve got to keep the streak alive. Worst case, I win, right?” joked Na, who finished runner-up to Ryan Moore a year ago.
Two-time defending champion Moore had his best round of the tournament with a 66 to stand six shots off the pace and in contention to emulate Steve Stricker as the only player to win a PGA TOUR event in three straight years. Stricker won the John Deere Classic from 2009-2011.
“I’ve been unlucky a few times. But you know what? The last few weeks I’ve never felt so comfortable coming down the stretch. I’ve been getting a lot of compliments from my friends and coaches and family members, friends, saying how comfortable I looked.”
He drove into the rough, his next shot hit a tree then a cart path and bounced back among the trees, but his approach shot to the green found the hole for a remarkable birdie.
“I’m not driving too well and if I can hit more fairways, I can attack a little bit more. That is what I’ll aim for tomorrow. I’m just going to focus on that and try to go make as many birdies as I can.”
Scott (66) and first-round leader Scott Piercy (69) were tied at 16 under, a shot behind a group of four players: Americans James Hahn (64), Brian Harman (66) and Spencer Levin (68) plus Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama (68).
