Crowded leaderboard sets up Shriners Open final day drama

Moving time astatine the Shriners Children’s Open connected Saturday failed to make immoderate separation connected the leaderboard, mounting up a Sunday shootout with 8 players wrong 4 shots of the pb astatine TPC Summerlin.

Setting the gait is Adam Schenk, whose 66 connected Saturday took him to 18 nether for the week and the archetypal 54-hole pb successful a stroke-play lawsuit successful his career.

Matthew Wolff sits 1 changeable back, with Sam Burns, Chad Ramey and Andrew Putnam 2 back.

“I haven’t been successful this concern a lot,” Schenk admitted. “I’ve conscionable got to support doing the aforesaid things I’ve been doing. I mean, you’re going to person to sprout a debased people tomorrow.”

Schenk knows determination is plentifulness of firepower down him, peculiarly Wolff and Burns, who is possibly the hottest subordinate successful golf.

“I’m not truly definite what it’s going to instrumentality tomorrow, but I cognize that if I support connected doing what I’m doing, I’m definite I’m going to similar wherever I extremity up astatine the extremity of the week,” said Wolff, who mislaid a playoff to Martin Laird for the rubric past year.

Wolff’s 65 connected Saturday made it a cleanable 11 for 11 rounds successful the 60s successful his vocation astatine TPC Summerlin. And with his power, helium made it look casual during the 3rd round.

His backmost 9 included an eagle astatine the par-5 16th, wherever helium deed a 350-yard thrust and a pitching wedge to 7 feet. He besides deed 3-wood, 7-iron to scope the par-5 13th successful 2 and made birdie, and drove the 290-yard par-4 15th with a 3-wood for different birdie.

“I’m conscionable going to support connected sticking with my crippled program and my process, and hopefully it turns retired l travel connected top,” Wolff said of his Sunday approach. “At the extremity of the day, I’m blessed with wherever I’m at.”

At the different extremity of the spectrum was Burns, who was not successful the champion of moods astatine the extremity of his 3rd round. Despite hitting each but 1 fairway Saturday, helium posted his worst circular of the week (68) arsenic his putter fto him down.

He seemed poised to instrumentality power of the tourney with birdies connected 7, 8, 9 and 11 to scope 17 under. But helium would get nary further, adjacent giving backmost a changeable connected the easiest spread connected the course, No. 16, erstwhile his attack recovered water.

“We’ll spell retired determination time and spot what happens,” helium snapped aft his circular earlier heading to the signifier greenish for much work.

Putnam said the packed leaderboard won’t springiness him urgency to get much assertive connected Sunday.

“I’m ever going to enactment assertive retired here,” helium said. “It’s the benignant of people that you’ve got to spell debased to win, truthful that’s the crippled plan.”

Schenk said he’s besides sticking to what’s worked truthful acold and conscionable hopes capable putts driblet for him Sunday.

“Everyone’s bully capable to triumph retired here. You conscionable person to judge successful yourself and not bushed yourself, successful a sense,” helium said.

He was emphatic erstwhile asked if that’s the lawsuit with him.

“I do, yeah. I started to judge a batch much successful the past fewer months,” helium said. “I started to putt a batch better. I’ve ever been an good putter, a small streaky, and I deliberation I’ve started to deed my wedges better, which is simply a large help.”

At 29, Schenk believes it whitethorn beryllium his clip to bring a trophy location to Vincennes, Indiana, wherever helium was calved and inactive lives today.

“It would beryllium large to get disconnected to an awesome start, and I person a accidental to bash that tomorrow,” helium said. “Just looking guardant to that.”

Greg Robertson covers play for the Review-Journal. He tin beryllium reached astatine grobertson@reviewjournal.com.