Scott Piercy battles blisters to retain lead at rain-interrupted 3M Open, Tony Finau gives chase after a 65
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Published 24/07/2022 at 10:32 GMT
A long rain delay put the third round of the 3M Open in jeopardy, but the thunderstorms cleared late in the afternoon to allow the players to get their rounds done. Scott Piercy maintained his advantage at TPC Twin Cities, with the American four shots clear. Tony Finau is a shot further adrift heading into Sunday.
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Scott Piercy maintained his lead at a rain-interrupted 3M Open, but Tony Finau kept himself in the hunt going into the final round.
Officials brought the tee times forward on Saturday due to concerns over electrical activity in the air.
The weather came in earlier than anticipated, with play brought to a halt at 10:57am local time.
A series of updates came and went, providing no real information, much to the chagrin of fans.
Play eventually got underway at 5:35pm local time and the players completed their third rounds before darkness set in.
Overnight leader Piercy would have been unhappy with the stoppage, as he was one of the hottest players on the course when the horn went.
He made five birdies on the spin, including a near hole in one on the fourth.
He made two further birdies on the back nine, but he found the water on the 18th and a bogey gave hope to the chasing pack.
Piercy will be confident of getting the job done on Sunday to snap an awful run of form, but is battling blisters.
“When you walk that weird, your body kind of adjusts, so putting the shoe back up on and trying to get set up over it correctly,” Piercy, who repeatedly took his shoes off between shots, said. “I felt like I couldn’t get into my setup like I normally do and I felt that’s like where a couple of the loose shots came from, along with the tiredness.”
Third Round Leaderboard
- 1. Scott Piercy, 18-under
- 2. Emiliano Grillo, 14-under
- T3. Tony Finau, 13-under
- T3. Doug Ghim, 13-under
- 5. Tom Hoge, 12-under
- T6. Greyson Sigg, 11-under
- T6. Sungjae Im, 11-under
- T8. Andrew Putman, 10-under
- T8. Jared Wolfe, 10-under
- T8. Chesson Hadley, 10-under
Emiliano Grillo was alongside Piercy in the final group, and his play arguably inspired the leader as the Argentine birdied his first hole.
Shortly before the horn went, Grillo drained a 40-foot putt for eagle.
Grillo made a birdie on 18, for a two-shot swing, and he sits at 14-under, four adrift of Piercy.
Finau is five adrift of Piercy. He went on a run of three birdies on the spin when play was halted, and made three more upon the resumption to sign for a 65.
Defending champion Cameron Champ is too far back, but after a birdie blitz on Friday saw him make the cut by a shot he carried on the positive work with four birdies in his opening nine holes. A poor season could still turn around for the 27-year-old.
England’s Callum Tarren could not get going on Saturday and slipped back after a level-par 71, while Danny Willett is a shot behind his fellow countryman at seven-under.
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