Daniel Berger birdied two of the last three holes to retain a three-stroke lead after Saturday’s third round of the FedEx St. Jude Classic as five-times major winner Phil Mickelson lurked ominously in a tie for second.
American Berger, who was three ahead overnight, rebounded from a double-bogey at the par-three 14th where he found water off the tee by picking up shots at the 16th and 17th on the way to a one-under 69 at the TPC Southwind. In pursuit of a maiden PGA Tour victory in his 50th career start, Berger posted a 10-under total of 200 with fellow Americans Mickelson (68), Steve Stricker (66) and DA Points (64) tied for second.
“I’m very satisfied,” Berger, the PGA Tour’s ‘Rookie of the Year’ last season after two second placings among 13 top-25 finishes, said. “I drove it really well. I kind of picked my way around the golf course really well and hung in there even after a late double bogey that could have turned a good round into a really bad round.”
“I made some nice birdies down the stretch and I had fun out there,” Berger, who comfortably two-putted for birdie at the par-five 16th and chipped in from 25 feet at the par-four 17th, said.
Mickelson, seeking his first PGA Tour title since the 2013 British Open, briefly tied Berger for the lead when he birdied 16, but he bogeyed the 17th after missing the fairway off the tee and did well to scramble for par at the last.
The left-hander, a 42-times winner on the tour, felt his ball-striking still needed improvement.
“Hopefully I’ll find it for tomorrow’s round because it’s only going to take a few more fairways hit and a few more birdie opportunities the way I’m putting to try to get this done,” said the 45-year-old Mickelson. “The rhythm has been a little bit quick. I’ll work on it. It’s not far away.”
Ten players will start the final round no worse than five shots off the lead, including multiple PGA Tour winners Mickelson, Stricker and Boo Weekley.
Berger, however, oozed quiet confidence despite holding his first 54-hole lead on the US circuit. “If it was Tiger Woods behind me, I would have the same mentality,” said the 23-year-old Floridian. “It doesn’t matter. The golf course doesn’t know who is playing it so I’m just going to go out there and be aggressive and have some fun.”
Points, playing well in advance of the overnight leaders, drained a 15-foot birdie putt at 18 to cap a bogey-free 64, while Stricker carded a bogey-free 66.
Brooks Koepka rebounded from two bogeys late on the front nine with two birdies coming in for a 69 that left him tied on 204 with South Korea’s Noh Seung-Yul and American Colt Knost, who both shot 67. Dustin Johnson, the 2012 winner in Memphis and the highest-ranked player in the field at sixth in the world, carded a 73 to fall eight adrift.

Ko vaults to one-shot lead
In Los Angeles, world number one Lydia Ko, who is seeking her third straight major championship title, fired a one-under 70 for a one-shot lead after the third round of the Women’s PGA Championship. The 19-year-old Kiwi made a bogey on the final hole to finish at two-under 211.
The New Zealander has a 54-hole lead in a major championship for the first time in her career.
“You know, I’m happy with my position. I didn’t really know how it finished up, because I didn’t get to see what the last group finished up. But obviously I’ve got to be happy with it. And I’ve just got to stay positive,” Ko said.
“It seems like the girls, they’re playing really well, and they’re playing consistent. I’ve just got to focus on my game. And I can’t control what the other girls are doing. So, just try my best out there. We’ve still got a long 18 holes to go,” she added.
Ko won the 2015 Evian Championship and 2016 ANA Inspiration and if she wins here, she would become the first to win three consecutive majors since Park In-Bee in 2013. Ko came from behind to win both of her major titles.
On Saturday, she had a one-shot lead on 18 when her ball bounced off a tree near the green on the par-four 423-yard finishing hole at the Sahalee Country Club course near Seattle, Washington. That gave Brittany Lincicome a chance to take a share of the lead with Ko, but the American three-putted the 18th for a bogey and a 71.
“It’s easier to come from behind than be the leader,” said Lincicome. “I feel like I’m in a great spot. Hopefully I just keep driving the ball like I have been doing all week. So I feel like I’m playing well. Hopefully tomorrow I can just shoot another good score.”
Gerina Piller failed to connect on a 35-foot putt on the 18th which would have moved her into a tie with Ko. The American finished with a par and a 71 to tie Lincicome for second place. All three will play in the final group.
Canada’s Brooke Henderson, who led after the first and second rounds, stumbled as she fell out of the lead by dropping three shots on her first five holes. She recorded a second straight 73 and was two shots behind in a tie for fourth in a large group that also included Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn (68) and Anna Nordqvist (69) of Sweden.

Wu wins Austrian Open
At Atzenbrugg in Austria, world number 222 Wu Ashun claimed his second European Tour title after emerging from a topsy-turvy final round to win the Austrian Open by a single shot. Wu, 30, who became the first Chinese player to win on home soil on the European Tour when he captured the 2015 China Open, started the day a shot off South Africa’s Zander Lombard at the top of the leaderboard.
He took victory after a closing 69 to finish the week on 13-under. Spain’s Adrian Otaegui finished second on 12-under, with Englishman Richard McEvoy another stroke back after dropping his only shot of the day at the 18th. England’s James Morrison was fourth and Lombard finished fifth.
“I am very happy right now. It was a very exciting finish and I still cannot believe it, but my playing partners were really good today and the scores were very close,” said Wu, who slipped into second place when McEvoy birdied the 13th.
A matching birdie on the 13th moved Wu back into a share of the lead before another gain two holes later saw him top the leaderboard. Otaegui fired a birdie at the 16th to join Wu at the top of the pile but the Spaniard dropped a shot at the next and pars at the final three holes were enough for Wu to secure the trophy. “At the 10th and 11th holes I just played two bad shots. I still kept working after that to do my best to make birdies and I did that,” said the Chinese. “I just kept focused over the last putt and I talked to my caddie and he said, ‘It’s no problem, it’s an easy line so just putt it in the hole.’”