Tony Finau was solid without being spectacular as he carded a two-under round on the third day at the Houston Open to maintain his four-stroke lead on Saturday.
Finau led by four shots at the halfway point after 10 birdies in Friday's eight-under 62, but the American kept it steady with a bogey-free round that included only two birdies at Memorial Park Golf Course on Saturday.
The main contenders, Patrick Rodgers and Alex Noren, both carded three-over 73s to drop well off the pace at six-under overall but Englishman Ben Taylor emerged into second on moving day.
Taylor looms as the only potential challenger for Finau (15-under overall) ahead of the final day, shooting six birdies in his five-under round-of-the-day 65 to move up the leaderboard into 11-under overall.
The Englishman buried a 21-foot closing birdie putt to finish the day on a high and keep the pressure on Finau.
Taylor is three strokes clear of the next best, with three players tied at eight under; Justin Rose, Wyndham Clark and Tyson Alexander. Gary Woodland and Joel Dahmen are seven under.
World number two Scottie Scheffler could not mount any kind of challenge, with a double bogey on the 16th hole followed by a bogey on the 18th leaving him with one-over 71 to be three-under overall.
Last year's Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama withdrew after nine holes on Saturday due to a neck injury but was not in contention.
McIlroy 'getting used to' near misses after Irish Open heartbreak
Rory McIlroy admitted that he was "getting used to" his near misses after another late collapse saw him lose the Irish Open by one stroke.
The Northern Irishman looked set to win on home soil after taking a commanding four-shot lead at one point on Sunday.
However, costly errors on the 15th and 17th holes put the pressure back on him, and he could not hold off Rasmus Hojgaard.
McIlroy's performance at Royal County Down had echoes of his US Open misery, where he also held a lead before mistakes at crucial moments saw him lose out to Bryson DeChambeau, extending his wait for a major title into an 11th year.
He also faltered late in his bid for an Olympic medal in Paris, but McIlroy attempted to take some positives out of his latest tournament.
"I'm getting used to it [the near misses] unfortunately this year," McIlroy said.
"Hopefully the tide is going to turn pretty soon, and I can turn all these close calls into victories."
"Missing the green right on 15 is the place you can't go, and then I just misjudged the speed with the first putt on 17.
"Overall, obviously really disappointed that I didn't win, but I'll try to take the positives and move on to next week to Wentworth [at the BMW PGA Championship].
"From where I was at the start of the week and what I wanted to do, it's a step in the right direction. You know, if anything, it just whets my appetite even more for Portrush [the Open Championship] next year."
Woods undergoes back surgery after difficult 2024 season
Tiger Woods has undergone surgery to address the back spasms and pain that hampered him throughout 2024.
Woods has struggled for fitness throughout the last few years, having suffered serious leg injuries in a car crash in 2021.
He appeared at all four majors this year but missed the cut at three of those events, also finishing 60th at the Masters, while illness forced him to withdraw from the Genesis Invitational in February.
The 15-time major champion has also undergone several surgeries on his back throughout the last decade, and he revealed on Friday that another procedure was required to rectify issues that plagued him this season.
"Earlier this morning Tiger underwent micro decompression surgery of the lumbar spine for nerve impingement in the lower back," read a statement posted to Woods' X account.
"Dr Sheeraz Qureshi of Hospital for Special Surgery in West Palm Beach performed the surgery and deemed it successful."
Woods added: "The surgery went smoothly, and I'm hopeful this will help alleviate the back spasms and pain I was experiencing throughout most of the 2024 season.
"I look forward to tackling this rehab and preparing myself to get back to normal activities, including golf."
Rahm sets sights on Ryder Cup but refuses to pay DP World Tour fines
Jon Rahm has no intention of paying the fines dealt his way by the DP World Tour, as he reiterated his desire to play at the Ryder Cup.
Rahm, who starred as Europe beat the United States in Rome last year to regain the Ryder Cup, moved to LIV Golf in February.
The Spaniard's participation in next year's Ryder Cup, which will be held in New York, remains in doubt.
Rahm was slapped with fines for playing in LIV tournaments that clashed with DP World Tour events without having requested permission.
If he does not play in three more DP World Tour tournaments before the end of the season in November, he will not be eligible to play at the Ryder Cup.
However, despite Rahm entering the Spanish Open, Dunhill Links Championship and Andalucia Masters, he will be unable to play until he pays his fines, something the 29-year-old does not plan on doing.
"I'm not a big fan of the fines. I don't intend to pay the fines and we keep trying to have a discussion with them about how we can make this happen," he said.
"I intend to play in Spain. Whether they let me play or not is a different thing."
Former European captain Padraig Harrington has limited sympathy for Rahm.
"I'm a stickler for the rules," he said.
"I'm friends with Jon but if the rules are written down, that's just the way it is. The Ryder Cup is bigger than just the match. It is the backbone of the European Tour.
"The European Tour doesn't have a lot of leverage to get players to come back across and play here. The Ryder Cup is the carrot that we use to get people to come back.
"It is a very tough situation for Luke Donald and the Ryder Cup but if the 12th guy who qualifies by sticking to the rules gets bumped out, he's not going to be happy if somebody else has not stuck to the rules. We can't forget that person."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
