JACKSON, Miss. — Mark HubbardHe made five birdies straight on the back nine, and finished with a stunning shot to 4 feet. This gave him a 7-under 65 score and a one-shot lead Saturday at the Sanderson Farms Championship.
Hubbard has won 163 times in six years of playing, but he has not won. It is his first time being a 54-hole leader on tour.
Mackenzie HughesCanada showed how much one can change in such a short amount of time at Country Club of Jackson.
Hughes sent his approach long on 18th. He faced a difficult putt that was closely mown to a green, and he raced away. Hubbard looked to be in control of the lead by three shots. Hughes, however, hit the putt at 30 feet for birdie.
Hubbard was at 15 under 201, one shot behind Hughes.
Scott StallingsAlso in the mix was when he chipped out from the bushes to reach 10 feet on the par-4 15th to get to 14 under. Stallings missed the fairways on the left on the 16th hole and 18th hole, and made bogey. He had gone 51 holes straight without a bogey.
He shot 68 and was three behind Honda Classic winner. Sepp Straka(69) Garrick Higgo(68), who rebounded nicely from a double-bogey on 12th hole, when he had a wedge in his hand from just 119 yards.
Thomas DetryBelgium, who began the third round tied against Hughes, had only one shot on a day that saw good scoring. She shot 74, and fell seven shots behind Hughes.
Former PGA champion Keegan BradleyWith a 64, he set the tone early and left him four behind by the end. Its important to use the stretch on the back nine for this course with a pair par 5s as well as a par 4.
This is what Hubbard, 33 years old, did as well as anyone.
He said that he did a good job of taking advantage the gettable spots.
His streak of five birdies began with the par-5 eleventh, where he made a pitch-to-tap-in range. He made two birdies of 8 feet on the next two holes. He putted from 50 feet on par-5 14th, then chipped behind the green on short 16th for an impressive 4-foot birdie.
His day ended with a beautiful, mid-iron that covered his flag and settled to the right.
Hubbard stated, It didn’t feel as exciting than I’m sure the scorecard appears because I was in a right spot every single time.
Hughes was also a good scorer and almost managed to make a birdie in the bushes just like Stallings on 15th. He dropped back with a tee-shot that left no room between trees for him to reach the green. But the finish was perfect.
Hughes stated, It was huge. I thought it would be a difficult two-putt when I put myself back there. It was a huge bonus to see the ball go in. It gives me one back tomorrow, and it was a great feeling to be able to be as close as Mark possible.
Hubbards best finish in a career is a Houston runner-up in 2020. This week, he didnt have high expectations due to a minor injury. It appears that his daughter accidentally knocked a knife from the table onto his foot last week.
He said, So I had a gap in my foot the whole week, and I wasnt able to practice at all last weekend, so I was just kinda coming here trying to get prepared for Vegas, to tell the truth. I think it has a lot with low expectations.
I felt incredible about my game the last six, seven month, so Im just trying not to expect too much and trying to hit good shots.