Rickie Fowler earned his first PGA Tour win at Quail Hollow back in 2012.
On Saturday at the Wells Fargo, he made his move to the top at the Wells Fargo Championship.
Conditions continued to toughen as the challenging layout dried out, producing greens as slick as a table top. It showed in the scores as Fowler’s four-under par 68 tied him for low round of the day with James Hahn.
Three straight birdies starting at the 14th propelled Fowler into the 54-hole lead.
“With dry conditions, you’re seeing a completely different golf course,” Fowler pointed out after his round. “It makes it a lot tougher to get it close to the hole.” Tough indeed, along with Fowler, only four other players managed to break 70.
Fowler took care of business by driving the par four 14th, hitting the par five 15th in two then holing one from 27 feet at 16.
Overnight leader Roberto Castro had a chance to tie Fowler at the top. He was nine-under through 17 but he bunkered his approach at 18 then missed a 12-footer for par.
The 18th was a disaster for Andrew Loupe, who was eight-under going to the treacherous final hole. He took a double-bogey and dropped all the way back to six-under.
Justin Rose (69) and James Hahn (68) put themselves in position to challenge on Sunday. Both are seven-under.
Phil Mickelson started the day tied with Fowler at five-under but suffered the ultimate disaster at the 18th. He hit a perfect drive and from the fairway hit an awful second that found the left water hazard. From there, it took him five more shots to finish his day with a quadruple-bogey eight and he fell all the way back to one-under thanks to a 76.
Defending champion Rory McIlroy won’t be a factor on Sunday. His 73 left him at one-under par.
