Rickie Fowler started Saturday nine shots behind overnight leader Sung Kang at the Shell Houston Open.
By the 16th hole of the third round, Fowler had worked himself into a tie with Kang at 17-under par. Fowler was eight-under par for his third round, Kang just one-under.
Fowler fell apart starting at the 17th hole when he missed a five-foot par putt after his approach to the par four found a greenside bunker.
At the 18th, Fowler came totally unglued on the 54th green.
After a wild drive that turned out very playable, Fowler’s eight-iron approach flew to the back of the green. From there he lagged within five feet then proceeded to three-putt from there. Four putts in all, Fowler fell back to 14-under par and handed Kang a three-shot lead going into Sunday’s finale.
It looked like it would become a two-man race but after Fowler’s foul-up, he was just a shot ahead of third place Russell Henley. Henley’s 69 got him to 13-under while Luke List’s sparkling 65 got him to 12-under and placed him in the next-to-last group on Sunday.
Kang is looked for his first PGA Tour win and a berth in next week’s Masters field.
