The smooth ride of Jason Dufner at The Memorial came to a rough end on Saturday.
Dufner, the former PGA champion, started the third round with a hefty five-shot lead but that quickly disappeared starting at the second hole. It was there he started a run of four straight bogeys after making just one bogey over his first 36 holes.
Dufner’s collapse opened the door for the rest of the field and his playing partner, Daniel Summerhays, stepped up in a big way.
Summerhays, looking for his first PGA Tour victory, shot a four-under par 68 and his 13-under par total gave him a three shot lead over Matt Kuchar.
“I had so many good looks at birdie, I was seldom out of position,” said Summerhays, who hopes to continue the trend of first-time winners getting a victory at Jack Nicklaus’ event.
“Given the circumstances, it was really fun,” Summerhays said of his day’s work.
He will be paired on Sunday with Kuchar, the 2013 Memorial champ who shot 67, the day’s best round among the contenders.
There are a host of names chasing Summerhays if he falters. Bubba Watson’s 30 on the back nine got him to nine-under par along with Justin Thomas and Dufner, who finished with a miserable 77, including a bogey at 18 after his tee shot found the water left of the fairway.
Rickie Fowler (72) and Jamie Lovemark (70) finished at eight-under while last week’s winner and runner-up — Kevin Kisner (70) and Jordan Spieth (71) were in at seven-under.
