Troy Merritt is one of those guys who hasn’t won on the PGA Tour but he’s proven he can go low, really low.
Merritt had one of those days Saturday at the Quicken Loans National and carved up the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club with 11 birdies on his way to a 10-under par 61 that earned him a share of the 54-hole lead.
He’s tied with Kevin Chappell, who shot 67 to get in the clubhouse with Merritt at 14-under par.
Merritt got off to a blazing start with birdies on the first five holes then added a sixth at the seventh hole. His only stumble of the day came when he made bogey at the not-so-difficult eighth hole. The back nine featured more of the same. He reeled off fourth straight starting at the 12th then added another at 17. It was the second time this season he’s shot 61. He put another one up earlier this season at Hilton Head.
“It was fun,” Merritt said afterward. “The difference was the first two days I missed 10 putts inside 12 feet and today I made them. I just need to keep hitting the ball well. If I can hit the ball within 10-12 feet I have a great chance tomorrow.”
It was a solid turnaround for Merritt, who had missed five cuts in a row. “I’m tired of having weekends off,” he added.
Like Merritt, Chappell is hoping to land his first victory. “If you keep the ball in play here, it’s go time,” Chappell pointed out.
Both Chappell and Merritt will have a hot player chasing them. Rickie Fowler, winner of the Players Championship and the Scottish Open is a shot back at 13-under. Fowler was tied for the lead standing in the 17th fairway but he hit a careless nine-iron that miss the green long left and he was unable to scramble for par.
Charles Howell III, Whee Kim, Jason Bohn and David Lingmerth will start the final 18 just two back.
Tiger Woods, who worked his way into contention after 36 holes, worked his way out of the hunt. His driver proved unreliable on Saturday and that would lead to a three-over par 74 that left him at five-under par and tied for 42nd.
