2022 Rocket Mortgage Classic updates: Tony Finau, Taylor Pendrith separate in Round 3
So just how low will they go at the Detroit Golf Club?
We'll get a glimpse on Saturday in Round 3 of the 2022 Rocket Mortgage Classic. The tournament record for four rounds is 263 (25 under par), set in the inaugural event in 2019 by Nate Lashley. Maybe someone has a shot at that score. They'll likely need a great Saturday to do it.
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Taylor Pendrith, the Ontario native and Kent State alum, fired a 7-under 65 to take a one-shot lead into the weekend. Tony Finau, the Round 1 leader, is a shot behind Pendrith, with Lee Hodges three shots off the pace. This year's British Open runner-up Cameron Young, fellow American Russell Henley and longtime PGA Tour member Stewart Cink are tied for fourth at 10 under.
Expect clear skies and little wind throughout the day on the city's westside, with temperatures creeping into the low 80s.
The leaders tee off at 2 p.m.
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Blog updates
2:30 p.m.: The course is seeing low numbers from the morning wave of players, with the heat shortening the course due to the ball flying far.
The two best early rounds: Defending champion Cam Davis shot 7-under 65 to move to 10-under overall. Tyler Duncan and Taylor Moore also shot 65, with Moore getting to 13-under overall and inside the top 10. Three others shot 6-under 66.
4 p.m.: Pendrith and Finau are tied in the final grouping heading into the back nine. Pendrith birdied No. 1 to grab a two-shot lead early. Finau answered with a chip-in birdie at No. 2 and a birdie on No. 3 to tie the lead, but Pendrith sunk birdies on Nos. 4, 6 and 8 to climb to 19 under par and two up. His first three-putt on the week at the par-3 ninth brought him back to 18 under and tied with Finau, who dropped in birdies at Nos. 7-8.
World No. 4 Patrick Cantlay, the highest-ranked player in the field, is making the biggest move behind the leaders, with seven birdies through 13 holes to get to third place at 16 under par.
Tour star rookie Cameron Young continued his blistering pace, making five birdies in his first eight holes to reach the top 5 at 15 under par, one day after tying the tournament record with a 9-under 63.
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4:15 p.m.: Finau has finally caught and passed Pendrith, with a birdie on the par-4 10th hole. He stung his drive 323 yards down the fairway, then hit his approach from 98 yards inside nine feet and sunk his fifth birdie of the day.
4:55 p.m.: Young has tied Pendrith for second place at 17 under par, two shots back of Finau, after a two-putt birdie on the par-5 14th. Cantlay's momentum slows with a bogey on the par-4 16th and pars on both par-5s (Nos. 14 and 17), and he drops to 15-under and tied for fourth with Stephan Jaeger.
5:10 p.m.: Pendrith and Finau both get up-and-down from the right rough on the par-5 14th for birdie, with Finau maintaining his two-shot advantage, 6-under par on the round and 20-under for the tournament. He's setting up to be in position to chase Lashley's 25 under par record.
Cantlay gets up-and-down to save par around the treacherous 18th green to shoot 66. He's in solo fifth place at 201. Jaeger, a 33-year-old German ranked No. 205 in the world, ties for the best round of the day at 7-under 65, and is 16-under 200 for the tournament.
5:25 p.m.: Pendrith has tied Finau at 20 under par through 16 holes, with three straight birdies. Finau missed makeable birdies on Nos. 15-16.
5:40 p.m.: Young hits a mammoth 357-yard drive on the 18th, but pars the hole from 80 yards to shoot 65 and finish at 17 under par, solo third entering Sunday. Finau two putts from 60 feet on the par-5 17th to take a one stroke lead.
5:55 p.m.: What a finish to moving day. Pendrith, who has won twice on PGA Tour Canada, knocks in another birdie from 10 feet on No. 18 to shoot 66. Finau misses a great birdie look from 6 feet, and shoots 65. Both are tied atop the leaderboard at 21-under-par 195, four shots clear of Cameron Young and the rest of the field. They'll be paired again Sunday afternoon in the final round, while Young will play with Jaeger.
— Marlowe Alter
Follow live updates and TV/streaming info below.
How to watch Saturday's third round
TV: Golf Channel, 1-3 p.m.; CBS, 3-6 p.m.
Streaming: PGA Tour Live on ESPN+, 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m.
Radio: SiriusXM 1-6 p.m.
Defending champion: Cam Davis, 18 under par (defeated Troy Merritt and Joaquin Niemann in playoff.)
Follow coverage all week long at freep.com and Golfweek, part of the USA TODAY Network.
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Contact Kirkland Crawford: kcrawford@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @HiKirkHere.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 2022 Rocket Mortgage Classic: Live leaderboard for Round 3
