Hoffman Fires 66 at Heritage


Charley Hoffman was lights-out on the greens Saturday at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head, S.C. Thanks to only 21 putts, the 36-year-old from San Diego carded a 5-under 66 to take a two-stroke lead through 54 holes of the $5.8 million RBC Heritage.

Hoffman, who started the third round tied for the lead with Kevin Streelman and Steve LeBrun, carded four birdies on the front nine and added another birdie on the back to reach 11-under 202, two strokes ahead of Webb Simpson, who shot the low round of the day, a 6-under 65.

Hoffman will be searching for his first PGA Tour victory since the 2010 Deutsche Bank Championship. He also won the 2007 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

Simpson has always enjoyed the Pete Dye-designed Harbour Town, but hasn't scored particularly well in previous visits, until Saturday. "I've always loved coming here; it looks good to my eye. But I never have quite gotten it going like I did today," the 2012 U.S. Open champion told PGATour.com.

Streelman had a 69 and is at 205, while Brendon de Jonge (67) and Graeme McDowell (68) share fourth at 206. Tied for sixth at 207 are Jerry Kelly (66), Ryo Ishikawa (67), Camilo Villegas (68), Justin Hicks (68), Tim Clark (68), Billy Horschel (68), Bill Haas (70) and LeBrun, who posted an even-par 71.

Other scores included a 71 by Australia's Jason Day, which put him at 2-under 211. The 25-year-old finished third in last week's Masters. Fellow Aussie Marc Leishman, who tied for fourth at Augusta National, also had a 71 and is at 4-under 209 in a tie for 20th.

Because of a season-high 91 players making the weekend cut Friday, there was a second cut Saturday to get the field down to a manageable size for the final round. The 54-hole cut was set at 1-over 222, with Hunter Mahan, despite a 78, sneaking in as the last player to qualify.

The third round was overcast for much of the day, although there were no delays despite 1.2 inches of rain falling overnight.

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