After 54 holes at TPC River Highlands, Bubba Watson and Kramer Hickok were tied at 10-under par and will enter the final round of the 2021 Travelers Championship with a one-shot lead.
Hickok, who was the co-leader after round one, produced a 2-under 68 with four birdies to reach 10-under par.
“It was solid golf. I’ve been struggling with my swing all week,” said Hickok. “It was just one of those weeks where you don’t feel comfortable but the shots are coming out where you’re looking.
“I would you just say last few days have been a lot of good misses, to be honest with you. There are a lot of rounds where I felt a lot better about my swing and scored a lot worse, so I’m not complaining.
“Seems like my game has got better as the rounds have progressed. It’s playing tricky and firm and really fast and the wind is swirling, so to me it’s just all about giving yourself looks, getting yourself on the green, and dancing.”
Watson, the three-time winner, also carded a 68 which included five birdies to join Hickok atop the leaderboard.
“I mean, I’m going to look at the leaderboard just knowing what I need to do coming down the stretch,” said Watson. “If I’m three back I might push something. I might start pushing on No. 12 or whatever it is.
“Because you want to run out of holes and be like, Oh, wait, I’m three back. You don’t want to play safe. In my stage of my career if I have a chance to win I’m going to go for it. That’s the key. I’m not going to worry about third or fourth place. I am going to try to go for it if I can.
“But, yeah, I’m not going to change anything. I’ve played this golf course pretty good over the years, and so my whole thing is just make birdies when you can. And when the weather is the way it was today, I mean, Jason on, what hole was that, No. 12, the par-4?
“We were pretty close in distance. I hit a low 9-iron draw and he hit a little — he tried to chip a 6-iron, and I know he’s got an injured back right now, but that’s what he saw. He saw chipping this little 6-iron, and I hit 9-iron and we both had 40-footers for birdies.
“That’s the golf course leads you to do. When the wind picks up like this you just got to play steady. Hopefully tomorrow nobody goes really crazy so I have a chance when I hit the back nine.”
Overnight leader Jason Day shot a 70 and was tied for third with Cameron Smith (66) and Russell Henley (66) on 9-under par.
K.H. Lee (69), Brice Garnett (69), and Harris English (67) were one further back on 8-under par.
Rounding out the top-10 was a logjam of eight players at T9 on 7 under, headlined by Bryson DeChambeau (68) and Dustin Johnson (65).
2021 Travelers Championship
Top-10 Leaders: Third Round
Pos-Player-To Par (Rd 3)
1. Bubba Watson -10 (-2)
1. Kramer Hickok -10 (-2)
3. Jason Day -9 (E)
3. Cameron Smith -9 (-4)
3. Russell Henley -9 (-4)
6. K.H. Lee -8 (-1)
6. Brice Garnett -8 (-1)
6. Harris English -8 (-3)
9. Eight Players Tied -7
Material from the PGA Tour Media was used to compile this report.