Spieth surges to 2-shot lead at John Deere Classic

The defending champion sent his tee shot left on the par-5 16th and when he approached his ball, there was a man sitting the ground with blood coming from a cut on his head.

There were two delays during the third round – a 57-minute stoppage for lightning and a 1 hour and 51 minute suspension because of heavy rain.

“Just a rusty round”, said Spieth.

Spieth also made six birdies. Thomas ran off four straight birdies from 15, capped off by a putt from 53 feet at the par-four 18th.

“It’s unlucky, it’s unfortunate and I’m sure he’s taking it harder on himself than anybody else”, Spieth said.

Spieth had seen a scoreboard after hitting his second shot on the 18th, and told caddy Michael Greller, “I think this is for my lowest round that I’ve shot on the PGA Tour”.

“Not the exact spot I wanted to land it”, he said. Just keep on trekking. “Nicki’s like, ‘Well, make two birdies.’ I guess I listened”.

Lee and Spieth will be playing partners for the final round on Sunday (US time).

Spieth, seeking his fourth victory of the year, will next week try to become the first player since Ben Hogan in 1953 to win the first three majors in a season. Playing the back nine first, he parred the first three holes before birdieing the par-4 13th.

“I haven’t made a putt like that all year”, said Stricker.

“When I get over there, whether I play well or don’t play well has nothing to do with what I did the week before”, he is quoted as saying by the Daily Mail. “I can not wait”.

If one is to second-guess his John Deere decision, perhaps it should be done only after the 2015 British Open.

The 528th-ranked Brooks, who took a three-shot lead after the second round, recovered from a double bogey on his first hole to shoot a 1-under 69 for a one-stroke advantage on 12-under 198. It’s not a lock – seven other players are within four shots of him.

Another strong finish would help Lee further boost his world ranking, which rocketed 80 places to 78th this week.

Fellow Kiwi Steven Alker couldn’t capitalise on his good start to the tournament, carding a 70.

“I am putting well”, he said. “It’s a big day”. 2-4 before settling down. “It’s a little disappointing but at the same time I didn’t put in the preparation”, he added.

Spencer Levin, Boo Weekley, Michael Thompson, Robert Streb, Tom Gillis, Will Wilcox, Brian Stuard, Scott Pinckney, Carl Pettersson, Zach Johnson and Tyrone Van Aswegen are tied for 10th at five under.

“It is a career goal of mine to have a career grand slam (of the majors)”.

Thomas, who contended at last week’s Greenbrier Classic and is gunning for his first U.S. tour title, began on the back nine and rolled in 10 birdies in his round. Mark Goodes was second, while Bart Bryant, Fred Funk and David Frost are among the group five strokes back.

Rebounding from missing the cut in five of his last six events, Olesen made seven birdies – including three in a row on Nos. The shot landed about 6 feet beyond the pin and spun back into the cup.