Danny Lee takes Phoenix Open lead in front of record crowd

Naturally, he felt obligated to drop and give them 10 pushups.

Playing before the largest crowd in golf history, Danny Lee of New Zealand shot 4-under par 67 on Saturday to take a three-stroke lead over Rickie Fowler and Hideki Matsuyama of Japan after three rounds of the Waste Management Phoenix Open. “But I’m having fun”.

The previous largest crowd at the Stadium Course was 189,722 in 2014.

Matsuyama finished second here last year and fourth the year before that.

“It’s the one week out of the year where you’re allowed to do anything you want and not get fined”, Hahn said.

The “next Tiger Woods” coming good?

Hahn put on quite a show with his game as well, chipping in for birdie at his first hole – the par-four 10th.

Fowler birdied his final hole for a 68, and Lee had a 66. “The only thing different about the course today, as any other day, is the greens are better”. With an awkward stance and a tough lie, she chunked a wedge to the front of the green, some 75 feet away, and did well to two-putt for par.

“It came out soft and floated on me”, Fowler said. “The wind was kind of blowing from an awkward position….” She ran off three straight birdies late in her round to try to stay in it.

He won two weeks ago in Abu Dhabi for his fourth worldwide victory in nine months. The weekly record of 564,368 was set past year.

“Wow! This is insane”, Lee said.

The Englishman moved to 16 under for the tournament, with 2012 champion Rafael Cabrera-Bello in second place at 15-under with his third consecutive 67. Henderson was on the 17th and three-putted to slip into a tie, and Jang pumped her fist when she made a 5-foot birdie on the 16th to take the lead.

“I’m just trying to enjoy myself and I am”, Lee said. “I don’t communicate very well”.

World number one Lydia Ko was tied for the lead with Jang Ha-Na at seven-under par when darkness halted play in the third round of the LPGA Coates Championship.

Phil Mickelson was 8 under after 65.

“It was the worst shot of the year and I ended up making a birdie”, said Mickelson, the tournament victor in 1996, 2005 and 2013. Bo Van Pelt birdied the final hole Saturday morning for a 68 that left him 6 under…. Jason Dufner shot 71-74 to miss the cut in his first start since winning at La Quinta.