Justin Thomas took control in the Workday Charity Open at Muirfield Village as Graeme McDowell moved up just one place with a 70 and Shane Lowry endured a tough day on the greens and shot 74 to slip to the back of the field.

McDowell began the day tied for 30th and ended in tied 29th on five-under and 11 strokes adrift of 12-time PGA Tour winner Thomas (27) who went bogey-free for the third day running and shot a second successive 66 to lead by two strokes from Norway’s Viktor Hovland on 16-under par.

Seeking his second PGA Tour win, Hovland (22) also carded a 66 and with 20 birdies, he’s made more than anyone else in the field.

Thomas and Hovland will be joined in the final group by halfway leader Collin Morikawa (23) who carded a level-par 72 to trail the leader by three shots on 13-under.

McDowell hit all 14 fairways and missed just four greens but after picking up three shots thanks to four front nine birdies., he had little fortune on the greens on the back nine.

It was an even more trying day for Lowry, who made four birdies but also four bogeys and a double bogey.

The Offaly man had two three-putts in a 32-putt round, missing twice inside four feet as he shot 74 to fall to tied 54th on one-under-par.

As for the final three-ball, it promises to be a special one with THomas the elder statesman alongside two of the game’s up and coming stars.

“I don't think I'm quite a veteran yet,” Thomas said. “I think I've got a little ways to go. But yeah, today I played with Collin. I've been around Collin a good bit. I haven't spent much time around Viktor. I've obviously seen him and know he's an unbelievable player, so it'll be fun to play with those two guys tomorrow because I'm sure it's the first of many pairings I'll have with them.

“But a guy like Collin, I could be playing and having him as a teammate in Ryder Cups, Presidents Cups, whatever it is. It'll be fun to hang with those guys tomorrow, but at the end of the day I'm worried about myself and trying to win a golf tournament and have a good round.”

Third-Round Leaderboard

Justin Thomas                    68-66-66—200 (-16)

Viktor Hovland                  69-67-66—202 (-14)

Collin Morikawa                65-66-72—203 (-13)

Sam Burns                          69-66-70—205 (-11)

Kevin Streelman                70-64-71—205 (-11)

Things to Know

• Justin Thomas holds 54-hole lead/co-lead for 13th time on PGA TOUR, converting eight of previous 12

• Fifteen third-round leaders/co-leaders have converted for the win on the PGA TOUR in 2019-20 (Most recently Webb Simpson/RBC Heritage)

• Justin Thomas is bogey-free thru 54 holes; Last player to win bogey-free for 72 holes – J.T. Poston/2019 Wyndham Championship

• Last player to go bogey-free for 72 holes and not win; Scott Piercy/2019 AT&T Byron Nelson

• After notching a birdie on his 36th hole Saturday morning to make the cut on the number, Monday qualifier MJ Daffue (No. 1,373 in OWGR) posts 7-under 65 to sit T8

• Bronson Burgoon aced the 8th hole, the third hole-in-one this week

Final Grouping Comparison (entering the week)

Justin Thomas Viktor Hovland Collin Morikawa

Age 27 (4/29/1993) 22 (9/18/1997) 23 (2/6/1997)

FedExCup 2 35 21

OWGR 5 42 29

PGA TOUR starts 148 23 25

PGA TOUR wins 12 1 1

Starts in 2019-20 11 13 14

Top-10s in 2019-20 7 2 4

Justin Thomas (1st/-16)

• With a birdie at No. 11, reached 14-under to take the lead; Added two additional birdies to hold two-stroke lead

• Marks first time in his career to go bogey-free in the opening three rounds of a PGA TOUR event

• Recorded 79th round of 66 or better since the start of the 2014-15 PGA TOUR Season (most of any player)

• Since 1983, only two players have gone bogey-free through 54 holes at Muirfield Village (Scott Hoch/1987, Jim Furyk/1997/*54-hole event)

• Third player to go bogey-free through the first three rounds this season (Tyler Duncan/The RSM Classic/Won, Troy Merritt/Rocket Mortgage Classic/T8)

• Sits second in the FedExCup standings, 117 points behind Webb Simpson, who is not in the field this week

• 16-under 200 is two strokes shy of lowest opening 54-hole score at Muirfield Village (198/Scott Hoch/1987)

• This marks his 13th 54-hole lead/co-lead on TOUR, most recently 2020 WGC-Mexico Championship (T6)

• Went on to win eight of his previous 12 54-hole leads/co-leads, most recently 2019 THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES

• Has made all 46 of 46 record on putts from inside 8 feet this week

Viktor Hovland (2nd/-14)

• Ranks No. 1 in Strokes Gained: Off The Tee through 54 holes (5.166)

• PGA TOUR rookie seeks second victory in 19th PGA TOUR start as a professional; Notched a one-stroke win at the 2020 Puerto Rico Open

• With 20, has made most birdies of any player in the field

• Sits at No. 35 in FedExCup standings, 83 points behind leading rookie Scottie Scheffler (No. 23/697 points), who missed the cut this week

Additional Notes

• 18- and 36-hole leader Collin Morikawa (3rd/-13) hit 11 of 18 greens after hitting 14 of 18 in each of the first two rounds en route to 72 (E) and slipped to T3, three strokes back 

• 2017 Nicklaus Award recipient Sam Burns (T4/-11) posts his 11th consecutive sub-par score  

• Kevin Streelman (T4/-11) will be making his 12th start at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide next week after finishing fourth at Muirfield Village in 2019

• Monday qualifier MJ Daffue posted a bogey-free 7-under 65 following a final-hole birdie to complete the second round earlier in the day to make the cut on the number; joined leader Justin Thomas with the only bogey-free third rounds

• Rickie Fowler’s (T8/-9) eagle at No. 7 marks his second of the week (No. 15/R2); has current streak of 16 rounds at Muirfield Village in par or better

• Bronson Burgoon (T29/-5) aced No. 8 with an 8-iron from 166 yards, the third hole-in-one this week (Jason Kokrak/No. 16/R1, Keegan Bradley/No. 4/R1) 

Hole statistics

              Toughest hole                    Easiest hole

R1          Par-3 16th (3.318)               Par-5 5th (4.611)

R2          Par-3 16th (3.265)               Par-5 5th (4.536) 

R3          Par-3 4th (3.343)                 Par-5 7th (4.478)

 

Scoring Averages

              Front 9                 Back 9                  Total                    Cumulative

R1          35.465                  36.656                  72.121                  --

R2          36.053                  36.212                  72.265                  72.193

R3          35.119                  36.194                  71.313                  72.035

Bogey-free rounds

R1 (2): Nick Taylor (67), Justin Thomas (68)

R2 (4): Sam Burns (66), Justin Thomas (66), Hideki Matsuyama (68), Russell Henley (70)

R3 (2): MJ Daffue (65), Justin Thomas (66)