Sunday 18 October 2015 23:22, UK
Justin Rose birdied two of the last three holes to get within two shots of leader Brendan Steele after the third round of the Frys.com Open in California.
The Ryder Cup star carded a blemish-free 68 to move to 12 under for the tournament as Steele held off a series of challenges to maintain the lead he has held since his opening 63 at Silverado Country Club in the Napa Valley.
Rose struggled to get much going on the greens as he parred the first seven holes before breaking the shackles with a 10-foot birdie putt at the eighth, and his 110-yard approach to the next was the perfect distance and left him a tap-in from 18 inches for another birdie.
He missed makeable chances from inside 12 feet at 11, 12 and 13, but he rolled in his third birdie putt of the round at the 16th and added another from six feet at 17 before settling for a closing par at the par-five last after finding a fairway bunker with his drive.
Rose will go into the final round two adrift of Steele, who carded four birdies and one bogey in a solid 69 which left him one clear of fellow Americans Andrew Loupe and Kevin Na.
"I played better than I scored," Steele said. "That was a great round that Andrew shot. I didn't see it, actually. The way it firmed up at the end yesterday and how firm it was today, you really had to be on your game in order to do that. I guess you never underestimate the talent level out here."
Loupe had made the first significant move of the day and threatened something special when he birdied the opening five holes, only to bogey the sixth despite having only 83 yards to the pin for his second shot.
He picked up another birdie at nine and reeled off four in a row from the 14th before a par at the last completed a superb 63 to match Steele's first-round card.
Na cruised to the turn in 32 and broke a run of six pars with his fifth birdie of the day at 15, and he then knocked a sublime second to six feet at the long 16th and rolled in the putt for eagle.
He added another birdie at the last to cap a faultless 64 and join Loupe on 13 under, while Jason Bohn was also eight under for the day after a remarkable mid-round run of six birdies in eight holes followed by three more over the last four.
Bohn's 64 got him to 12 under alongside Kyle Reifers and Emiliano Grillo, who both kept bogeys off their cards in a pair of 65s, while Graham DeLaet, Harold Varner III, Will Wilcox and Jhonattan Vegas also fired 69s to join the share of fourth place.
Martin Laird was in touch with the leaders when he birdied the 10th to move to 10 under, but the Scot plummeted down the leaderboard with a horrendous run of five bogeys in six holes before a birdie at the last left him at six under with Rory McIlroy.
The world No 3 was again hampered by inconsistency on the greens in a 71 which featured five birdies and four bogeys - including three in four holes on the back nine.
