McDowell just three behind in Puntacana
Danny Willett of England lines up a putt on the 18th hole during the third round of the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship on March 27, 2021 in Punta Cana, . (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Graeme McDowell is just three strokes adrift of leaders Rafael Campo and Joe Dahmen heading into the final round of the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship in the Dominican Republic.
The 2019 champion carded a two-under 70 to share seventh place on seven-under-par as Dahmen shot 68 and Campos a 69 to lead by one stroke on 10-under from Danny Willett and Michael Gligic.
Seamus Power is tied 51st on one-over after a 73 with Pádraig Harrington joint 57th after a 74.
2021 Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship
(The 26th of 50 events in the 2020-21 PGA TOUR Season)
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic March 25-28, 2021 Puntacana Resort & Club (Corales Course) Par/Yards: 36-36—72/7,670
Third-Round Notes – Saturday, March 27, 2021 Weather: Partly cloudy. High of 85. Wind ENE 16-26 mph.
Purse: $3,000,000
Third-Round Leaderboard
T1 Joel Dahmen 67-71-68—206 (-10)
T1 Rafael Campos 68-69-69—206 (-10)
T3 Danny Willett 70-70-67—207 (-9)
T3 Michael Gligic 73-66-68—207 (-9)
Other Irish
T7 Graeme McDowell 70-69-70—209 (-7)
T51 Seamus Power 72-72-73—217 (+1)
T57 Padraig Harrington 69-75-74—218 (+2)
Things to Know
Joel Dahmen plays the back nine in 9-under this week in search of first TOUR title in his 111th start
Rafael Campos holds second 54-hole lead/co-lead in last 28 days
2016 Masters Tournament champion Danny Willett seeks second TOUR title
Michael Gligic notches second consecutive bogey-free round while seeking first TOUR title in his 36th start
Emiliano Grillo’s 65 marks low round of the tournament
Past champions Hudson Swafford and Graeme McDowell sit T7 at 7-under, three off the lead
All three tournament champions have posted 18-under (270) en route to victory
Top six players on the leaderboard hail from different countries
Third-Round Lead Notes
Two 54-hole leaders/co-leaders have gone on to win this event (Brice Garnett/2018, Graeme McDowell/2019)
In 2020, Adam Long set the 54-hole tournament scoring record with 199 (-17), eventually finishing fifth after a final-round 75,
four strokes behind winner Hudson Swafford
Nine 54-hole leaders/co-leaders to win on TOUR in 2020-21 (most recent: Matt Jones/The Honda Classic)
Joel Dahmen (T1/-10)
American bogeys the first hole, hits 10 of 14 fairways, 11 of 18 greens and takes 25 putts en route to 4-under 68
Marks second 54-hole lead/co-lead of his PGA TOUR career (2019 Wells Fargo Championship/2nd)
Flawless on the back nine this week with nine birdies and no dropped shots
Seeks first title in his 111th TOUR start (2nd/2019 Wells Fargo Championship, T2/2018 John Deere Classic)
Comes into this event off six missed cuts in last seven starts (T60/AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am)
Makes third start at this event; held first-round lead/co-lead with 66 en route to a T12 finish in 2019; also shot 66 (R2) when he finished T13 in 2018
Currently No. 126 in FedExCup standings; since joining the PGA TOUR in 2017, improved FedExCup finish each season (176/2017, 80/2018, 55/2019, 38/2020)
Rafael Campos (T1/-10)
Puerto Rico native holes 50-foot birdie putt from the apron on his final hole to shoot third consecutive round in the 60s and reach 10-under
Only player with three rounds in the 60s this week; Hudson Swafford is the only player in tournament history to post four rounds in the 60s (2020)
Birdies No. 18, the hardest hole on the course, for the second consecutive round; Ryan Brehm is the only player to birdie No. 18 all three rounds this week
Holds 54-hole lead/co-lead for second time on TOUR (2021 Puerto Rico Open/T3)
Comes off a T3 finish (-16) at the 2021 Puerto Rico Open, his best PGA TOUR result in 36 starts
Carded just two bogeys this week (No. 8/R1, No. 5/R3)
Missed the cut in three prior starts at this event; finished T3 (67-64-69-70) in 2017 when it was a Korn Ferry Tour event
Danny Willett (T3/-9)
Englishman makes seven birdies en route to 5-under 67, including four in a row on the front-nine (Nos. 6-9); marks his third score of 67 or better in 20 rounds this season
2016 Masters Tournament champion makes first appearance at Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship seeking his second TOUR title
Makes seventh start of season and first since the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard; T25 at the 2020 Masters Tournament marks best result
Owns seven European Tour wins (most recent: 2019 BMW PGA Championship)
At No. 75 in the OWGR, second-highest ranked player in the field this week (Lucas Herbert/No. 72/MC)
Michael Gligic (T3/-9)
31-year-old Canadian notches second consecutive bogey-free round following Friday’s 6-under 66
Only blemishes this week came in round one: bogey at his ninth hole of the tournament (No. 18) and a triple-bogey at his
17th hole (No. 8)
Owns a win on the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada (2102) and the Korn Ferry Tour (2019)
Missed the cut (74-71) at this event in 2020
Two best career results have come this season (T11/Bermuda Championship, T14/Safeway Open)
Currently sits No. 128 in the FedExCup, looking to advance to the FedExCup Playoffs for the first time
No. 518 in the Official World Golf Ranking
Miscellaneous Notes
Puntacana Resort ambassador Emiliano Grillo (T5/-8) records nine birdies in first 15 holes, tying his career-most in a round, before closing bogey-par-bogey en route to 7-under 65; marks his sixth round of 65 or better this season
Thomas Pieters (T5/-8) held a share of the lead at 9-under following four consecutive birdies (Nos. 3-6) before playing the back nine in 1-over; 29-year-old former University of Illinois standout owns four European Tour wins; makes third start this season (T23/U.S. Open, T15/Puerto Rico Open)
After making his first cut in his last six starts, defending champion Hudson Swafford (T7/-7) makes six birdies, including one at his final hole, for a 4-under 68 to sit three back
2019 Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship winner Graeme McDowell (T7/-7) seeks his first top-10 this season
36-hole co-leaders Fabrizio Zanotti (T7/-7) and Justin Suh (T33/-2) post rounds of 72 and 77, respectively
Monday qualifier Eric Cole (T15/-5), who advanced at the sixth extra hole of a 10-for-1 sudden-death playoff, shoots 72-70- 69 in his PGA TOUR debut
Monday qualifier Andrew Yun (T33/-2) makes one birdie en route to a 3-over 75
Ryan Brehm (T51/+1) birdies No. 18, the most difficult hole on the course, each of the first three rounds
Bogey-free rounds
R1 (5): Joel Dahmen (67), Andrew Yun (67), Peter Uihlein (70), Brice Garnett (70), Charles Howell III (70)
R2 (5): Michael Gligic (66), Sepp Strake (68), Rafael Campos (69), Tyler Duncan (69), Charles Howell III (71)
R3 (3): Charley Hoffman (68), Michael Gligic (68), Greyson Sigg (70)
