Australian Scott Hend is in contention for the biggest win of his career at the World Golf Championships Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club in Ohio after a remarkable 63 today.
Hend, who these days plays mostly on the European and Asian tours, rolled in a five-metre birdie putt at the last for the low round of the week, seven-under for the day, to roar onto the leaderboard. He finished the day tied for third, one shot behind.
The 44-year-old Queenslander, who represented Australia at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro this time last year, is just one from the lead shared by Zach Johnson of the United States and Thomas Pieters of Belgium at nine-under par.
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Hend had eight birdies and a bogey in his third round having started the day outside the top-10.
Fellow-Queenslander Jason Day is tied for 10th after a third-round 70 that left him “fuming’’, in particular  about the two bogeys to close his round. But Day says his game is finally trending up from the lull he has been in.
“I’ve had a lot of opportunities the past three days and not made anything of them.’’
Meanwhile on the Barracuda Championship, Stuart Appleby fell out of the lead in the third round. Englishman Greg Owen, 45 and still winless on the US Tour, holds the 54-hole lead at the US PGA Tour’s concurrently held event in Nevada.
