PGA Tour: Brandt Snedeker shares four-way lead heading into final round of Valero Texas Open | Golf News

Brandt Snedeker during round three of the 2022 Valero Texas Open

Brandt Snedeker and Beau Hossler joined JJ Spaun and Dylan Frittelli in the lead after the Valero Texas Open’s third round on Saturday.

Americans Snedeker and Hossler both finished the round on five-under 67 to move up the leaderboard and nab shares of the lead at 10-under par.

A bogey on the 18th spoiled fellow American Spaun’s chance to take the outright lead, while a 70 from Frittelli was enough for the South African to keep pace.

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The group lead by just one from Scott Stallings with Matt Kuchar another shot behind.

Meanwhile, England’s Aaron Rai features among nine players still in the hunt on seven under.

Like Spaun, a final-hole bogey kept Scott Stallings out of the lead. He also shot 65 and was a shot back at nine-under. Matt Kuchar’s bogey at 18 dropped him to eight-under after an even-par round.

Spaun birdied four of his five holes heading to the 18th to take a one-shot lead. At the 17th he drove the green at the 303-yard par-four and almost made the 19-foot eagle. However, he pushed his tee shot on 18 into the trees, punched out, then laid up short of the stream that guards the final green. He ended up with a 22-foot putt for par that he missed.

“If you told me this Tuesday like, ‘Hey, you’re going to be tied for the lead going into Sunday’, I would totally take it,” Spaun said. “Yeah, bogey on the last hole, but I think it could have been worse. So I’m not too bummed out about that.”

Second-round leader Ryan Palmer did not have a bogey on Friday but on Saturday he did not have a birdie and dropped to 21st place with a five-over 77.

With a bogey-free round, Snedeker was four-under on the backside. He is looking for his first win since 2018. It would be his 10th tour victory.

“I’ve been working hard at it, probably as hard as I ever have in my career,” Snedeker said. “I just haven’t had any success. And the only way you fix that is to go out there and do it, go out there and keep practicing and keep grinding, which I’ve been doing. And you’ve got to relish the challenge when you get them.”

Spaun and Hossler are each looking for their first tour win and Frittelli won in 2019 at the John Deere Classic.

Maverick McNealy matched the best round of the day with 65, and he was three shots back with Charles Howell III (72), Si Woo Kim (68), Denny McCarthy (68), Troy Merritt (69), Aaron Rai (68), Brendon Todd (72) and Gary Woodland (72).

Hossler had three-straight birdies starting at the 14th when all of his approach shots finished less than 10 feet from the hole. A pro since 2016 after playing at University of Texas, Hossler has a career-best finish of second in the 2018 Houston Open and was third this year at Pebble Beach.

“I went to college and I live an hour and 10 minutes away from here,” Hossler said. “But if I start thinking about that, I’m in big trouble. So I’m just going to go out and play some golf tomorrow and hopefully that’s enough.”

Stallings, a 37-year-old three-time winner on the tour, started the day out of the top 20 and got in range of the leaders when a 36-foot birdie dropped at the eighth to go seven-under. It was his third birdie of the day, and two more at 14 and 15 gave him a share of the lead.

“The birdie at eight, Ben Martin was in my group and had a putt beside me right before me that he lipped out,” Stallings said. “I had a good visual, but still got lucky.”

A victory would be his first since the 2014 Farmers Insurance Open and would qualify him for the Masters next week. He has not played in Augusta since a missed cut in 2014.

Earlier in the week, on Friday, reigning Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama withdrew after nine holes of his second round due to a neck injury.

The winner of this tournament will earn a berth in next week’s Masters if they have not already qualified.

Watch the Valero Texas Open throughout the weekend live on Sky Sports.

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