Houston Open: Ben Taylor and Justin Rose in contention as Tony Finau stays ahead | Golf News

Tony Finau heads into the final round on 15 under and four clear of England’s Ben Taylor, with Justin Rose in a share of third; Watch the Houston Open final round on Sunday from 6pm live on Sky Sports Golf

Tony Finau holds a four-shot lead at the Houston Open

Tony Finau takes a four-shot advantage into the final round of the PGA Tour’s Cadence Bank Houston Open, with English pair Ben Taylor and Justin Rose leading the chasing pack.

Finau carded two birdies in a bogey-free 68 at Memorial Park Golf Course, moving him to 15 under and seeing him match the 54-hole tournament record.

The world No 15 opened with seven straight pars before holing from 20 feet at the par-four eighth, with Finau adding another from a similar distance at the par-four 14th to remain in a commanding position to win a fifth PGA Tour title.

Tony Finau is already a two-time winner on the PGA Tour in 2022

“That was a really good round,” Finau said. “I think the score doesn’t say that, but I think I played better than yesterday. You know, yesterday I shot 62, but today that 68 I thought was pretty impressive for the conditions.

“I hit the driver as good as I’ve ever hit it. Today I hit all 13 fairways, which is something I don’t think I’ve ever done on my career on the PGA Tour. So that was super important and I was able to knock a couple of birdies in because of that.”

Taylor mixed six birdies with a lone bogey to card a round-of-the-day 65 and jump into second spot on 11 under, with Rose in a three-way tie for third and seven strokes back after a third-round 66.

“We knew we had to stay very patient,” said Taylor, chasing a maiden PGA Tour title. “We made one bogey which was on the 10th and that was actually one of the easiest shots, it was in the middle of the fairway. We certainly stole a couple out there and we hit some great shots and we capitalized when we could and it was nice to steal one of the last two for 65.”

Ben Taylor will play alongside Tony Finau on the final day

Rose is tied-third with Wyndham Clark and Tyson Alexander, while former US Open champion Gary Woodland is a further stroke back and in a share of sixth with Joel Dahmen.

Scotland’s Russell Knox and England’s Aaron Rai are part of the large group on six under heading into the final day, while Scottie Scheffler – who could have moved back to world No 1 with a victory – is tied-25th after a third-round 71.

Watch the Houston Open throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage concludes on Sunday from 6pm on Sky Sports Golf.