Sepp Straka confirms, Victor Perez responds, Antoine Rozner remains at the dock

Author of the best card of the week on the Stadium Course the day before, the Austrian Sepp Straka (photo) took sole control of the tournament and will start this Sunday with a 4-shot lead over his main rivals.

By signing a card of 64 Friday on the difficult route of Pete Dye Stadium Course of theAmerican Express at La Quinta Sepp Straka had struck a major blow.

This Saturday the Vienna native confirmed that he would be the man to beat in the final round in the Coachella Valley with a second consecutive 64 and a third bogey-free card!

Despite good resistance from the American veteran Charley Hoffman in the lead at mid-tournament and author of a solid 3rd round (69) on the Stadium Course, Straka widened the gap on his pursuers thanks to a 30 round at the La Quinta Country Club.

He has a 4-shot advantage which would have been even wider if the Ryder Cup player had not missed two relatively short putts in the last third of his course.

Jason Day, Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay in the mix

Among the other players to have shown great resilience on the Stadium Course, note the 67 of Jason Day.

If the Australian repeats his performance this Sunday who knows if he could not benefit from a drop in speed from the double winner on the PGA Tour.

The former world number 1 would like to increase his total of victories on the PGA Tour to 14 and thus join his compatriot Adam Scott.

With respective cards of 66 and 67, synonymous with 5 and 6 moves behind, Patrick Cantlay et Justin Thomas have also placed themselves among the contenders for the title.

The two Americans whose last successes date from 2022 will also have to count on a “less good move” from the Austrian leader.

Victor Perez returns to victory

On the French side, no miracle for the triple winner on the DP World Tour, Antoine Rozner. Weighed down by his card of 79 on Friday, the Parisian settled for a 70 during the third round at La Quinta Country Club and finished the tournament in par.

We will remember that for his first outing on the PGA Tour as a member, Rozner shone during the first day. He will be at the start of Farmers Insurance Open next week at Torrey Pines.

This third round on the easiest course of the Californian triptych, on the other hand, smiled on Victor Perez. The Tarbais, author of a card of 68, gained 14 places and climbed into the top 50 at the dawn of the last day.

Since the start of the week, Perez has distinguished himself with an excellent short game. Of the 16 times he missed the green in regulation, he managed to save par on 15 occasions. This was again the case 4 times on Saturday. A reassuring statistic for a player whose previous tournament appearance dates back 7 weeks.

Blades Brown down the drain

In the disappointment department, we note the clear decline of the Canadian Nick Taylorwinner last week in Hawaii of the Sony Open and who signed one of the worst cards of the day at the Nicklaus Tournament (73) while his 65 on the first day on the most demanding course had placed him among the favorites .

Finally the young American Blades Brownwill not cash his first check in his young professional life. Well off to a good start, the 17-year-old faltered on the last 5 holes of the Stadium Course with two bogeys and a double.

He is one of the notable eliminations with Tom Kim, Sungjae Im or Tony Controversy had knee surgery in October.

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