Harold Varner III dropped a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole of the third round to take the lead at the Saudi International in King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia.
Varner, who finished T22 at the American Express two weeks in his only PGA Tour start of this calendar year, rolled through Saturday with a 68 at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club.
Now at 12 under for the tournament, Varner sits a shot ahead of Spaniard Adri Arnaus (-11) and two shots up on Tommy Fleetwood.
“I’m just hanging in there,” Varner III said after his round. “I did a good job of just slowing down and just doing my job. I love competing. I mean, the greatest thing in life is competing and just working at it.”
The Saudi event, which is no longer associated with the DP World Tour (formerly the European Tour), is now part of the Asian Tour. Saudi Arabia made a $200 million investment in the tour last year.
The biggest news of the event came earlier in the week when, after an opening-round 73 at the Saudi International on Thursday, Bryson DeChambeau has withdrawn from the event citing injuries to both his left hand and left hip.
He took to Twitter on Saturday, saying “everyone needs to chill.” DeChambeau has tossed aside claims that his excessive workout schedule and weight gain in his pursuit of distance was the cause of his latest injury, stating that he slipped and fell on Tuesday.