OAKVILLE, Ontario - Top-ranked Dustin Johnson used a fast start and a late eagle to grab a share of the lead Saturday in the RBC Canadian Open.
Johnson shot a 7-under-par 65 in the third round at Glen Abbey Golf Club to match Byeong Hun An (66), Whee Kim (67) and Kevin Tway (68) at 17-under 199 after 54 holes.
"I like the golf course. I feel like my game's in really good form; I've got a lot of confidence in it," said Johnson, who tied for second at the event in 2013 and 2016.
Johnson birdied the first three holes and five of the first six, then rebounded from two back-nine bogeys with a birdie-birdie-eagle run. He's seeking his third victory of the season and 19th on the PGA Tour.
"I'm going to have to go out and play really well tomorrow," Johnson said. "There's definitely low numbers out here. There's a lot of guys right around the lead, and somebody's going to go shoot low. Hopefully it's me."
Johnson insisted he's only popular in Canada by proxy - fiancée Paulina Gretzky is the daughter of NHL great Wayne Gretzky.
"Well, I can thank Wayne for that," Johnson said. "There's a lot of Gretzky fans out there, and so they tend to pull for me, which, 'Thanks, Wayne, I appreciate that.' I do get a lot of love up here, and the fans have been great this week."
Tway, the second-round leader, is trying to win his first PGA Tour title.
"Chasing the lead or holding the lead, it doesn't matter. Just play your game," Kim said. "Everybody's going to say the same thing. It doesn't matter."
Former University of Georgia standout Hudson Swafford (67) was tied for fifth at 13-under 203 with Rory Sabbatini (68). Six golfers were another stroke back in seventh.
Baylor School graduate Keith Mitchell (69) was tied for 43rd at 7-under 209, and another former Red Raiders standout, Stephan Jaeger (76), was 77th at par.
Jimenez still ahead
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland - Miguel Angel Jimenez shot a par 72 in blustery conditions to remain 9 under overall and two shots ahead going to the final round of the Senior British Open.
Jimenez had as many bogeys as birdies (four) but stayed ahead of the pursuing pack on the Old Course at St. Andrews. Only 13 men broke par in the third round as winds gusted up to 25 mph.
Tied for second after Saturday's third round were 2017 tournament champion Bernhard Langer (73) of Germany, Tom Pernice (71) and Kirk Triplett (73) of the United States and Canada's Stephen Ames (74).
A dozen others - including 68-year-old Tom Watson, a three-time Senior British Open winner and five-time British Open champion, though never at St. Andrews - were within four strokes of the leader.
Tied in Germany
HAMBURG, Germany - Bryson DeChambeau shared a one-shot lead with Richard McEvoy heading to the final round of the European Open, with each seeking his first European Tour title.
DeChambeau started the third round ahead by a shot, but McEvoy carded a 3-under 69 to grab the lead at 12-under 204. DeChambeau tied him when he closed with a birdie for a 70 at Green Eagle Golf Courses.
Right behind them were Masters champion Patrick Reed (69) and Matthias Schwab (70).
McEvoy's momentum - he went out in 32 - was stalled by a three-hour delay for lightning in the area. Unlike the Englishman, DeChambeau was grateful for the stop in play. It gave him time to refocus and get his game back in order, and he made three birdies on the back nine. He is trying to become the first American to win this event in 38 years.
Challenging winds
GULLANE, Scotland - Ariya Jutanugarn and Amy Yang led the Ladies Scottish Open by one stroke after an increasingly tough scoring day in the third round.
None of the top five broke par as the wind picked up in the afternoon and grew to a howling 35 mph at Gullane Golf Club.
Ariya and Yang each shot a 2-over 73 and were 8-under 205 after 54 holes. Ariya bogeyed four holes before making an eagle on the par-5 16th from 40 yards out. Yang birdied her last hole to join Ariya at the top after three bogeys on the back nine.
Their closest challenger was Minjee Lee (71). Haeji Kang (71) and So Yeon Ryu (72) were another shot back, with Carlota Ciganda (68) alone in sixth at 5 under.
Lietzke dead at 67
ATHENS, Texas - Bruce Lietzke, the fun-loving, draw-hitting PGA Tour winner whose practice regime - or lack of one - spawned an often-told spoiled banana story, died Saturday of brain cancer. He was 67.
Lietzke's family said he died at his Athens ranch.
"Our PGA Tour family lost a treasured member with the death of Bruce Lietzke," PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said in a released statement. "He touched on parts of five decades as a player, competed in 700 tournaments as a member of the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions, and recorded a total of 20 victories. But to celebrate Bruce Lietzke's life properly, we offer praise to the great family man and the cherished friend to many."
With family, fishing and a large muscle car collection to tend to, the 13-time PGA Tour winner had little time or desire to tinker with a trusted swing that didn't need tinkering - as the banana story hilariously illustrated. It started at the final event in 1984, when Lietzke told caddie Al Hansen he wouldn't touch his clubs again until the 1985 opener. The unbelieving Hansen put the banana in Lietzke's golf bag as a test, only to discover the rotten fruit still there in January.
Tweeted two-time U.S. Open winner Curtis Strange: "We hunted, we fished, but most importantly, we all laughed with 'Lieky.' He was truly one of the good guys and will be missed."