Shubhankar Sharma held his nerve to the end and held a two-shot lead Saturday going into the final round of the Mexico Championship in Mexico City.
Now the 21-year-old from India has one last round to hold off a few of golf’s biggest names.
Sharma stretched his lead to as many as four shots at Chapultepec Golf Club until he started dropping a few shots late on the back nine. After clipping a tree and going into the bunker on the 18th, he holed a 15-foot par putt for a 2-under-par 69. He was at 13-under 200 after three rounds.
That left him 18 holes away from capping off his amazing rise. Just three months ago, Sharma had yet to win a tournament outside India’s developmental circuit, didn’t have a European Tour card, and was No. 462 in the world. A victory in this World Golf Championship would be his third in his last eight starts and likely put him in the top 25.
His biggest test might come from the names on the leaderboard.
Phil Mickelson played bogey-free for a 65 that will put him in the last group with Sharma and Tyrrell Hatton of England, who had a 64. Also two shots behind were Masters champion Sergio Garcia and Rafa Cabrera Bello, who each had a 69.
Another shot back was Dustin Johnson, the No. 1 player in the world and defending champion, who managed a 68 despite playing the par 5s on the back nine in 1 over.
European — George Coetzee opened a two-shot lead heading into the final round of the Tshwane Open after a 3-under 68 in Pretoria, South Africa.
The overnight leader fired five birdies and two bogeys in his home city — and on the course where he’s a member — to move to 14 under overall.
Mikko Korhonen and Sam Horsfield are tied for second.
Coetzee is looking for a fourth European Tour title and a second at the Tshwane Open after winning this event in 2015. All of his previous wins have come on African soil.
Champions — Steve Stricker lost the Cologuard Classic lead when he drove into the water on the par-5 18th in a closing double bogey in Tucson, Ariz.
A year after losing a chance to win the event in his PGA Tour Champions debut when his 3-wood went left into the water on the final hole, Stricker did it again Saturday.
Stricker ended up with a 3-under 70, leaving him a stroke behind Tommy Tolles with a round left on Omni Tucson National’s Catalina Course. Tolles saved par on 18 for a 70 after following Stricker into the water
Tolles had an 11-under 135 total.
LPGA — Florida teenager Nelly Korda shot a third-round 7-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead at the LPGA Tour’s Women’s World Championship after Danielle Kang made her first bogeys of the tournament to slip back into second place in Singapore.
Korda had eight birdies and one bogey as she finished with 15-under 201 heading into the final round at the Sentosa Golf Club.
Kang started the day leading by four strokes and finished trailing Korda by one after a 70.
Kang dropped her first shot of the tournament on the 15th after going 50 holes without making a bogey, then made another mistake on 18.
Brooke Henderson had a bogey-free 65, matching Korda for the low round of the day, to join Minjee Lee (68) in a tie for third at 11 under after an extraordinary display with the putter.
‘‘I had nine putts on the back nine, which is really awesome,’’ Henderson said. ‘‘Just a great day and got up-and-down when I needed to and climbed the leaderboard.’’
Michelle Wie birdied four of her first five holes for a 66 to finish five shots adrift on 10-under, alongside Jessica Korda (68), Jin Yong Ko (67) and Marina Alex (70), who bogeyed three of her last four holes after briefly threatening for the lead.
