NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. — PGA Tour rookie Trevor Cone shot a 9-under 63 on Saturday at rainy Keene Trace to take the third-round lead in the Barbasol Championship.
Cone had a 17-under 199 total for a 1-stroke advantage over Lucas Glover and Vincent Norrman in the event co-sanctioned by the European tour.
Cone had a bogey-free round, with the tee times moved up because of the rain.
“We thought the greens might be a tad softer, but early on it wasn’t really raining hard enough for anything to change,” Cone said. “We got to probably 15 and it kind of started deluging, so the greens got a little softer.”
The 30-year-old former Virginia Tech player was 5 under after eight holes.
“Just got rolling,” Cone said. “Just played smart, fairways, greens, not get too aggressive. Just hoped the putter came alive and today it did. Hopefully, it continues tomorrow.”
The 43-year-old Glover, the leader after each of the first two rounds, had a 69 for his 11th straight round in the 60s.
“These young guys aren’t like when I was young. They’re ready to win now; there’s no learning curve anymore,” Glover said. “So, it’s going to be [what] all of us want tomorrow. It’s going to be a knock-down drag-out and it should be fun.”
The 2009 U.S. Open champion switched to a long putter two weeks ago at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. He tied for fourth that week in Detroit and tied for sixth last week in the John Deere Classic.
Norrman, from Sweden, had his second straight 67.
“It was a weird one,” Norrman said. “The weather was awful at times and the sun came out after that. And the golf was pretty good along the way.”
French player Adrien Saddier (67) was 15 under, with England’s Nathan Kimsey (67) and South Africa’s Jayden Schaper (68) at 14 under.
“The weather wasn’t the best,” Saddier said. “Just tried to stay in the moment, to enjoy the position I have on the leaderboard.”