PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic (AP) — Joel Dahmen shot a 1-under 71 on Saturday to take a three-stroke lead into the final round of the Corales Puntacana Championship as he tries to complete a wire-to-wire victory at the site of his only PGA Tour victory.
Dahmen won the 2021 event. With a victory Sunday, he would would get a two-year exemption after narrowly keeping his PGA Tour card last year.
Dahmen had a 17-under 199 total, He opened with rounds of 62 and 66 to break the tournament 36-hole record.
Michael Thorbjornsen, the Stanford alum who earned a card through the PGA Tour University ranking, was tied for second with Chan Kim and Garrick Higgo at 14 under. Kim shot 69, and Thorbjornsen and Higgo had 70s.
Vince Whaley (66), Jeremy Paul (67) and Ben Martin (67) were 13 under.
Ben Polland, set to defend his title next week in the PGA Professional Championship, was tied for 54th at 3 under after a 72.
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