SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda — Alex Nolen had an up-and-down final two holes Saturday, birdieing one hole to regain the lead and parring the other for a 4-under 67 and a 4-under 67 at Butterfield Bermuda. He held a one-shot lead in the championship. .
Nolen will be aiming for his first PGA Tour victory and his first world championship since the 2018 French Open, when a Swede played in the Ryder Cup.
“It’s just a dream come true to have a chance to win and be in the final group on Saturday and Sunday. I really enjoyed today,” Nolen said. “Maybe it was a little cold at the start, but in the end I played well, about 4 under. I’m very happy and satisfied and happy to still be in first place.”
For most of the breezy day in Port Royal, Nolen was trying to get noticed in front of Camilo Villegas and Ryan Moore.
Villegas hit a long iron to about 12 feet on the par-5 17th hole for a two-putt birdie and was tied with Nolen at one point. Villegas finished with a par of 65, placing him in the final group for the second consecutive week.
Moore approached the green on the 17th and saw it roll down a steep slope into the rough, giving him a solid birdie chance. He shot a 67, had five straight birdies on the front nine, and was two shots behind Germany’s Matti Schmidt, who had an eagle and an birdie to close out the round with a 65.
Nolen made a nifty throw to two feet from the collar of the rough behind the 17th green for birdie. Even more impressive was the par on the 18th. His approach was cut short and he rolled down a steep slope back to the fairway. He came within three feet of the hole and hit a pitch for par.
Nolen shot 19-under 194 and played the final 40 holes without a bogey.
On a week like this, when the winds are manageable and Port Royal is the shortest course on the PGA Tour, you need a lot of birdies to keep up the pace. Nolen had three birdies in five holes around the turn and hit several good par putts.
“We’ll have a lot of people chasing tomorrow, so we might have some low scores,” Nolen said.
Three of the closest pursuers came to the Bermuda Championship looking to earn a full card on next year’s PGA Tour.
Villegas was ranked 223rd before breaking into the top 150 after finishing runner-up in Mexico last week, but is now within the top 125. The PGA Tour season ends next week.
“We’ve got to keep doing the same thing for three days, one more day. We’ll see what happens,” he said.
Moore was 140th and Schmidt 148th.
“In my position, this is a huge deal,” Schmidt said. “I think he’s number 148 on FedEx’s list right now. I just need to keep doing what I do and get another good finish.”
You can think about winning more than keeping a full deck of cards.
Stewart Cink, who turned 50 this year and is challenging for the PGA Tour Championship, shot a 66 and was just three shots behind. Adam Scott shot a 65 and was in the group by one stroke. Scott sank a 40-foot putt on the par-3 16th, birdied the 17th, and ended his birdie streak with a 25-foot putt.