Webb Simpson posted a 3-under 67 on Saturday at a sweltering Colonial Country Club and took the third-round lead at the Dean and Deluca Invitational.

 
Simpson is at 9-under 201, two strokes better than Danny Lee (69) and Paul Casey (68) who are tied at 7-under.

Stewart Cink and Kevin Kisner round out the top-5 at 6-under, three strokes off the lead. Scott Piercy who co-led with Simpson, Lee, and Casey after 36 holes, shot a 2-over 72 and is five shots behind Simpson at 4-under (T8).

Jon Rahm and Sean O’Hair both shot even-par 70 and are tied for sixth at 5-under.

Defending champion Jordan Spieth shot a 68, despite losing his caddie at the turn due to sickness. He is at 4 under along with Piercy, Sergio Garcia (71), Bill Haas (68), and Emiliano Grillo, whose 65 was the low round of the day.

Two-time Dean and Deluca champion Phil Mickelson (2000, 2008) followed a second-round 5-over 75 with a 1-under 69 Saturday to move to T32 (10 strokes behind Webb Simpson).

Bullets

• Simpson has led/co-led after the third round five previous times in his PGA TOUR career, winning twice: 2011 Zurich Classic of New Orleans (T2), 2011 Wyndham Championship (won), 2012 Wells Fargo Championship (4), 2012 Greenbrier Classic (T7), 2013 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (won).
• The third-round leader/co-leader has won 10 of 27 stroke-play events this season, most recently Kevin Chappell at the Valero Texas Open.
• Casey, who is only two back, has a final-round scoring average at Colonial CC of 67.00. In six attempts, he has never carded a round over par on the weekend in Fort Worth.
• Cink is seeking his seventh PGA TOUR victory, but first since winning the 2009 Open Championship. This week represents his 179th start since winning at Turnberry in a playoff over Tom Watson.
• Rahm trailed by three strokes after 54 holes of the Farmers Insurance Open in February and carded a final-round 65 for a three-stroke victory.
• Spieth, four back entering the final round, is hoping to join Ben Hogan as the only players to win back-to-back DEAN & DELUCA Invitationals, with Hogan performing the feat twice (1946-47 and 1952-53).
• Colonial CC shows its teeth over the stretch of holes from Nos. 3-5, known as the “Horrible Horseshoe.” During the third round, the holes played as the third toughest (4.250), the most difficult (3.306) and the second toughest (4.292), respectively.

Top 10

1 Webb Simpson -9
T2 Danny Lee -7
T2 Paul Casey -7
T4 Stewart Cink -6
T4 Kevin Kisner -6
T6 Jon Rahm -5
T6 Sean O’Hair -5
T8 Scott Piercy -4
T8 Jordan Spieth -4
T8 Sergio Garcia -4
T8 Bill Haas -4
T8 Emiliano Grillo -4

Video Highlights

Quotable

“I’m thrilled to have the lead. I think it’s been a while. I don’t know how long it’s been. But excited for the day tomorrow. Good, solid day. I was happy to go out in the last group today and hit some good shots, make some good putts in this environment to kind of and get me ready for tomorrow. Understanding we got a different wind tomorrow, so golf course will play differently. Hopefully I come out ready. I been saying every day that I’m just trying to shoot under par each round and I’ve done it so far.”
–Webb Simpson, Leader thru 54 holes

How to beat the Texas heat?

"I’ve just been drinking about 1,000 ounces of water a day.”https://t.co/tQ2sGFTBct pic.twitter.com/0JOS0dBDkB

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 28, 2017

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