Golf roundup: Kelly ties Cameron Percy atop Senior Open leaderboard

With a 2-under par third round, Jerry Kelly tied Cameron Percy atop the leaderboard of the ISPS Handa Senior Open in Perth, Scotland, on Saturday.

For Kelly, it was his second straight round of 2-under par 68 en route to being at 8-under 202 through three rounds. Meanwhile, Percy had his roughest afternoon of the week with a 1-over 71. The Australian started the event red hot with a 7-under 63.

Peter Baker (67, 5-under 205) and South Africa's Darren Fichardt (68, 4-under) resided in third and fourth place, respectively. Pat Perez (67), South African Ernie Els (71) and Austria's Markus Brier are all tied for fifth at three-under par.

Despite his position, Kelly, 59, remains focused on the round ahead of him.

"Yeah, we scoreboard watch, but it's still Saturday," he said. "So, there's no real emotions going on for that scoreboard. Just want to position yourself for tomorrow and you want to get the job done tomorrow and that's the key."

Nevertheless, he recognized how meaningful it would be to win a Senior Open Championship.

"Yeah, that would be one of the most special things at this stage of my career. Like any player, I might treasure that above all else."

Tim Petrovic was the round leader, shooting a 4-under that vaulted him 46 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 16th place.

Clark Dennis had a strong showing, as well. His 67 shot him up 21 spots to a tie for eighth place.

Charles Schwab Cup leader Stewart Cink (70) is tied for 31st at 3-over 213.

PGA Tour

PGA Tour newcomer Jackson Koivun looked like he was all business but it came with an incredibly fun third round in the 3M Open.

Koivun fired a 10-under-par 61 on the way to taking the lead at Blaine, Minnesota.

"It felt great," Koivun said. "It's what you work for. I definitely felt some nerves."

Koivun, in his just third tournament as a professional, moved to 20-under 193 and holds a three-shot lead on Ben Kohles and Argentina's Emiliano Grillo going to Sunday's final round at TPC Twin Cities.

Koivun, who announced last month that he would forgo his senior collegiate season at Auburn to turn pro, finished on a tear with two eagles on the backside that allowed him to play the final 10 holes in 9-under. That contributed to a tournament-record 28 on the backside, rolling in a 14-foot eagle putt on the last hole.

"I got a good break on (No. 9) and kind of hit the ground running with that," Koivun said.

Koivun was dialed in from the fairway on the final hole, with his approach shot on the mark to set up his final eagle.

"I had a pretty good number (into the green)," Koivun said.

Koivun's bogey-free round included an eagle 3 on No. 12.

Grillo and Kohles also were without bogeys on the way to posting 65s. Grillo eagled No. 18 shortly after Koivun accomplished that. Kohles, the first-round leader, had three birdies on both sides.

"That was my highlight of the day there on 18," Grillo said. "I hit it well, playing from the fairway like I wanted to out here and then gave myself a lot of opportunities, couldn't take advantage of them."

Koivun said he knows there's a huge test ahead as he aims for his first professional victory.

"I'm sure some of the pins will be tucked and we've got a lot of great players behind me, but just going to stick to my game plan and try to smile," Koivun said.

Michael Brennan (63) and Chandler Phillips (66) are tied for fourth place at 16 under.

"Played some really solid golf and it feels good," Brennan said. "Just hope to keep it going tomorrow."

Michael Kim, fresh off Friday's 59, was unable to maintain the momentum, shooting 70 and joining Denny McCarthy (64) and Billy Horschel (65) at 15 under.

"I was pleasantly surprised at how calm I was feeling heading to the first tee," Kim said. "Overall, I'm pretty happy with it, but a little disappointed that I'm five back after today."

Kim had only one birdie until No. 16 on Saturday.

"(Friday) was obviously fantastic, but in the big picture, I still want to win this tournament," Kim said.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler had his best round of the tournament with 64 to move to 14 under, holding a share of first place when he left the final green. Competing in the tournament for the first time, he posted an 8 under score on the backside, highlighted by an eagle with a chip from the greenside rough on the par-4 16th.

"I just tried to do my best to stay in it," Scheffler said.

Davis Thompson and Ireland's Seamus Power were early finishers with 63s, also among those at 14 under before other golfers got rolling. Brian Harman (66) is at 14 under as well.

Defending champion Kurt Kitayama shot 66 to move to 10 under.

LPGA

Jenny Shin carded a 1-under-par 71 to maintain her five-stroke lead heading into the final round of the Women's Scottish Open in North Ayrshire.

Shin recorded two birdies and a bogey at Dundonald Links to ascend to 12-under 204 for the tournament.

The 33-year-old South Korean is bidding for her first LPGA Tour win since capturing the now-defunct Volunteers of America Texas Shootout 10 years ago. The last LPGA Tour player to go 10 or more years between official victories was Vicki Fergon, who went 12 years and three months between wins at the 1984 S&H Golf Classic and the 1996 Michelob Light Heartland Classic.

"I've never been in this position (a five-shot lead), so I don't know how to feel (on Sunday)," Shin said. "I'm going to go and practice for a little bit and get a good feel for tomorrow so I'm not such a mess in the morning."

Shin made a birdie on the sixth hole and answered a bogey on the 10th hole by making another birdie on No. 11.

"That was a very tough round. I was quite nervous for the first five holes, so I'm really glad that I was able to finish the day in red numbers," she said. "It was a pretty boring and nerve-wracking day at the same time."

"That was a bit of a hiccup on No. 10. I changed my setup this week because of all the wind and out of habit, I lined up the putt and went back to my old setup. I shut the face. I knew what I was doing, so I was able to get back pretty easily."

Shin holds a five-stroke lead over Thailand's Pajaree Anannarukarn, who had three birdies during her bogey-free round of 69.

"I would say almost everything went well," Anannarukarn said. "I was driving the ball well and hitting it good out there. The putter was very hot today, so that was the key. It was a challenging day, and also, at the same time, I had good fun battling with the wind. It was a great day out there."

Japan's Erika Hara (71 on Saturday) and Germany's Esther Henseleit (73) sit at 5 under for the tournament.

Despite her troubles, Henseleit said she wasn't going to press as she attempts to record her first win since joining the LPGA Tour in 2020.

"It's really hard to press on this golf course, to be honest. Just no matter like if you want to take birdie or par, you kind of have to hit the same shots because they are the only possible shots," Henseleit said.

"So I don't think my game plan really changed, and yeah, I'm just trying to do my thing out there and hopefully tomorrow I can hit a few close and make some putts."

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Golf roundup: Kelly ties Cameron Percy atop Senior Open leaderboard