Washington (AFP) – Jhonattan Vegas birdied six of the last eight holes on Saturday to grab a one-stroke Atlanta Open lead over Matt Kuchar, with each trying to end a PGA win drought. Venezuela’s Vegas, who turns 40 next month, tapped in for birdie at the par-5 18th to finish an eight-under par 63 and stand on 16-under 197 after 54 holes at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota.
“Nerves. We all feel it. That’s the beauty of it,” Vegas said. “It’s about managing that and trying to bring the game you know how to play back. I’m excited.”
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Kuchar, a 46-year-old American, went four-under on his last four holes to also shoot 63, closing with an eagle pitch-in from 92 feet in the fairway. “It was a risky shot trying to pull off a high spinner from where I was but it came out perfectly,” Kuchar said. “For it to go in was a very cool finish.”
American Maverick McNealy was third on 199 after his own 63, with countrymen Sahith Theegala and Patrick Fishburn sharing fourth on 201 and a trio on 202 including Australian Cam Davis, Canada’s Adam Svensson, and American Matt NeSmith.
Vegas has not won a PGA title since capturing back-to-back Canadian Open crowns in 2016 and 2017. He seeks his fourth career PGA victory, his first coming in the 2011 Bob Hope Classic, after right shoulder surgery in 2022 caused him to miss the 2023 campaign. “It has been a long two years for me, two surgeries on the same arm and all of that. It has been a long time but it’s starting to feel better and my game is starting to feel good,” Vegas said. “I know I can play. It’s kind of coming back. Stuff is starting to happen.”
His bogey-free round included four pairs of back-to-back birdies, gaining a stroke on all three par-5 holes. Vegas began his hot closing run with a 12-foot birdie putt at 11 and added a tap-in at the par-5 12th, birdies from about eight feet at 14 and 15, and tap-in birdies at the last two holes. He has hopes of ending a seven-year win drought.
“It has been a lot of headaches since that last win, times you have been close to winning and times you haven’t been, a lot of injuries, so obviously you have to dig deep and try and bring a lot of those memories back,” Vegas said. “I’m older now and a little more experienced. It’s staying calm out there and knowing that I know what to do is definitely the key.”
– ‘Snapping back’ –
Kuchar, ranked 125th, hasn’t had a top-10 finish this year. He seeks a 10th career PGA Tour title and his first since January 2019 at the Sony Open in Hawaii. “I think as pros we sometimes feel a long way away. Certainly this year has felt like a long way away for me,” Kuchar said. “But I think if you can plug the right ingredient in, pros are never that far away from snapping back. Hopefully we’ve kind of got the right ingredient in for this thing to maintain for another day, another week, another month, another year.”
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