Adam Hadwin produced a flawless performance to open up a four-shot lead after the third round of the Valspar Championship in Tampa.
Hadwin, who hit the headlines in January with an astonishing 59 at the CareerBuilder Challenge, fired a composed four-under 67 over the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook and kept a bogey off his card as he moved to 14 under for the tournament.
Patrick Cantlay, back on the PGA Tour after a three-year absence due to a troublesome back injury, raced up the leaderboard and into outright second after he returned a brilliant 66, but Open champion Henrik Stenson goes into the final day seven behind Hadwin following another frustrating 71.
But the day belonged to Hadwin as he maintained the form that saw him surge into the halfway lead with a remarkable back-nine 28 in the second round.
The Canadian extended his advantage with a solid birdie at the opening hole, and his sharp short game proved vital in a run of five pars before breaking the run when he converted a wedge to six feet at the seventh.
Hadwin negotiated the next four holes in par and enjoyed a bonus birdie at the 12th when he drained a 35-foot putt, and even better was to follow at the 15th as he holed a monster from 55 feet for an impressive two.
The 29-year-old, chasing his first PGA Tour victory, looked in danger of blotting his card at the last after pulling his three-wood left from the tee, but he hit a good second from the rough to the fringe and nailed a confident six-foot putt for his par.
Cantlay emerged as Hadwin’s closest challenger, capping a bogey-free round with a 30-foot birdie putt for his fifth gain of the day on the final green, while first-round leader Jim Herman followed bogeys at 15 and 16 with a birdie at 17 which salvaged a 71 and got him back to nine under.
Stenson again struggled to recapture the form he showed in his opening 64, failing to break par for the second day running as he dropped his second shot of the day at the 16th.
The Open champion remained at seven under alongside PGA Tour veteran JJ Henry, who enjoyed a run of five birdies in seven holes around the turn in a 67 which propelled him 15 places up the leaderboard.
Defending champion Charl Schwartzel also made a big move in the right direction as he opened with three birdies over the first five holes before his sixth gain of the day at the last completed a 67 and lifted him to six under par.
