Golf roundup: Kevin Chappell has one-shot lead at Texas Open as he seeks first PGA Tour win

Kevin Chappell found his swing late and moved a step closer to his first PGA Tour win when he birdied three of his final five holes and finished with a one-under-par 71 on Saturday, giving him a one-stroke lead after three rounds of the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio.

He is eight under through 54 holes. He was runnerup six years ago in the event and is ahead of first-round leader Branden Grace, who rallied with two-under 70, and John Huh. After an eagle-birdie finish, Huh shot 71.

“It was about finding a rhythm,” Chappell said. “I knew when I found it, I could extend it. You can get it going on the finishing stretch.”

Ryan Palmer, a West Texas native who cut through winds as strong as 25 mph, had the round of the day with a four-under 68. He’s joined at six under by second round co-leaders Bud Cauley (74) and Tony Finau (74), Sweden’s Carl Pettersson (71), 2013 Texas Open champ Martin Laird (71), Kevin Tway (72) and Australian Cameron Smith (73).

Chappell tied for seventh with Rory McIlroy at the Masters this month, and he got his late charge going Saturday after leaving an eagle putt short at the par-five 14th. He tapped in to gain a stroke, and he made good two holes later with a 12-foot birdie. He chipped to two feet on the downwind, 318-yard 17th and had another tap-in birdie.

Chappell, 30, flirted with trouble on the 18th when his second shot rolled next to a brook, but he had enough room for a full swing and reached the green to set up a two-putt par.

“I knew my game was in a good place,” said Chappell, who took the week off after Augusta to celebrate the second birthday of his oldest son, Wyatt. “I had played some really good rounds of golf.”

Grace lost his early tournament lead with a two-over 73 in the second round. But the South African rallied Saturday and had a lead until a bogey at No. 15.

“It was pretty irritating out there,” Grace said. “Pars out there are good. Just have to be patient.”

Gusts that blew past 20 mph kept scores high — there were 14 scores below par Saturday. On Friday 49 rounds were under par, and 69 sub-par scores were recorded Thursday.

Wiesberger has three-stroke lead in China

Bernd Wiesberger of Austria shot a three-under 69 Saturday to take a three-stroke lead into the final round of the Shenzhen International in China.

Wiesberger, who started the third round at Genzon Golf Club with a four-shot advantage, offset two bogeys with five birdies for 15-under 201 overall.

South African Dylan Frittelli was second after a 68 with a birdie-birdie finish. Frittelli’s countrymen Dean Burmester and George Coetzee were tied for third at 11 under, alongside England’s Ross Fisher and American David Lipsky.

Wiesberger has been in impressive form the last eight months, having not missed a cut since the PGA Championship with seven top-five finishes.

Alexander Levy recorded the round of the week with a 64 and is tied at 10-under with Bubba Watson, Gregory Bourdy and Liu Yan-Wei.

Hwang leads in Japan after shooting a 65

Hwang Jung-gon of South Korea fired a six-under 65 Saturday to grab a one-stroke lead after the third round of the Panasonic Open in Noda, Japan.

Hwang offset two bogeys with eight birdies at the Chiba Country Club to move to 10-under 203, one stroke ahead of three golfers, including Japan’s Mikumu Horikawa who had the day’s lowest score of 63.

Hiroshi Iwata of Japan and Prayad Marksaeng of Thailand both shot 67s and were also tied for second at nine-under 204.

Jason Knutzon of the United States, who led the first two rounds, struggled to a four-over 75 and is tied for 15th with four others. Defending champion Yuta Ikeda of Japan is tied for 20th and six strokes off the pace after a 67 for his best round of the tournament.