Stricker shot two eagles, two birdies and three bogeys
Steve Stricker is the third round leader at the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village despite dropping three shots in the last five holes.
The American ended the day on 12 under, three clear of Jonathan Byrd, with Matt Kuchar and Brandt Jobe on eight under.
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy is a further shot back after a round of 71.
World number one Luke Donald had a mixed day, shooting a one-over 73, to head into the final round eight shots off the lead.
Stricker is seeking his 10th US PGA tour crown, his first since his successful title defence at last July’s John Deere Classic, and looked in great form as he began his round.
Starting with a three-shot cushion from round two, he eagled the second and fifth holes before bogeying the sixth, but responded with birdies at the seventh and eighth.
But a lot of that good work was undone in the closing stages, as he he missed three putts from less than seven feet over the last five holes.
His tee shot on the 18th landed in the middle of a sand-filled divot, sending his approach shot into thick rough behind the green, but he chipped out to three feet and managed to sign off with a nerve-calming par.
“All of a sudden, things seemed pretty hard, when at the start of the day, things were really going my way,” he said afterwards.
“But I understand that, and I understand that’s the nature of this game. So you add them up at the end, and it was a 69. And it was a good score.”
Byrd had a much more steady round, working his way up the leaderboard into secod place from two under at the turn, with just one bogey at the 11th before ending the day with a birdie.
Kuchar had an inconsistent day, reeling off four birdies in a row at one point before bogeys at the 15th and 18th.
McIlroy had an extremely mixed day, including a double-bogey at the fourth and an eagle at the 15th. He birdied the sixth and 13th holes but carded a bogey at the 11th.
“Even though I didn’t play my best stuff today, I’m still in a decent position going into tomorrow, and that’s all you can ask for,” he said afterwards.
