Apr 27, 2024; Avondale, Louisiana, USA; Rafael Campos looks on from the tenth fairway during the third round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images Andrew Novak and Puerto Rico’s Rafael Campos kept up the pressure all day to shoot dueling 9-under-par 62s on Saturday and tie for the lead heading into the final round of Butterfield Bermuda Championship in Southampton, Bermuda.
As good as Novak and Campos were to reach 16-under par for the tournament, Wesley Bryan was one shot better in the third round amid a steady wind to tie the tournament record with a 10-under 61. Bryan moved up 42 spots into sole possession of fourth place at 13 under.
Second-round leader Justin Lower (68) was alone in third place at 15 under.
Novak shot a 7-under 29 on the front nine, birdied two of the first five holes after the turn and cruised home with four consecutive pars. Campos birdied each of the last four holes in the front nine and three of the last four on the back nine for his 62.
“Luckily, we had not much wind early and so I was able to get a nice rhythm going early in the round,” Novak said. “We really didn’t start feeling much wind until about the sixth hole and by then I’m 5 under through six. So I picked up a little bit then and carried some momentum (into) some downwind holes and was able to take advantage of that.”
Novak and Campos, each seeking their first PGA Tour victory, delivered their lowest round of their careers. Novak is making his 85th start, while Campos is in his 80th start.
Not only is Campos trying to earn his PGA care for the 2025 season, he is playing after his wife gave birth to the couple’s daughter this week.
“I held my daughter (and) I thought about in like 20 minutes I had to go to the airport,” Campos said. “I do want to provide for them as much as I can, so we’re here and fortunate. Everything went well and we got our flights in and we were able to get here on Thursday morning and make our tee time. Obviously, it’s a bonus that I’m doing well this week.”
Campos was equal parts dreading the windy conditions, while also embracing them after he won on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2019 on a windy day.
“It was very windy today, especially at the end, but it does give me confidence,” Campos said. “The harder it gets, the better it is for me, I believe. I have to admit I’m not the best ball-striker, but I can move my way around the course trying to keep trajectories down and all those things.”
Lower was tied for the lead with one hole to play in the third round but his tee shot at No. 18 found the penalty area and he finished with a bogey 5. He shot 1-over 36 on the back nine, with a bogey 5 at No. 11 and a birdie at the par-5 No. 17.
“I was fuming pretty good there after the tee shot (at 18) and going up to the drop and whatnot, but just like I’m still playing well, still have a chance,” Lower said. “My caddie did a good job keeping me in it.”
Lower considered the wind unplayable late in his round.
“I think if a top-10 or top-15 player in the world was here and they wanted to stop, I think the rules officials would have said, ‘Yeah, we’ll stop,’ ” he said. “… If we would have said ‘I don’t feel comfortable playing in this,’ we would have been told ‘tough’ and to proceed with the round. So that’s how I feel about it.”
Bryan now shares the tournament record low round with Taylor Pendrith (second round, 2021) and Alex Noren (first round, 2022). His 29 on the back nine tied a tournament record, and he had two eagles Saturday to give him three in the tournament.
His memorable round came after a long night.
“I’ll be honest, woke up this morning on very, very little sleep,” Bryan said. “Stayed up for the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson (boxing) match and that didn’t finish until about, shoot, 2 in the morning. It was one of those spectacle events that I just felt I needed to watch.”
A group of three tied for fifth place at 12 under included Lucas Glover (66), Troy Merritt (66) and Sam Ryder (68). Glover and Merritt moved up five spots Saturday, while Ryder dropped one spot.
–Field Level Media
