With the final group of Ryan Palmer and Sean O'Hair submitting middling performances so far this Sunday, the field was wide open for a golfer to make a move at the top of the leaderboard. Hunter Mahan has done exactly that, and the 28-year-old American now finds himself leading the Bridgestone Invitational.
Mahan submitted birdies on 3, 4, and 5 to work his way to nine under par, and two more birds at 8 and 9 punctuated a sterling 30 on the front nine. Mahan has since cooled somewhat, but has made par on each of the three holes since.
This makes 23 straight holes on which Mahan has avoided bogey, going back to Saturday's round, and his nine birdies in that span have put him on a scorching pace right when it matters the most. With Palmer and O'Hair at +1 and -1 on the day, respectively, Mahan is clearly working from an advantage the rest of the way in.
Keep tuned to this StoryStream for more updates, follow the live leaderboard here, and check our golf blog at Waggle Room for more updates.