FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Eric Cole put himself in position for a shot at his first PGA Tour victory, starting fast and finishing with a season-best round for his first 54-hole lead.Cole birdied four of his first eight holes on way to a 7-under 63 on Saturday in third round at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial. His only bogey was sandwiched by birdies on the back nine.By matching the best round of the tournament, Cole got to 12-under 198 and one stroke ahead of Ryan Gerard, who finished his round of 68 with back-to-back birdies. Mac Meissner (67) and reigning U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun (68) were two strokes back. Spaun birdied with a blast out of a greenside bunker at the 428-yard 15th hole after bogeys on two of his previous three holes. Hogan’s Alley firmed up in the heat of a 90-degree day after rain earlier in the week, and it is expected to be even warmer Sunday. The scoring average for the third round was 71.2, after being under par each of the first two days.
“I kind of knew going into it that it was going to be a harder course, firmer conditions,” Cole said. “Getting off to that start and realizing how much harder the course was today was great.”
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