ROBERT GARRIGUS'S LEAD SHRINKS FROM FUR TO ON E

 VALSPAR LEADER ONE STEP AWAY

FROM SLOW PLAY PENALTY
FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE

PALM HARBOR, Florida – Robert Garrigus walked the 50 yards or so up to the 14th green at Innisbrook, walked back to his ball in the rough and began to assess his situation.
Bad move. Or at least, a bad time.
Already on the clock, the Valspar Championship leader was given a bad-time assessment that put him one step from a penalty stroke.
“The first time in 17 years as a professional that I’ve ever got a bad time on the golf course,” said Garrigus, who saw what once was a four-shot lead shrink to one by the time he completed his 1-under 70 on Saturday.
Playing partner Kevin Na also incurred a bad time on the previous hole, when he spent too long assessing a swirling breeze on the 13th tee. It wasn’t until the final hole that the duo were taken off the clock.
While neither man disputed the bad time, they also suggested they’d become victims of circumstances.
It began when Pat Perez lost his tee shot left of the fairway at No.3, requiring a return to the tee while Garrigus and Na waited. Then while Perez and Justin Rose put things into high gear, Garrigus needed a ruling at No.5.
Two holes later, Garrigus and Na were put on the clock.
“We were basically 10 minutes behind,” Na acknowledged. “Yeah, we were out of position but was that really our fault? No.”
Said Garrigus: “When Pat is playing bad, he takes about four seconds to hit each shot. It’s kind of unfair. … It wasn’t that bad. I’ve played a lot slower in twosomes before.”
Na has carried a reputation as a slowpoke for years, most infamously while paired with Matt Kuchar in THE PLAYERS Championship’s final round in 2010. That was during a period when he struggled to commit to making a swing.
This time, though, Na even got the thumbs-up from the speedy Garrigus. “Kevin has become a lot faster,” he said.
Na’s effort to speed up the pace might have cost him a birdie at the par-3 17th, where he missed a 15-foot try when he wanted another look at his line.
“We weren’t finalising the putt,” he said. “I’m about to back off, and Kenny [Harms, his caddie] goes, ‘You’d better go.’ I kind of peeked out in the fairway and there’s Gary [Young, rules official] on the cart with a little clock. OK, we’ve got to go.”
Garrigus goes into Sunday's final round with scores of 69-66-70 for 205 - a shot ahead of Na (70-68-68).
US Open champion Justin Rose is three off the pace after rounds of 71, 68 and 69 for 208.
Scot Russell Knox is joint 24th on 213 (70-73-70)

THIRD ROUND 
Par 213 (3x71) Players from USA unless stated
205 Robert Garrigus 69 66 70
206 Kevin Na 70 68 68
207 John Senden (Australia) 72 71 64
208 Justin Rose (England) 71 68 6 9
209 Retief Goosen (S Africa) 72 73 64, Charley Hoffmann 70 72 67, Scott Langley 71 69 69
210 Luke Donald (England) 71 72 67, Jason Kokrak 74 68 68
211 George McNeill 73 71 67, Ted Potter jun 73 71 67, Will MacKenize 73 70 68, James Driscoll 73 70 68, Freddie Jacobson (Sweden) 70 71 70, David Hearn (Canada) 71 70 70, Jim Furyk 71 69 71.

SELECTED SCORES
212 Jordan Spieth 71 70 71
213 Russell Knox (Scotland) 70 73 70 (T24)
215 Harris English 72 69 74 (T50)
217 Padraig Harrington (Ireland) 75 70 72 (T65)
218 Darren Clarke (N Ireland) 71 74 73, Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium) 69 73 76 (T70)
+players with totals of 219 and worse were eliminated on the third-round cut.

TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

CLICK HERE