Martin follows birdies into Shriners Open lead

Ben Martin must have been thinking to himself, “Gee, isn’t this great?”

For six straight holes, Martin was draining birdie putts Saturday at TPC Summerlin, catapulting him into the third-round lead at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

He finished with a remarkable 9-under-par 62, equaling the tournament’s best round, and is at 17-under 196 entering today’s final round.

Martin leads Russell Knox, the co-leader after two rounds, by two strokes. Knox shot a bogey-free 66.

Jimmy Walker, who also posted a 62, and Andrew Svoboda trail Martin by four strokes.

“I felt comfortable from the first hole when I made a 20-footer for birdie,” Martin said. “So I was very confident with my putter.”

Martin’s stretch of birdies on his back nine began at No. 11 and continued through 16. By then, he had caught Walker, who had held the lead briefly, and Knox, who had passed Walker, to take the lead.

“I’ve played that stretch of holes well all week,” Martin said. “I’m striking the ball well, and I’m giving myself a chance on a lot of these holes.”

Martin, a 27-year-old from Greenwood, S.C., who has yet to win in 56 tries on the PGA Tour, is coming off his best year as a pro. He won $1,482,836 last year, had three third-place finishes and was 76th in the FedEx Cup points standings.

But he never has been in this position and knows what’s ahead of him today.

“I don’t think you can play safe out here,” Martin said. “There’s too many good players. I’m going to grind and try to make a lot of birdies.”

His closest pursuer, Knox, needed only 27 putts to complete his round.

“That’s a miracle,” Knox said. “The putter has been great all week. I just hope it continues one more day.”

Walker said his 62 probably can be credited to practice sessions with renowned golf instructor Butch Harmon on Monday and Tuesday at Rio Secco Golf Club in Henderson.

“We did a couple of swing things,” Walker said. “It was just a matter of me going out and doing it.”

Walker kept the ball in play off the tee, giving himself chances to score on a course that was softened up by light rain Saturday morning.

“I hit a lot of greens, and I had a lot of good looks,” Walker said. “It was fun out there.”

Kevin Streelman also had a lot of fun. He, too, went on a birdie run from Nos. 11 to 16 as part of his round of 63. He’s tied for fifth with defending champion Webb Simpson, Las Vegan Scott Piercy and Brooks Koepka at 201.

“When the wind’s down, it’s out there,” Streelman said. “The greens were a little softer than the last two days, and my putter was going good. When it’s like that, I feel like I can attack more.”

Andrew Putnam, who shared the second-round lead with Knox, fell out of contention with a 73. He began his round with bogeys on two of his first three holes and is nine strokes off the lead.

Everyone will be chasing Martin today. And if history holds up, he’ll be holding the Waterford crystal trophy on the 18th green this afternoon. The past three Shriners Open winners — Simpson, Ryan Moore and Kevin Na — had the lead after three rounds.

“I didn’t make any mistakes,” Martin said. “But for me, the best thing I can do is try to play the same exact way. That means I probably won’t know where I stand the whole day. I’ll just keep my head down and add them up after 72 holes.”

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.