Playing this season on a Career Money Exemption, World No. 620 Bo Van Pelt fired a 5-under-par 33-33=66 in the weather-delayed third round of the Palmetto Championship at Congaree to post 7-under 206, up 15 places to T5, seven swings shy of the leader on the course Chesson Hadley. UPDATE: With R3 completed on Sunday, Van Pelt’s 66 was the low round, is T4 on the board, seven back of Hadley, and will play out of the penultimate twosome in R4 with non-member Garrick Higgo (68).
The 46-year-old owns 52 career top 10s in 436 events but none since a back-door T7 at the 2015 Travelers, where he was T25 after 54 holes (70-68-65-66). This is his first time in the top 10 at three-quarter mark since the 2015 RBC Heritage in nearby Hilton Head, where he was T8 before finishing T9 (69-68-67-69). After opening with 69-71, the Oklahoma State alum began T20 on 2-under, three short of the overnight top 10. He camouflaged one bogey with four birdies, including three straight at 12-14, adding a tap-in eagle-3 at 4 from 23 inches after a stellar approach from 251 yards. The Indiana native lost 0.560 strokes off-the-tee but gained 1.194 approaching and 2.253 around-the-green, currently ranked 4th in the latter with a cumulative 4.292.