Watney tipped to finish with a bang

Kohler, Wisconsin :  Nick Watney is one of the quietest players on the PGA Tour but the long-hitting American has a golden opportunity to finish the US PGA Championship with a major bang.

On a sun-splashed afternoon at Whistling Straits where the birdies flew thick and fast, Watney charged three strokes clear of a congested leaderboard with a superb six-under-par 66.

With his short game in sizzling form, the 29-year-old Californian birdied five of the first seven holes before ending a marathon day on the shores of Lake Michigan with a 13-under aggregate of 203 in the weather-hit tournament.

Steely focus

No one within four strokes of Watney's lead has won a major before but he accepts he will have to maintain steely focus in yesterday's final round if he is to secure a breakthrough triumph at the game's highest level.

"It's going to be a long day, it's going to be a tough day, but I'm really looking forward to it," he told reporters after ending the third round three shots ahead of fellow American Dustin Johnson and Britain's Rory McIlroy.

"At this point it's just another golf tournament. I think that's the best way for me to look at it. Obviously it's not, but I just need to go out there and keep doing what I'm doing."

Watney, who has triumphed twice on the PGA Tour since turning professional in 2003, felt the key to his third-round charge at Whistling Straits was his razor-sharp wedge play and his red-hot putting.

"I was spot on with those," he said after totalling only 25 putts.

"I'm playing very well, give myself as many chances as possible, I'm putting the best I have in a really long time. I wish I could putt like I did today consistently but I think it's more about just trusting it as opposed to anything physical. I'm trying to do that and it's working great this week."

Asked if he expected any added pressure trying to protect his lead in the final round yesterday when strong winds were forecast, he replied: "I can only control what I do. This is a tough golf course and these are the best players in the world. They're going to be coming, and it's going to be a long day. There are a lot of mistakes out there, so I just have to trust my game and give it my best." After 54 holes in the final major of the year, Watney's best has been good enough. If he can hang on by producing his best for 18 more holes, he will become the sixth first-time winner in the last seven majors.

Scores

203 Nick Watney (US) 69 68 66

206 Dustin Johnson (US) 71 68 67

Rory McIlroy (Britain) 71 68 67

207 Liang Wenchong (China) 72 71 64

Jason Day (Australia) 69 72 66

Martin Kaymer (Germany) 72 68 67

208 Steve Elkington (Australia) 71 70 67

Zach Johnson (US) 69 70 69

Jason Dufner (US) 73 66 69

Jim Furyk (US) 70 68 70

209 Bryce Molder (US) 72 67 70

Bubba Watson (US) 68 71 70

Matt Kuchar (US) 67 69 73

210 Simon Dyson (Britain) 71 71 68

Simon Khan (Britain) 69 70 71

211 Ernie Els (South Africa) 68 74 69

Stewart Cink (US) 77 68 66

Noh Seung-yul (South Korea) 68 71 72