Turk Pettit is in the process of putting together far and away the best tournament of his short professional career after shooting an incredible bogey-free 10-under-par 62 to take the third-round lead at the St Andrews Bay Championship.

Eight birdies and an eagle left him one short of the course record — set by Scotland’s Ewan Ferguson last year — but gave him a one-shot lead, on 17-under, over Australian Matt Jones, who fired a 66.

India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar (65), Mito Pereira from Chile (67) and South African Jaco Ahlers (68) are next best placed, two back from Pettit, on a day of remarkably low scoring, that saw 10 eagles made, on the Torrance Course at Fairmont St Andrews.

Overnight leader Davd Puig from Spain had a four-shot lead after eight, but thereafter the wheels unexpectedly came off. Poor tee shots on nine, 14 and 16 led to a triple-bogey and then two double-bogeys respectively. He fired a disappointing 73 and is on 13-under.

Pettit, 24, has only made three cuts in nine starts this season on the Asian Tour, with his best finish coming in the International Series Vietnam, where he tied for 34th, but he looks like turning the corner this week.

“Hit it in position and made a lot of putts, so it’s easy when you do that, but man, it was a great day, it’s what you work for,” said the American from Louisianna, who turned professional in 2021 after winning the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship.

He has tasted victory twice since turning professional in the Birck Boilermaker Classic, in just his third start in the Forme Tour in 2021, while a month ago he claimed the Colorado Open.

He added: “I’m finally starting to hit the ball a bit better. I’ve worked really hard on my putting as well, and today it paid off. So, I’ve been working hard, and you know, the Colorado Open was… It’s been about two years since I’ve won a golf tournament, so winning that Open was a big deal for me.”

Two-time Australian Open champion Jones recovered from a poor start, that saw him bogey the second and third, by making three birdies on the trot from sixth, and another three in a row from 10, then two more on 15 and 18.

“It was just really a couple of bad shots on the second and third hole,” he explained.

“After that I just gave myself plenty of birdie chances. I just say my pace has been off pretty much all week.”

The post Pettit produces big performance on low scoring day at St Andrews Bay Championship appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The American 23-year-old revealed after his round in the Saudi heat and humidity that he got engaged on Thursday night to his girlfriend MaKenzie Floyd during dinner on the beach by the Red Sea. While it was a surprise for her, Pettit admitted he had been planning popping the question for a little while now.

Turk Pettit. LIV Golf

“I have been thinking about it for a couple of weeks, maybe three?” he said at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in Jedddah after his first round.

“I thought about doing it in Thailand last week but there wasn’t a good spot and worst case scenario, I just did it on the Red Sea, so did it last night.

“I was pretty positive she was going to say yes,” he added, explaining his simple plan. “Pretty much we were just having dinner on the beach, we were having sushi and I was just going to wait and do it at sunset. Sunset came around and just like: ‘Will you marry me?’

“She actually said: ‘You’re joking! You’re lying!’ like five times, and then she said ‘yes’.”

Back to matters on the course, Pettit was delighted to put in a shift where he can now contend for a title and ensure his spot on the series for 2023.  “Obviously we need a good week to be out here next year, and the experience has just been awesome,” he said. “But we’ve got nothing to lose. There’s no point getting caught up in that.”

The conditions were stifling in Jeddah on Friday, but Pettit still had a spring in his step.

“I would say I like the heat,” he added. “I’m from the (American) south, so I don’t mind it being hot. But yeah, it’s windy. Especially on certain holes, you’ve got to hit some good shots when it’s windy if you want to contend.”

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The post You’re joking: Turk Pettit springs a surprise engagement proposal to girlfriend on the Red Sea at LIV Golf Jeddah — she said ‘yes’ appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.