Jason Day, Marc Leishman holds 3-shot lead at QBE Shootout

AUSSIES Jason Day and Marc Leishman combined for an 8-under 64 on Saturday and hold a three-shot lead after two rounds of the QBE Shootout in Naples, FL.

Leishman and Day are at 24-under 120. They combined for six birdies while Leishman had the moment of the day by knocking a 96-yard shot in for eagle on the par-4, No. 7 at Tiburon Golf Club.

“It’s funny, the ones you hole are the ones you don’t expect to go in,” Leishman said after the round. “I wasn’t expecting it to go in and then all of a sudden, it disappears. It’s nice. Something about this place that I’ve made a few shots the last couple years and hopefully, we can keep that trend going.”

Saturday’s format was modified alternate shot in which both players hit tee shots and then pick the best one and alternate shots.

There is a three-way tie for second between Billy Horschel/Sam Burns (10 under on Saturday), Jason Kokrak/South Korea’s Kevin Na (8 under) and defending champions Harris English/Matt Kuchar (6 under). English and Kuchar are seeking their fourth QBE title.

Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell/Canada’s Corey Connors are four shots back after a 5 under on Saturday. In sixth place is the duo of Bubba Watson and LPGA player Lexi Thompson, who were 6 under for the round and alone in sixth place.

Even though he sits in the lead with a three-stroke cushion, Day isn’t about to relax.

“We’ve just got to focus,” Day said. “We’re still 18 holes away from lifting the trophy, so got to stay on top of it.”

Horschel and Burns combined for 10 birdies, Na and Kokrak had 10 birdies and two bogeys and English and Kuchar had four birdies and an eagle on No. 1.

“Having a round with no bogeys is always good,” English said. “We played some solid golf, it’s just one of those days we didn’t get a whole lot of putts to fall, but it happens.”

The better ball format will be used for Sunday’s final round. — Reuters