2017 Honda Classic leaderboard: Rickie Fowler takes big lead into Sunday’s final round

Eighteen months ago, Rickie Fowler won his last PGA Tour event.

Now, after a year of relative struggles, he’ll have the opportunity for an emphatic victory and to place his name firmly on the list of contenders heading into next month’s Masters.

After firing a third-round 67, the American star will take a 4-shot lead over Tyrrell Hatton and a 6-shot lead over all others into Sunday’s final round at the Honda Classic at PGA National Golf Club in South Florida. Fowler turned in a flawless four-birdie, no-bogey performance as his competitors collapsed through the famed closing “Bear Trap” at the Jack Nicklaus-designed track. Two bold shots leading to birdie on the par-5 18th added the perfect punctuation to Fowler’s moving day.

His 13-under-par 54-hole score is good for the best ever at the tournament, too.

A Fowler win would be welcome for both himself — and for the game of golf, too. And for, well, the sanity of anyone that knows the otherwordly talent the immensely likeable Fowler possesses.

There’s perhaps not a bigger draw for casual golf fans outside of Tiger Woods today than Fowler, and criticisms and bad takes from golf media and fans will come right along with that. There are some who have forever perceived the flat-brim wearing, marketing-minded California native is more pomp than production. Fowler’s 2016, where his only win came in January in Abu Dhabi and rarely contended stateside, did little to scuttle such talks.

But after a more-than-solid three rounds, it seems Rickie’s very much rounding back into form. A win at PGA National in March won’t shut up his critics, but if he’s able to close this out on Sunday, we’ll be able to add another top name to the young, star-studded list of Tour winners to start 2017. He’d also throw his name squarely in the mix to be a contender in April at Augusta, too.

Of course, closing at the Bear Trap won’t be easy and Fowler will have a couple of compelling characters giving chase. England’s Hatton is one of the hottest players in the world — now up to 18th in the OWGR — and sits just three shots behind. Martin Kaymer heads up a group at 5 shots back.

Here’s your leaderboard heading into Sunday in Palm Beach: