Sahith Theegala is on track for his maiden PGA Tour title after claiming the outright lead following the third round of the Sanderson Farms Championship.

American rookie Theegala carded a five-under-par 67 to be a shot clear atop the leaderboard in Jackson, Mississippi on Saturday.

Theegala was tied for the lead after the opening two days, but the 23-year-old emerged as the player to beat thanks to a flawless penultimate round at the Country Club of Jackson, where he holed five birdies without dropping a shot.

Ranked 454th in the world, Theegala is 18 under through 54 holes, ahead of Cameron Tringale (62), Denny McCarthy (65), Sam Burns (67) and Cameron Young (67) – who are all tied for second position.

"I hit some wild drives, I mean, way right, so was really happy to escape with a couple pars," Theegala said afterwards.

"It just felt like a grind those last five, six holes there... definitely a little nerves in there for sure, but I think people have said before, pressure's a privilege and I'm trying to use those nerves to my advantage."

American Tringale matched his career-low round to take the provisional lead before Theegala soared to the summit.

Eyeing his first win in his 311st start on the PGA Tour, Tringale said: "This was a combination of hitting a lot of good shots and having good breaks just on the same day.

"I did give myself a lot of chances. I was never out of position. I was putting uphill most of the time. And a [55-footer] and a hole-out, you know, if I three-putt that one and don't get up-and-down, that's four shots difference right there."

Masters runner-up Will Zalatoris (72) dropped down to 13 under – five shots off the pace, having started the day tied for the lead.

Masters runner-up Will Zalatoris shot a course record 11-under 61 to move into a share of the lead at the Sanderson Farms Championship alongside Nick Watney and Sahith Theegala on Friday.

Zalatoris, Watney and day one leader Theegala are all 13 under at the halfway point, with American pair Cameron Young and Hayden Buckley one stroke behind at the Country Club of Jackson in Mississippi.

Sergio Garcia followed his Ryder Cup disappointment by failing to make the cut, with back-to-back rounds of 70.

Zalatoris, who finished one shot behind Hideki Matsuyama at the Masters in April, shot 11 birdies to steal the show on Friday.

The 25-year-old Californian had carded a two-under 70 in the opening round but rocketed up the leaderboard, buoyed by three birdies on his opening four holes on Saturday.

Zalatoris' round included sinking an 18-foot putt on the fourth and a 20 footer on the 18th.

"I think it's funny that I get given a hard time about my putting and if you add in Augusta last year which didn't have Shot Link I would have been a positive strokes gained putter," Zalatoris said. "Is it the prettiest? No. But am I productive? Yes.

"So the days where I make 20-footers, those are the days that I end up putting great round together, because I'm always going to be the guy that's going to hit 14 plus greens to give myself chances."

After Zalatoris' 11-under round, the next best was Young, Buckley and Denny McCarthy with seven-under 65s.

Canadian Roger Sloan is behind Young and Buckley at 11 under after two rounds, with American Sam Burns among a group of six at 10 under.

PGA Tour rookie Sahith Theegala birdied his first three holes and maintained his impressive form to lead the field after the opening round of the Sanderson Farms Classic. 

The 23-year-old Californian looked right at home in Mississippi, turning in a bogey-free round for an eight-under-par 64 at the Country Club of Jackson. 

His countrymen Nick Watney and Harold Varner III were one stroke back after shooting 65, while Roger Sloan, Kurt Kitayama and Kim Si-woo were at 66. 

Fresh off his Ryder Cup disappointment, defending tournament champion Sergio Garcia was six strokes back after shooting 70 in a round that featured two birdies and 16 pars. 

Among other former major winners in the field, Keegan Bradley shot 72 and Zach Johnson 73 in the opening round. 

The story of the day, though, was Theegala, who hit 11 of 14 fairways and 17 of 18 greens in regulation.

After earning his 2021-22 PGA Tour card with a strong finish in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals last month, Theegala described his round Thursday as "stress-free". 

"I don't think I've had a lot of time to think about all this stuff, so it just feels like I'm kind of just on a roll and I'm not really thinking about big situations or stuff like that, just feels like I'm playing golf," he said. "So that's helped a little bit,not having expectations, kind of just being on a free roll the whole time."

His inexperience on Tour may bode well for Theegala this week. Six of the last seven Sanderson Farms champions have been first-time winners, with Garcia the exception. 

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