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Rickie Fowler carries four-shot lead into final round at Honda Classic

Rickie Fowler is in control at The Honda Classic. (Getty Images)
Rickie Fowler is in control at The Honda Classic. (Getty Images)

Rickie Fowler will carry at least a share of the 54-hole lead into a PGA Tour final round for the fourth time in his career on Sunday at The Honda Classic. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that Fowler has never converted a 54-hole lead into a win.

Back on the good column, Fowler carries a four-shot edge into the Sunday finale at PGA National after a third-round, 5-under 65 brought him to 13-under 197. After the round, Fowler copped to his recent issues in finishing off the Saturday night lead on the PGA Tour, but he also didn’t seem discouraged by those defeats so much as resolved to give himself that opportunity more frequently.

“I definitely need to put myself in this position more often, which is just going to lead to me winning more often,” he said. “I’m not going to be able to take a 36- or 54-hole lead every time and win, but the more times you put yourself there, the more trophies I get to hold on Sunday.”

Rapidly rising Englishman Tyrrell Hatton is alone in second place and will play with Fowler in the final pairing.

“I’m just going to go out there tomorrow and like I said try and play as well as I can,” he said. “Whatever happens, happens. I can only control what I do and just have to see how it goes.”

Fowler, seeking his first PGA Tour win since the 2015 Deutsche Bank Championship, isn’t looking in the rear-view mirror.

“A lead around here is nice, but I’ve still got to take care of my business and plot my way around this golf course, and not worry too much about what the other guys are doing,” he said. “If I take care of my business and play the way I have been playing, I feel like I’ll be in a good spot.”


Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.