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Scheffler and Landry break away in desert

LA QUINTA, Calif. — Andrew Landry and Scottie Scheffler broke away Saturday at The American Express.

Landry shot a 7-under 65 at PGA West’s Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course to join Scheffler atop the leaderboard at 21-under 195, four strokes ahead of third-place Rickie Fowler.

Scheffler had a 66 on the adjacent Stadium Course, also the site of the final round Sunday.

“It’s a tough course. It’s a good track,” Scheffler said. “If you’re not on your game, you can really struggle. There’s a lot of trouble out there, so you’ve got to hit a lot of quality shots to keep the ball in play. Good test.”

Fowler, tied with Scheffler for the second-round lead, overcame two front-nine bogeys to shoot 70 at the Stadium Course. At the event for the first time in six years, he played the Pete Dye-designed course for the time Saturday after only taking a quick scouting drive early in the week.

“I was actually surprised by the green speed early on,” Fowler said. “They were a bit slower than what I’ve seen the last two days, so adjusting to that, really didn’t have anything go in early on until the ninth hole. But I thought I did a good job of hanging around, not getting too far behind.”

Ryan Moore and Chase Seiffert were five strokes back at 16 under. Moore had a 67 at the Stadium, and Seiffert shot 67 on the Nicklaus layout.

Tournament host Phil Mickelson missed the cut by six strokes. The 49-year-old Hall of Famer finished three rounds at 3 under. He eagled the par-5 16th on Saturday in a 71.

Landry lost a playoff to Jon Rahm two years ago at PGA West. The 32-year-old Texan has found something in the desert after missing the cuts in seven of eight starts this season.

Elsewhere in pro golf:

n Inbee Park finally made a bogey, but she still finished with a 4-under 67 Saturday and a two-shot lead over Sei Young Kim heading into the final round of the season-opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions.

Park, a 19-time winner on the LPGA Tour, hadn’t made a bogey since November’s season-ending CME Group Tour Championship. But she finally dropped a shot when she three-putted the difficult 211-yard par-3 18th.

To that point, she’d been precise and consistent and had a decent day with the putter. She hit 16 of 18 greens in regulation and made five birdies. Three consecutive birdies starting at the par-4 13th built her lead to three shots.

n Lee Westwood, chasing his 25th European Tour win, moved into a one-shot lead after the third round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on Saturday.

Westwood carded a seven-under 65, including an eagle on the par-five eighth, to move to 14-under for the tournament.

Bernd Wiesberger and second-round leader Francesco Laporta are one shot off the lead, with Matthew Fitzpatrick a shot further back on 12-under. Sergio Garcia and Kurt Kitayama are on 11-under.

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