Making his final start on a Major Medical Extension and playing the Nicklaus Tournament Course, World No. 709 Steve Marino fashioned a 5-under-par 31-36=67 in the third round of the Desert Classic, dipping one place to solo 4th on 18-under 198, four in arrears of 54-hole leader Phil Mickelson. UPDATE: With the tournament complete, Marino finished T18 on 16-under 272 (66-65-67-74), and as a result, no longer has status on the PGA TOUR.
The 38-year-old is eyeing his first TOUR title in 222 events. He’s been a runner-up five times, most recently a P2 at the 2016 Puerto Rico Open. The Virginia alum, who needs a solo 2nd to meet the terms of his MME, hit eight (of 14) fairways and 15 greens in regulation, recording 1.600 putts per GIR. Beginning off No. 10 tee, he overshadowed a lone bogey-5 at 16 with four birdies at 10, 1, 2 and 5, adding a hole-out eagle-3 at 7. The Oklahoma native will play out of the penultimate threesome in R4.