Watson clings to lea

Watson ran off three straight birdies on the front nine to overtake Paul Casey and wound up with his third straight round in the 60s on Saturday, a 3-under 69 that gave him a one-shot lead at Muirfield Village and a chance to win for the third time this year.

With a bogey on the final hole, Watson’s lead shrunk to one shot over Scott Langley, who had a 67 to make it an all-southpaw final pairing Sunday.

That was gone in three holes when Watson made a pair of birdie, and Casey missed more than his share of putts that keep rounds together.

He is scoring the way Muirfield Village allows, playing the par 5s in 11-under par through three rounds.

He followed by missing birdie chances of 7 feet on the 13th hole and 3 feet on the 14th hole, a chance to build some separation.

Using a fairway metal to chip, it appeared that the club moved his ball before the stroke, though Watson says he didn’t touch it and television replays made it clear that the ball didn’t leave its position.

Langley doesn’t hit the ball as long as Watson.

His game is about efficiency and control, and he has shown that by taking a streak of 40 straight holes without a bogey into the final round.

Much like Watson, he saw the simple pleasures of a round at Muirfield Village.