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Four-putt costs Fowler in Houston bid to chase down Kang

Rickie Fowler had a taste of the lead on Saturday in Houston. (Getty)
Rickie Fowler had a taste of the lead on Saturday in Houston. (Getty)

It took Rickie Fowler surprisingly little time on Saturday to track down Shell Houston Open leader Sung Kang and the seven-shot deficit he faced to the South Korean to start the third round at Golf Club of Houston. Just 14 holes in, Fowler had caught Kang and seemed to have all the momentum that Kang enjoyed on Friday en route to a 9-under 63 and the tournament’s 36-hole scoring record.

However, Fowler couldn’t pull ahead on his own. Then he stumbled down the stretch, including a bogey on the par-3 17th and a four-putt double bogey on the 18th, including a pair of missed putts inside five feet. Fowler’s stumbles and Kang’s steady 1-under 71 on a windy day in Humble combined to leave the leader three ahead of the Honda Classic winner.

“You can’t really dwell on the last two holes,” Fowler said after his 5-under 67 on Saturday. “It was a great day of golf. I put myself in a position to go win a golf tournament tomorrow, so we go get some rest, sleep and there’s 18 holes in front of us to go play.”

Fowler, who converted a 54-hole lead into a PGA Tour win for the first time as a pro at PGA National, isn’t thinking about Russell Henley, who is a shot behind him at 13-under 203. He’s only thinking about Kang.

“It will be a match-play situation,” Fowler said. “I’m starting the day three back, and it’s going to be fun. I like the challenge of coming from behind and then potentially being able to put pressure on the guy.”

Luke List shouldn’t be ignored, either. He’s at 12-under par. However, beyond list, the nearest challengers are at 8 under. Calling it a two-horse race is a little presumptuous on Fowler’s part, but it is almost certainly no more than a four-horse race.

Kang isn’t looking at it that way. He’s got a three-shot cushion, and he’s going to stick with his game plan until the situation changes — even with the final berth into the Masters on the line on Sunday.

“I’ll play my game. I don’t care, I don’t really care what they do,” he said. “I think I’m still being a little more defensive because I still have a three-stroke lead.”


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