JDC is set up for another wild finish

Don’t let that fool you.

This thing is a long, long way from being over. Sebastian Munoz’ one-stroke lead entering Sunday’s final round is anything but safe.

All you need to do is look at the way things played out on a drizzly, unpredictable Saturday afternoon at TPC Deere Run.

Really, all you need to do is look at what has happened on the PGA Tour the past few weeks.

This is still anybody’s ballgame.

Just ask a guy who has been involved in several dizzying Deere Run finishes through the years.

"The beauty of this place is it ain't over until it's legitimately over," Zach Johnson said.

"Everybody is talented out here," he added. "Anybody can win."

That was fairly obvious as things unfolded Saturday in the third round of the 50th JDC.

At one time early in the afternoon, there was a seven-way tie for the lead that included Munoz, Luke List, Ryan Moore, Adam Schenk, Chez Reavie, Cameron Champ and Lucas Glover.

A little more than an hour later, Brandon Hagy, Adam Long and Scott Brown had moved to the top line along with Reavie and Champ.

An hour after that, there was another seven-way tie with an entirely different combination of players.

In a span of a few hours, 12 different players had a piece of the lead.

It seemed as though just when players began to adjust to some less-than-perfect weather conditions, the wind would shift, the rain would intensify and everything changed.

Although many players try not to scoreboard watch, Munoz said it actually sort of helped him to see how rapidly things were shifting.

"We could see on the leaderboard that people were going low, and you didn't want to kind of fade into the leaderboard," he said. "So, it was really important to birdie 11, 13 and 16 coming in."

There were moments when Brown and then Long edged into the lead alone only to quickly be sucked back into the pack.

Munoz finally was able to gain a slight lead, but as the first shots are struck Sunday, 20 other players are within five strokes and undoubtedly confident they can overtake him.

"It's definitely within my grasp," said Hagy, who is only one stroke back at 15-under. "I feel like I can hit all the shots that's necessary to get me over the top. But the key is all these guys here can hit those shots."

Included in a cluster of five players who are two strokes back at 14-under are a couple of battle-tested veterans who each have five PGA Tour wins to their credit: Moore, the 2016 JDC champ, and Kevin Na.

Both expressed confidence that they can finish the job today, especially if the rain and wind continue to come and go, as they did Saturday.

"The harder it gets, the short game is more important, and I feel like my short game is a strong part of my game," Na said. "I know it's going to rain again tomorrow and have some breeze, so you know what, I think I'm in a good position to give it a go. I've got nothing to lose."

Brown, Long and Champ also are at 14-under.

There are four more players at 13-under, including List, who shot a 58 at a hometown country club in Georgia a few weeks ago.

A batch of three players at 12-under includes Glover, who ironically is one of the few players on Tour who does not wear a glove and who has not won in 10 years, and Schenk, who grew up on a farm in Indiana using John Deere equipment and who travels around with a golden retriever named Bunker.

There are seven more players at 11-under including 2005 JDC champ Sean O’Hair.

With the weather being iffy and Deere Run being accommodating, this could be an epic fight to the finish. It’s almost becoming the norm on the PGA Tour, which had a five-hole playoff last week and an eight-holer the week before.

"We all know what we're trying to do," Na said. "Everyone out here is trying to win, but you can't look at that. You've just got to go one at a time, a hole at a time, and just stay in the moment and focus."