(Reuters) - Colombian Sebastian Munoz gave his bid for a maiden PGA Tour victory a boost as he birdied his penultimate hole to earn a one-shot lead after the third round of the Sanderson Farms Championship in Mississippi on Saturday.
Munoz enjoyed a bogey-free trip around the Country Club of Jackson with a nine-under-63 that left him at 16-under 200 for the week, one shot clear of Mexico's Carlos Ortiz (65).
The Colombian, who last week finished in a share of seventh place at West Virginia, got off to a red-hot start as he opened with three birdies and added another pair before the turn.
Munoz then carded four birdies during a seven-hole stretch on the back-nine, including at the par-four 17th where he sank a 14-foot putt to grab the outright lead.
Considering Munoz had just three top-10 finishes in 26 events last season, he has gotten the current campaign off to a glorious start.
South Korean An Byeong-hun (70) began the third round with a two-shot lead but finished the day two shots back of Munoz after mixing five birdies with three bogeys, including at the 16th and 17th holes.
Among some of the notables in the field, twice major winner Zach Johnson (68) was six back of Munoz and in a share of 10th place while former British Open champion Stewart Cink (71) and former FedExCup champion Brandt Snedeker (71) were nine back.
The third round was played in threesomes off both tees to get the tournament back on schedule after inclement weather forced second round action to spill into Saturday.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Pritha Sarkar)