Travelers Championship 2021: Bubba Watson Tied for Lead After 3rd-Round 68

Kramer Hickok and Bubba Watson share the lead with 18 holes remaining at the 2021 Travelers Championship.

They finished Saturday with identical scores of 10-under par. Jason Day had a chance to make it a three-way tie for the top spot, but a bogey on the final hole moved him into a tie for second place.

Hickok opened the tournament in style with a seven-under par 63. He followed that up with a 69 on Friday and 68 on Saturday. 

After posting consecutive rounds of 66, Watson put up a solid 68 on Saturday. He missed a five-foot birdie putt on No. 18 that would have given him the outright lead. 

Dustin Johnson put together the round of the day on Saturday. The world's top-ranked player finished with a 65 to move up 49 spots into a tie for ninth place at seven-under par. 

2021 Travelers Championship Leaderboard

T1. Kramer Hickok (-10)

T1. Bubba Watson (-10)

T3. Jason Day (-9)

T3. Cameron Smith (-9)

T3. Russell Henley (-9)

T6. Harris English (-8)

T6. Brice Garnett (-8)

T6. K.H. Lee (-8)

T9. Dustin Johnson (-7)

T9. Matt Jones (-7)

T9. Bryson DeChambeau (-7)

Full leaderboard can be seen at PGATour.com

Hickok moved into sole possession of the lead with a birdie putt on No. 14. He followed it up with a second straight birdie on No. 15 that gave him a two shot advantage. 

Every aspect of Hickok's game had been in lock step for the first 52 holes he played since Thursday. His driving accuracy (83.3 percent) and greens in regulation (79.6 percent) have been close to flawless. 

Once Hickok gets on the green, he's been averaging 2.02 strokes gained with the putter for the entire tournament. 

Things took a turn for Hickok once he got to No. 17 when his short game let him down. The native Texan looked to be in a good position after his tee shot landed in the fairway, but his second shot went in the fairway just beyond the green. 

Two shots later, Hickok missed a 10-foot par putt and had to settle for bogey. 

The same thing happened to Hickok on No. 18, right down to missing a 10-foot putt and taking a bogey that dropped him into a tie for the lead. 

Day followed up his second-round 62 with a decent performance on Saturday that kept him right in the mix. He made the turn at even par and stayed that way until making a six-foot birdie putt on No. 15. 

At one point in the day, the 15th hole had been bad luck for players trying to pick up a stroke. 

Watson looked like he might be challenging Johnson for the low score of the day based on how he started the third round. The 42-year-old had three birdies on his first seven holes and made the turn at three-under par for the day. 

The back nine did cause Watson some problems. He finished with three bogeys and two birdies during that stretch to go into the clubhouse with a 68 for the day. 

Watson did find his rhythm on No. 17 with this 20-foot birdie putt that put him into a tie for the top spot. 

Even though Johnson has work to do on Sunday to catch the leaders, he's gotten better as the tournament has gone on. The defending champion at this event followed up his opening-round 70 with scores of 68 and 65. 

Hickok is in uncharted territory in his quest to win on the PGA Tour for the first time. 

Watson has a great history at this tournament with three career wins. Day, Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau are among the notable players within shouting distance of the lead. 

Given how crowded the entire leaderboard is at this point, there's no clear-cut favorite heading into Sunday's final round.