RBC Heritage 2017: Jason Dufner Shoots 6-Under to Take Lead in Round 3

Jason Dufner surged to the top of the leaderboard Saturday at the RBC Heritage, as he shot a third-round, six-under 65 in conquering Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

Dufner stands at 13-under on the tournament, which puts him one shot ahead of Graham DeLaet, who was the co-leader along with Luke Donald entering the third round:

While Dufner struggled at times on the front nine with three bogeys in his first seven holes, he made up for it with five birdies and two eagles on the day.

Dufner's first eagle came on No. 2, and he followed it up with another on the fifth hole thanks to a picture-perfect chip, as seen in this video courtesy of the PGA Tour:

The eagles helped position Dufner on the leaderboard, but he truly made his run later in the round with a string of birdies.

After a birdie on No. 14, Dufner sank another birdie putt on the 15th to enter into a tie for the lead:

He then nabbed sole possession of first place one hole later when he converted yet another birdie putt:

Dufner had the low score of the day at six-under, but several other golfers turned in strong performances that have them in the hunt ahead of Sunday's final round.

England's Ian Poulter had a two-under 69 headlined by this remarkable sand save on the ninth hole:

Poulter is just three strokes back at 10-under, while Wesley Bryan trails by four shots after a round that featured some big moments, including an eagle on No. 2:

DeLaet was solid albeit unspectacular in falling to second place, but he gave himself a chance to win his first career PGA Tour event with a good showing Sunday.

Unlike DeLaet, Donald put himself in a hole by carding a one-over 71 and falling to nine-under on the tournament.

Per Justin Ray of GolfChannel.com, Donald's inability to hit greens in regulation contributed heavily to his struggles:

The 40-year-old Dufner has yet to win this year, and he is coming off a pedestrian 33rd-place finish at the Masters.

He also has yet to register a top-10 result in 2017, but the momentum is firmly on his side after such a strong third round.

His position atop the leaderboard is far from safe, though, with seven golfers being within four shots of him.

Provided Dufner carries his Saturday form into the fourth round, it will be difficult for the likes of DeLaet, Kevin Kisner, Webb Simpson and Poulter to catch him.