Nassau (Bahamas), Dec 4 (PTI) Defending champion Viktor Hovland sizzled with an eight-under 64 to forge a three-shot lead heading into the final round of the Hero World Challenge here.

The Norwegian, who is trying to become the second back-to-back champion at the event after tournament host Tiger Woods in 2007, is 13-under 203 after 54 holes.

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On a day when the mud from the rain-soaked fairways stuck on the ball and created a lot of problems, Hovland had 10 birdies and two bogeys.

World number 2 Scottie Scheffler, who could overtake Rory McIlroy atop the rankings with a victory, is within striking distance of Hovland at 10-under after his third-round six-under 66.

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Justin Thomas overcame the conditions to shoot a bogey-free 66 and was tied third with Cameron Young (68), whose front nine was 31.

Young added his sixth birdie on No. 10, at which point he was 6-under for the day and leading by two. He then dropped a shot each on Par-5s, 11th and 15th.

Collin Morikawa (69) and Xander Schauffele (69) were tied for fifth.

Hovland, who has led or co-led all three rounds of the tournament, had six birdies between the 11th and 18th but finished with a bogey as he suffered a mud-ball on the 18th.

"I missed probably like a 10-footer on the first hole and lipped out and I kind of thought here we go again, but after that, it was a lot of putts that went in," Hovland said.

"You need that on a day like today when the winds are down and you can be a little bit more aggressive. That's the only way you can make that many birdies, so that was a lot of fun," he added.

Scheffler had an eagle on the par-5 15th, five birdies and a bogey. He had a lot of mud balls, too.

The Master's champion was visibly disappointed, saying, "Who's good at those? You pretty much have no idea what the golf ball's going to do.

"It's not something that I would practice at home just because it's not something that I believe should happen on the golf course."

Tom Kim, one of the three players to shoot over par in the round, had a 74 and dropped to tied 12th.

He was still ahead of Tommy Fleetwood (72, 14th) while Jordan Spieth (72, T-15), Matt Fitzpatrick (76, T-15) and Shane Lowry (71) were way behind.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)