Struggles on front nine drop Guthrie from lead, solid back nine keeps him in title hunt

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Moving day at the Memorial Health Championship resulted in a new golfer atop the leaderboard and Quincy native Luke Guthrie needing to regain his rhythm to fight his way back to the top.

Guthrie struggled on the front nine Saturday at Panther Creek Country Club, recovered on the back nine and posted a 2-under 69 to sit at 16-under overall and tied for sixth. He held the outright lead after the first round and was tied for the lead following the weather-delayed second round.

Meanwhile, Alvaro Ortiz made nine birdies in a 13-hole stretch and posted an 8-under 63 to take the lead at 21-under. He holds a four-stroke lead on the field.

Forced to play five holes Saturday morning to complete the second round, Guthrie played himself into the final group in the third round when he made back-to-back birdies on his final two holes — the par-4 eighth and ninth — to reach 14-under and match Austin Smotherman.

However, the good vibes were tough to rekindle when the third round began.

Guthrie made a bogey on the par-4 first hole, took another bogey on the par-3 fifth hole and carded a double bogey on the par-4 seventh hole after being forced to take a penalty shot because of a wayward drive.

He made the turn at 1-over 36, but found life on the back nine.

A birdie on the par-4 10th hole was followed by birdies on the par-4 12th and par-5 13th. He added another birdie on the par-5 16th to get back into a tie for second. However, a bogey on the final hole when another missed drive led to a penalty stroke left him at 16-under overall.

Guthrie hit 16 of 18 greens in regulation in the first round and 15 of 18 in the second round, but in the third round, he managed to make just 11 of 18 greens in regulation. He also hit only 6 of 14 fairways in Saturday’s round. He still ranks first in the field overall with 1.5 putts per greens in regulation.

He will be in the third to final group Sunday, teeing it up at 11:38 a.m. alongside Preston Summerhays and Pierceson Coody.