Triplett heads into final round of Shaw Charity Classic at top of the leaderboard

Triplett followed up the 65 he shot Friday with a 68 on Saturday to head into the final round of the 54-hole event alone at the top of the leaderboard at 7 under. 

Kirk Triplett knows what it’s like to be in contention at the Shaw Charity Classic.

Now, the 60-year-old from Scottsdale, Ariz., would like nothing more than to win the annual PGA Tour Champions event at the Canyon Meadows Golf and Country Club in his ninth attempt.

“This is an exciting opportunity for me to go out and try to win a golf tournament,” said Triplett, who followed up the 65 he shot Friday with a 68 on Saturday to head into the final round of the 54-hole event alone at the top of the leaderboard at 7 under.

Triplett, who had three birdies and just one bogey on the par 70, 7,061-yard layout, finished in a tie for third place during the first instalment of the Shaw Charity Classic in 2013 and is one of three golfers to play in all nine events so far (the others are Olin Browne and Tom Byrum).

“I feel like if the conditions are nice tomorrow, it’s going to take a 5-under round out of me and if I shoot 5 under and somebody gets me, I’ll have done my work,” said Triplett, who tied for second spot in 2018 with Scott Parel and Joe Durant behind two-time champion Scott McCarron.

“We’re all going to be trying to do the same thing tomorrow.”

Jerry Kelly had two birdies on his front nine and two more on the back to card a round of 4-under 66. That earned him a spot in Sunday’s final grouping with Triplett and Paul Goydos, who he’s currently tied with for second spot at 6 under.

“I said I want to be in that final group, I want to see what’s going on,” said Kelly, who didn’t go for the green in two on the par 5, 585-yard finishing hole and wound up making par to book his spot in that final group. “I love being in that atmosphere. You know, hopefully that plays true and (I) just make a bunch of birdies.”