Spencer Levin’s aggressive approach had already given him a comfortable clubhouse lead at the Phoenix Open and he was in even better shape Saturday after Harrison Frazar’s bogey-bogey finish to the second round.
Levin had completed an eight-under par 63 on Friday before darkness halted play in the second round, which had started late because of morning frost.
Harrison Frazar was 11-under for the tournament with three holes remaining when play was suspended on Friday.
On Saturday morning he completed his round with back-to-back bogeys for a 67 that left him lying second on nine-under 133, five behind Levin.
Webb Simpson, the highest-ranked player in the field at six in the world, was in at eight-under 134, along with Korean-American tour rookie John Huh.
Simpson completed his 69 in waning light on Friday, when Huh carded a 66.
“That was probably the darkest I’ve ever played,” Simpson said. “I couldn’t really see anything.”
Despite his five-shot lead going into Saturday’s third round, Levin said he couldn’t afford to turn conservative if he wants to stay atop the leaderboard in the $US6.1 million ($A5.71 million) event.
“You don’t want to get too tentative or play away from shots,” Levin said. “If you want to play well and make birdies you can’t do that, so I’m just going to try and stay as aggressive as I can the next two days.”