Puerto Rico Open Round 3: Ricky Castillo Rides a Third Straight 68 Into the Lead

The wind finally showed up at Grand Reserve on Saturday, and it rearranged the whole tournament.

Ricky Castillo, who had spent two days posting identical 68s without much fanfare, did it a third time, and this one was worth a lot more. The bogey-free 4-under round in the windiest conditions of the week moved Castillo to 12-under 204 and a one-shot lead after 54 holes of the 2026 Puerto Rico Open. Right behind at 11 under is a four-man pileup: John Parry, Matti Schmid, 18-year-old Blades Brown and Chandler Blanchet, who started the day four clear and shot 74.

Three 68s and a Lead

Consistency is not usually the headline in a birdie-friendly event, but Saturday rewarded it. While the leader was going backward, Castillo kept the card clean, and the shot that stood out was a chip-in for birdie at the 12th. From there, Castillo protected the round through the closing stretch without a single dropped shot.

It is Castillo's first 54-hole lead or co-lead on the PGA TOUR. The former Florida Gator, a member of the 2023 NCAA championship team, had been in this neighborhood before, sitting T2 through 54 holes at the 2025 CJ Cup Byron Nelson, per Golf Today. Those weekends did not end with a trophy, and Castillo was honest about it.

"This is the position that all of us have dreamed of and want to be in a chance to win a golf tournament," Castillo said. "I've been fortunate to have that opportunity a few times and haven't gotten it done, so hopefully we'll do it tomorrow."

There is a little irony baked in too. Castillo came up 11 FedExCup points short of the Arnold Palmer Invitational field and landed here instead. The entire Puerto Rico purse is $4 million, the same number the Bay Hill winner pockets, but the opposite-field winner still gets spots in THE PLAYERS Championship and the PGA Championship.

Blanchet's Grip Slips

For two days, Blanchet had the putter doing whatever was asked. Saturday it stopped cooperating. The rookie made three birdies and five bogeys for a 2-over 74, and the AP noted that the damage came on the greens, including a couple of short putts that got away.

Losing a four-shot lead in a day stings. The good news for Blanchet is that the lead is gone but the tournament is not. A share of second, one back, with 18 holes to play, is still a better spot than anyone would have predicted for a player who arrived with five straight missed cuts.

The Kid Will Not Go Away

Brown shot 69, and the round had the biggest single swing of anyone near the top: a 50-foot eagle putt on the 14th. That ties Brown's best 54-hole position on TOUR, a T2 that came at The American Express in January, where Brown played the final round alongside Scottie Scheffler.

A win on Sunday would make Brown the youngest PGA TOUR winner in 95 years, and Brown talked like someone who has learned from the last time.

"All this is just experience," Brown said, adding later: "I love to compete and it's going to be a fun day tomorrow."

Parry and Schmid round out the group one back. Parry, the Englishman who earned a TOUR card through the DP World Tour standings, made just one bogey in a 68 and will play in the final group with Castillo. Schmid matched that 68 without a bogey and is still chasing a first TOUR win.

Davis Thompson put up the best number among the contenders, a 65 that vaulted Thompson to 10 under alongside Jeremy Paul.

Daly II, Briefly in Front

For a few holes, the most improbable leaderboard in golf had John Daly II's name at the top of it. The amateur, in his first PGA TOUR start, hit a 5-iron into a par 5 to set up eagle and reached 10 under, briefly sharing the lead.

The finish took a little shine off. Daly II three-putted for par from about 75 feet at the next par 5, then missed the green left at 18, chipped too firmly and lipped out a 15-foot par putt. That was the first bogey in 46 holes, and it left Daly II with a 70, tied for eighth at 9 under, three shots back.

"It was solid," Daly II said. "Sucks to make my first bogey in a while on 18."

Daly II is tied with Zac Blair, Pontus Nyholm, Jesper Svensson and Gordon Sargent, who shot 72 and fell from second.

Sunday's Setup

This is about as open as a 54-hole board gets. Castillo leads by one. Four players are tied for second, two more are two back, and five sit three back, including an amateur and a teenager with history on the line. The leader went bogey-free in the hardest conditions of the week and has not shot higher than 68 all tournament. Whoever wants this trophy will likely have to take it from someone who has not blinked yet.

Catch up on the first two days in our Round 1 recap and Round 2 recap. Full scoring is on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's Round 3 recap (opens in a new tab) has more.

Sources: PGA TOUR (Round 3 recap and leaderboard), AP, Florida Gators, Golf Today. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.