Steele moves clear at Sony Open in Hawaii

Brendan Steele is the man to beat heading into the final round of the PGA Tour tournament in Honolulu.

American golfer Brendan Steele

American golfer Brendan Steele earned a three-stroke advantage after the third round of the Sony Open in Hawaii.

Steele carded a six-under-par 64 to claim the outright lead at the Waialae Country Club in Honolulu on Saturday.

Three-time PGA Tour champion Steele and Australian Cameron Davis shared a one-shot cushion atop the leaderboard at the start of the penultimate round.

But a flawless back nine, which was capped by three consecutive birdies to close out the day, saw Steele surge ahead after Davis could only manage a third-round 71.

Steele is 12 under through 54 holes and three clear strokes of second-placed Australian Cameron Smith (66) heading into the final day.

Kevin Kisner (64) is a shot further back at eight under, while Webb Simpson (66), Collin Morikawa (68) and Ryan Palmer (68) are seven under.

Davis slumped to five under overall and a tie for 11th following a forgettable front nine that featured four bogeys in six holes.