Sahith Theegala is on track for his maiden PGA Tour title after claiming the outright lead following the third round of the Sanderson Farms Championship.

American rookie Theegala carded a five-under-par 67 to be a shot clear atop the leaderboard in Jackson, Mississippi on Saturday.

Theegala was tied for the lead after the opening two days, but the 23-year-old emerged as the player to beat thanks to a flawless penultimate round at the Country Club of Jackson, where he holed five birdies without dropping a shot.

Ranked 454th in the world, Theegala is 18 under through 54 holes, ahead of Cameron Tringale (62), Denny McCarthy (65), Sam Burns (67) and Cameron Young (67) – who are all tied for second position.

"I hit some wild drives, I mean, way right, so was really happy to escape with a couple pars," Theegala said afterwards.

"It just felt like a grind those last five, six holes there... definitely a little nerves in there for sure, but I think people have said before, pressure's a privilege and I'm trying to use those nerves to my advantage."

Unbelievable.

This lip-out will leave your head spinning. pic.twitter.com/mTPTcMIWLF
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 2, 2021

American Tringale matched his career-low round to take the provisional lead before Theegala soared to the summit.

Eyeing his first win in his 311st start on the PGA Tour, Tringale said: "This was a combination of hitting a lot of good shots and having good breaks just on the same day.

"I did give myself a lot of chances. I was never out of position. I was putting uphill most of the time. And a [55-footer] and a hole-out, you know, if I three-putt that one and don't get up-and-down, that's four shots difference right there."

Masters runner-up Will Zalatoris (72) dropped down to 13 under – five shots off the pace, having started the day tied for the lead.