Tour rookie Riley rolls to 2-shot lead; Canada's Hadwin sits in 5th at Valspar Championship

Davis Riley was expecting a big stage Saturday in his rookie year on the PGA Tour. He was playing with fellow Alabama alum and close friend Justin Thomas, both of them in the mix on the weekend in the Valspar Championship.

Indeed, they had the largest gallery at Innisbrook. Most of the cheers were for Riley.

Riley made three birdies from tough spots to close out the front nine, and then rode the cheers of "Roll Tide" until he had a 9-under 62, a tournament scoring record and a two-shot lead over Matthew NeSmith going into the final round.

"Super exciting," Riley said. "Just beginning of the day I was excited to play with Justin. He's a good friend of mine. We've kept in touch. And obviously he's a one of the best players in the world. Playing with him was really fun."

Canada's Adam Hadwin, who won at Innisbrook five years ago for his only PGA Tour title, shot 70 and was at 13-under 200. He had three birdies and two bogeys.

Adam Svensson (67) of Surrey, B.C., was at 7 under and Abbotsford's Nick Taylor (68) was one stroke behind him.

After judging the distance perfectly out of the rough for a 5-foot birdie on No. 6, Riley was in rough left of the seventh fairway with a tree blocking his path to the green. He used a 7-iron for a chip-and-run from 135 yards, the ball rolling the last 60 yards and up a narrow ramp to the green to 10 feet for birdie.

From the upslope of the bunker in front of the ninth green, 70 feet away, Riley blasted it hard and watched it bang into the cup on the fly for another birdie.

"It was really impressive," Thomas said. "It's a big moment for a rookie — anybody — and he handled it like a rock star and made 9 under look very, very easy."

Thomas did his part with a third straight 66, which any other