KAPALUA >>

Dustin Johnson considers himself part of the youth movement that is transforming the PGA Tour from grizzled veterans to scruffy youngsters.

But at age 33, Johnson is more of a tweener, an established superstar a decade removed from the likes of Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, deserving of his current world No. 1 ranking. He has 16 PGA Tour victories since joining in 2008, including one major at the 2016 U.S. Open.

His seven previous appearances at Kapalua include a win in 2013 and is a key reason folks in these parts figure he’s the man to beat this weekend, and it’s hard to argue that logic.

Johnson stepped out of the shadows Saturday to take the 54-hole lead at the Sentry Tournament of Champions over a classy field that includes not only seven of the top 10 players in the world but an unprecedented top five in this winners-only event being held at the wind-swept Plantation Course for the 20th time.

It’s not as if he’s left everyone behind after shooting a steady 7-under 66 to drop to 16-under 203 for the event. Johnson still has company entering today’s final round, thanks to a gutsy performance by No. 27 Brian Harman (69), who remained within shouting distance at 14-under 205 despite back-to-back bogeys early on the closing nine.

World No. 4 Jon Rahm worked his way up the leaderboard with a 66 of his own to sit alone in third at 12-under 207. Sixth-ranked Rickie Fowler (68) is another shot back with Jason Dufner (69) to round out the top five. Unless someone comes storming off the pace today, one of those guys figures to be the winner.

At the moment it’s Johnson’s event to lose and don’t expect him to give it away on a course he has enjoyed playing through the years.

“I’ve played the golf course quite a few times and I like it,” Johnson said. “It’s fun to play. The wind’s blowing always here and you really have to use the wind to help your ball get close to the hole or stop the ball or however you want to do it. It’s always interesting every day you’re out here, the kind of shots you have to hit. It’s all about controlling the ball and hitting it solid.”

Johnson began the day one shot off the pace of first- and second-round leader Marc Leishman, who folded his hand early with a 3-over 76 that dropped him to 7 under and into a tie for 12th. Meanwhile, Johnson was driving up the leaderboard with huge shots off the tee and a deft touch with his putter to make the turn at 3 under for his round.

But after a disappointing bogey at 11, Johnson followed it up with a hole-out for eagle from 72 yards away in the rough at No. 12 to take the lead for good. Three more birdies coming in, including one at the last, gave Johnson the two-shot cushion. But he was in an even better position last October at the HSBC World Golf Championships in China with a six-shot advantage after three rounds and finished second.

It was something he briefly addressed with a touch of humor when asked about it Saturday.

“The only thing that I struggled with a little bit was the putter and I felt like I was hitting good putts, just nothing would go in the hole,” Johnson said. “Then I hit a couple iron shots a little heavy on the back nine that cost me a couple strokes or I would have, I probably would have gone into a playoff.”

Asked if he had new irons in his bag that week and he said, “I did. New irons.”

Asked if he still had them, he said, “No. I don’t think they made the trip home from China. They are probably still in my locker at whatever the golf course is called.”

As for Harman, he will be in the final pairing for the third consecutive round. He had only two bogeys in his first 46 holes before carding two in a row at Nos. 11 and 12. But three birdies over the final four holes gives him a shot.

“I’m just going to keep doing the same thing I’ve been doing and I’m going to try to put as much pressure on the golf course as I can,” Harman said. “I’m going to try to do the best I can on every shot. I can’t control what Dustin does — he’s a fabulous player, he’s going to be really hard to beat tomorrow, but trying to do something I’m not capable of is not the way to do it.”