J.J. Spaun thanked muscle memory after the 5-under-par 65 he fashioned at Waialae Country Club on Saturday that put him atop the leaderboard headed into today’s final round of the Sony Open in Hawaii.

Spaun stands alone at 13 under for the tourney, a shot ahead of second-round co-leader Patrick Fishburn, Stephan Jaeger and Eric Cole in the PGA Tour’s first full-field event of the season.

Some players talked about difficulties with tricky winds in the third round. Spaun did not. He shot 66 on Friday, and said the fact that he did so in a gusty afternoon round helped him deal with similar conditions Saturday.

“It was the same wind direction, almost exactly the same. Almost every tee shot is the same. Every single shape is the same as (Friday),” Spaun said. “It was nice to have a good round (Friday) with this wind direction and using that as confidence that this wind direction, I can play well in it. That’s what we did today.”

Spaun had seven birdies Saturday. That included both par-5s, for the second day in a row; he’s played them at 5 under for the first three days of the tournament.

Spaun has won once on the PGA Tour, at the 2022 Valero Texas Open. This is his eighth Sony appearance. He has missed the cut five times, but tied for 12th in 2023.

“I’ve been really hot or cold here. I think it just kind of is boiling down to experience and learning how to play this track,” he said. “I’ve felt pretty calm and relaxed out there. It’s been a fun week here in Hawaii. It’s always laid back and easygoing. I’ve kind of been carrying that mindset on the course, and it’s easy to feel that way when things are going your way and you’re playing well. Yeah, just try to hone in on that tomorrow and see what happens.”

Jaeger tied his career-best round, firing a tournament-low 62. Jaeger made nine birdies, including on the last two holes.

He acknowledged the wind but echoed Spaun: live and learn — and hit straight.

“It’s been playing fairly similar the last three days,” Jaeger said. “I know they’re hard to hit, but if you can get in the fairways, you can make some birdies.

Jaeger has made the cut four of his five Sony starts, with his best finish a T18 last year. Including his 68-68-62 this week, he has shot his past 11 rounds at Waialae in the 60s.

The native of Munich notched his first PGA Tour win at last year’s Texas Children’s Houston Open.

Fishburn started strong Saturday with two birdies, made the turn at 31, and reached 14 under twice. It looked like he might run away with it, until three bogeys on the back nine, including on two of his last three holes.

“(The wind) starts to affect the chips and the putts,” said Fishburn, who has two top-three finishes in his previous 27 PGA Tour events and is in his first Sony Open. “That’s what makes this place tricky is when you have a putt with grain on the greens and then you’re trying to factor in the grain and the wind and all those different things.”

Cole, who was among six first-round leaders who shot 64 on Thursday, posted his second consecutive 67 on Saturday.

“It was I think the windiest day so far today, the way it felt out there,” said Cole, who is 2-for-2 in Sony Open cuts, and was T13 here last year. “For the most part, I was in control of the ball a lot of the day. Could have shot lower, but I think that’s kind of the case a lot of times around here.”

Cole is another player hungry for his first PGA Tour win. He came close at the Honda Classic in 2023, but lost to Chris Kirk in a playoff.

Ryder Cup captain and 2024 Sony runner-up Keegan Bradley shot 64 to climb into a six-way tie for fifth at 11 under.

Second-round co-leader Denny McCarthy shot 71 and fell into a tie for 16th.

Hideki Matsuyama, who set a PGA scoring record at The Sentry at Kapalua, shot 67 on Saturday and is T29.

Kaimuki High alum Chan Kim saved the best for last Saturday. He made a 27-foot eagle putt on the par 5 No. 9 hole to complete his round at 1 under. He had one bogey and 16 pars. Kim is at 4 under par for the tournament.

“For that last one to go in, it’s going to make food taste a little better,” said Kim, who is playing at this event on the weekend for the first time.

A roar went up for the former Hawaii state prep champion when he made his eagle putt.

“A few more of my family and friends came out today, which was awesome,” he said. “The support always helps. Playing in front of a hometown crowd kind of keeps me in the moment and just helps me to grind it out.”