While his two-under-par 69 saw him drop a couple of places down the leaderboard on Saturday, Christiaan Bezuidenhout stayed inside the top 10 after the third round of the PGA Tour’s WM Phoenix Open in Scottdale, Arizona.

Bezuidenhout last dropped any shots in the first round of the tournament, and he made two birdies in his 69 which took him to 11-under-par for the tournament and a share of seventh.

Up ahead, Belgian Thomas Detry pulled five strokes clear with a six-under 65 taking him to 18-under-par. In a four-way share of second on 13-under were Rasmus Hojgaard of Denmark, and Americans Jordan Spieth, Daniel Berger and Michael Kim.

Bezuidenhout shared seventh with Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre and Taylor Moore of the United States.

The perfect weather brought out huge crowds to the famously raucous event. The most-attended day of the tournament is traditionally Saturday.

But TPC Scottsdale avoided a scene like last year, when officials had to close the gates and limit alcohol sales, partly because of the boozy atmosphere but also because of wet weather that meant fans couldn’t walk on the grass. The tension boiled over at times.

In response to the debacle, organisers stepped up the law enforcement presence and added a new entrance to help alleviate some of the clogged sidewalks near the main gate. There are no longer any-day tickets so tournament officials can track sales and prevent overcrowding. Several walkways were widened at high-traffic areas.

The changes seemed to have their desired effect. There was still plenty of revelry — particularly at the party-friendly 16th hole — but it was nowhere close to last year’s mayhem.