Australian Ladies Masters: Six-time champion Karrie Webb birdied the final hole for an 8-under 64 and a one-stroke lead yesterday in Gold Coast.
Webb hit a 6-iron from a fairway bunker over a tree and on the green, then holed the 15-foot putt to finish three rounds at 15-under 201 at rain-softened Royal Pines.
Because of the soft conditions on the resort course, players were allowed to lift, clean and place their balls in the fairway.
South Korea's Lee Bo-mee (63) and defending champion Katherine Hull (65) were a stroke back, and South Koreans Seo Hee-kyung (66) and Ryu So-yeon (66) were 13 under.
American Amanda Blumenherst, a former Duke All-America and the leader after the first two rounds, shot a 70 to drop into a tie for sixth with Taiwan's Yani Tseng (67) at 11 under.
Honda Classic: Ashes fell from the sky, smoke filled the air and a thick haze hovered over PGA National.
Some might have found breathing difficult at Palm Beach gardens, Fla.
Camilo Villegas wasn't among them.
Villegas, once threatening to run away after a sizzling start, came back to the pack on his back nine and rallied to take a three-shot lead over Nathan Green and Vijay Singh after three rounds. Villegas is at 11-under 199, so even after making three bogeys in a five-hole stretch in what became a round of 67, he'll be the one to catch today.
Green (67) and Singh (69) are at 8 under, while George McNeill (66) and Matt Every (69) were tied for fourth at 6 under. Anthony Kim, who shared the 36-hole lead with Villegas, shot 73 and wound up six shots back entering the final round, tied with Michael Connell (69).
Yesterday, a controlled burn left its mark on the Honda.
A planned fire in Jonathan Dickinson State Park, about 14 miles north of PGA National Resort and Spa, made an already tough course even tougher. The wind shifted a bit after the fire started, sending thick plumes of smoke, ash and haze down directly toward the course. Play wasn't halted, though the day was clearly affected.
Singh shot his third straight round in the 60s, a 69 to keep him in the mix for what would be his first win since capturing the FedExCup in 2008. Also with a third-straight sub-70 round was Sam Saunders, who shot his third straight 69 and is tied for 10th, eight shots behind Villegas.
Toshiba Classic: Fred Couples moved into position for his second straight Champions Tour victory, shooting a 7-under 64 yesterday to take a two-stroke lead in Newport Beach, Calif.
Couples, making his third start on the 50-and-over tour, had a 12-under 130 total on the Newport Beach Country Club course. He won the ACE Group Classic on Feb. 14 in Florida and finished second behind Tom Watson in the season-opening tournament in Hawaii. Last week, Couples tied for 14th in the PGA Tour's Phoenix Open.
Tom Lehman (65) and Taiwan's Chien Soon Lu (67) were tied for second.
Loren Roberts (67) and Ronnie Black (67) followed at 8 under, and defending champion Eduardo Romero (69), John Cook (66), Bob Gilder (66) and Mark Wiebe (71) were 6 under.
Couples and Lehman are first and second in driving distance for the event, though they are vastly different in driving accuracy. Lehman is tied for eighth, while Couples is 73rd out of the 78 players.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement