Watson has three-stroke lead
The pain in his hip reminded Tom Watson why they call this tournament the U.S. Senior Open.
But a second straight 66 in Hutchinson, Kan., gave him a three-stroke lead over record-breaking Loren Roberts going into the final round of an event he would love to win for the thousands of fans who’ve been cheering him on all week.
“I’ve got family and friends, acquaintances from all over the state here and it would be great, it would be wonderful to win,” said Watson, who lives in Stilwell, Kan., about 3 hours northeast of here.
“I hope you can ask me the question tomorrow – how does it feel to win in your home state?”
Watson is at 8 under through three rounds, while Roberts surged into contention with an 8-under-par 62 on the normally unforgiving Prairie Dunes layout, breaking the mark for the lowest 18-hole score in any USGA Open championship.
Seven golfers shared the record of 63, including Jack Nicklaus, Vijay Singh and Allen Doyle, this tournament’s defending champion who shot a 67 Saturday and is two strokes behind Watson.
The 51-year-old Roberts recorded eight birdies and no bogeys on the narrow 6,646-yard layout, and had eight one-putts on the front nine.
Peter Jacobsen’s 68 put him four strokes back, tied with Mark James.
Hoping to avoid afternoon thunderstorms, the USGA decided to move up start times for today’s final round.
Golfers will begin teeing off at 6 a.m. PDT on the first and 10th tees, and will play in groups of three instead of two, said Craig Smith, communications director of the USGA.
PGA
Tiger Woods vaulted into contention, while Vijay Singh grabbed the lead at the Western Open in Lemont, Ill.
Phil Mickelson, meanwhile, dropped out of the picture with a poor third round at Cog Hill.
Singh is at 11-under 202 for the tournament – two strokes ahead of Carl Pettersson, Mathew Goggin, Stewart Cink, Trevor Immelman and Joe Ogilvie.
Singh shot an even 35 on the front nine but birdied three after the turn, including No. 17, to finish the round at 3-under 68. He was two strokes off the lead when the day began.
Woods was tied with defending champion Jim Furyk and Scott Gutschewski at 8 under, three shots behind Singh, after a 66 on the par-71 course.
Mickelson shot 75 and was 3 over for the tournament.
Woods continued to rebound after missing the cut at the U.S. Open and shooting 1-over 72 on Thursday. A 67 on Friday put him at 3 under heading into the third round and set the stage for his leap toward the top of the leaderboard.
Woods birdied three of the first five holes. After a bogey on 10, he eagled the par-5 11th. A bogey on 14 put him at 3 under for the day, but he birdied the next two holes.
“It was nice to actually make some putts and piece together something out there because, obviously, my last tournament I didn’t do that,” said Woods, a three-time winner at Cog Hill.
Mickelson, playing his first tournament since his final-round collapse cost him the U.S. Open, was one stroke off the lead at 4 under after Thursday’s opening round but carded a 74 on Friday. He was 1-over through the front nine on Saturday, 2-over after bogeying the par-3 12th, and 3-over after a bogey on the par-5 15th. Mickelson birdied No. 17 but finished with a double bogey on 18.
Mickelson looked and sounded the past few days like a man treating this event as four practice rounds for the British Open. He visited Royal Liverpool a few days after the U.S. Open.
“There’s plenty of time to get sharp,” Mickelson said.
For Woods there is no better time than this weekend.
“Right now, I’m trying to get a ‘W,’ ” Woods said. “I’ve always thought that was the best way to prepare for any major championship.”
Women’s Match Play
Brittany Lincicome and Juli Inkster spoiled a possible Michelle Wie-Annika Sorenstam final in the HSBC Women’s World Match Play Championship in Gladstone, N.J.
The long-hitting Lincicome knocked out Wie with a 4-and-3 victory in the quarterfinals and Inkster beat Sorenstam 1-up with a 4-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole – moments after Sorenstam missed a 6-footer.
“What can you say other than that Juli beat me,” Sorenstam said. “She played very good. I got off to a really good start and she finished very strong.”
The 16-year-old Wie, winless in 30 starts on the LPGA Tour, beat Se Ri Pak 2 and 1 in their morning third-round match, then fell behind early against the 20-year-old Lincicome on the hilly Hamilton Farm course.
“I thought I played really well. I just had a lot of bad breaks,” Wie said. “Brittany played really good today and that’s how match play is.”
The top-seeded Sorenstam, a playoff winner Monday in the U.S. Women’s Open, was 3-up after eight holes and 2-up after 11 before Inkster rallied.
“I think everyone knows Juli is a great competitor, great golfer and great athlete,” Sorenstam said. “When you stand on the tee and play against Juli, you know it’s going to be a good match.”
Inkster will face fifth-seeded Paula Creamer in the semifinals today. Creamer beat fourth-seeded Karrie Webb 3 and 2.
Lincicome will meet No. 3 Lorena Ochoa, a 3-and-2 winner over Sophie Gustafson.
Amateur Public Links
Clay Ogden fully accepts that few in golf would know his name if not for Michelle Wie.
In fact, Ogden is more recognized for his win over Wie in the quarterfinals of last year’s U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, than his stirring rally to win the actual title a day later.
“She’s probably the best thing ever to happen to me in my golf career,” Ogden said as he prepared to defend his title in Bremerton, Wash. The 2006 Public Links is being played at Gold Mountain Golf Club – about an hour west of Seattle by ferry – beginning Monday.