GOLF : Taylor grabs lead at Palmer Invite
Vaughn Taylor was losing ground and trying not to lose his temper when he saw a leaderboard on the sixth tee that showed him seven shots behind Saturday in the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Fla.
Imagine his surprise when he walked off the 18th with a hard-earned par and a two-shot lead.
On a wild day of shifting weather and changing fortunes, Taylor shot a 3-under 67 to seize control and set himself up for a chance to win a tournament where all the stars have come out to play.
The tough part is that most of them are still in the mix.
Ben Curtis, the former British Open champion who usually wins whenever he gets near the lead, had a 69 and will play with Taylor in the final group today. Another shot back was Vijay Singh (67) and Tom Lehman (69), the former Ryder Cup captain who benched Taylor the first day of matches and now has to try to chase him down.
Fifteen players were within five shots of the lead, a group that includes Tiger Woods.
Taylor was at 8-under 202 and will have to overcome two glaring statistics. He ranks 166th on the PGA Tour in final-round scoring average, and his only two victories came at the Reno-Tahoe Open, the same week the top players were gathered at Firestone for a World Golf Championship.
“I’ve just got to play like I’ve been playing the last few days, and hope things go my way,” Taylor said.
Champions Tour
Hale Irwin shot a 1-under 71 to take a one-stroke lead into the final round of the Champions Tour’s AT&T Champions Classic in Santa Clarita, Calif.
The 61-year-old Irwin had a 9-under 135 total on the Valencia Country Club course. He shot a 64 in the first round Friday.
Andy Bean (66) and Bobby Wadkins (67) were tied for second at 8 under, and three-time tournament champion Gil Morgan (68) was another stroke back along with Loren Roberts (70), Tim Simpson (66), Jim Thorpe (71) and Morris Hatalsky (69).
Bean used a new driver after giving his old one to a fan after his first round.
Irwin has won 33 of the 47 times when he has the lead or shared it going into the final round on the 50-and-over tour.