Hoch Shoots 65 To Move Within Range Of Elkington

Just when it looked like Steve Elkington would make the Players Championship a runaway, Scott Hoch shot the round of the tournament to trail by just two strokes after Saturday’s third round in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

Elkington started the day with three consecutive birdies and led by as many as five strokes but Hoch’s 65 - two strokes better than anyone else shot on a gusty, overcast day - and two closing bogeys by Elkington made it tight.

No one else was within five strokes of Elkington, whose 68 put him at 13-under-par 203 to Hoch’s 205.

“I basically did what I needed to do,” Elkington said. “It shortened who can win a little bit. If I play good, I’ve probably got to beat one or two guys. If I don’t, I bring more in.”

Billy Andrade and Tom Purtzer were at 208, Kirk Triplett was at 209 and PGA winner Mark Brooks was at 210 along with Tommy Tolles and Larry Mize.

Hoch was the only player able to apply any pressure to Elkington on Saturday, making seven birdies and no bogeys.

“I got no clue where that came from,” said Hoch, who has never finished higher than 13th in 13 Players Championships, missing the cut seven times.

“I really played well,” he said. “I felt very at ease. I tried a new putter this week and got a lesson from the best teacher - my father.”

Hoch needed only 25 putts in the third round and used a mere 81 putts so far this week. He made six birdies in the first 12 holes and saved his great round with a scrambling par on No. 18.

“Anytime I had a chance to make bogey I was fortunate enough to make a good chip shot or a putt,” he said.

He drove way right on No. 18, played a 6-iron from 203 yards short of the green and pitched up and made a 6-foot putt to save par.

“I thought I might have let it slip away a little bit on 18,” Hoch said. “That was a good par to get.”

Hoch’s 65 came on a day when only 23 of the 76 players broke par and the course average was a 73.

Greg Norman shot a 72 to be at 1-under-par 215. Tiger Woods shot a 72 and was at 216 along with Nick Faldo, who shot a 73. Former Pullman resident Kirk Triplett shot a 70 and stands six strokes back at 209.

King, Robbins pace Dinah Shore

Betsy King, who shot her way into the LPGA’s Hall of Fame two years ago then almost seemed to disappear, crafted a 5-under-par 67 to tie Kelly Robbins for the Nabisco Dinah Shore lead in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

King, who hasn’t won since she took her 30th career title in 1995, went to 11-under through three rounds of the Dinah Shore, the women’s first major championship of the year.

King, the Dinah Shore champion in 1987 and 1990, drew even with Robbins with her second consecutive 5-under-par round at Mission Hills Country Club.

Robbins, the second-round leader with a one-shot edge on King, shot a 68.

Amy Fruwirth, a fifth-year pro still looking for her first win, was two shots behind the co-leaders after shooting 68.

Kris Tschetter, who shared the first-round lead with Kathryn Marshall then ballooned to 76 on the second day, fought her way back into contention with a third-round 66 that left her three shots off the pace.

Clarkston’s Robin Walton shot a 74 and is at 223, 18 shots back. Tracy Hanson of Rathdrum, Idaho, is at 224.

Stockton leads seniors

Dave Stockton parlayed six birdies during a stretch of seven holes into 6-under-par 66 and a one-shot lead after two rounds of the Dominion Seniors tournament in San Antonio.

Former Dominion champion Chi Chi Rodriguez was a stroke back after a 67. David Graham was two strokes off after a 69. Larry Gilbert (70) and first-round co-leader John Jacobs (71) were at 6-under.