Woods stays in touch with O'Hair
Sean O’Hair will start the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a five-shot lead over Tiger Woods following an arduous day in the wind at Bay Hill.
A tough, par-70, 7,239-yard course became even more of a challenge as gusting winds hampered good scores in central Florida and overnight leader O’Hair was one of only five players to end the round under par for the tournament on a day when only four players among the remaining 74 managed to break 70.
The American shot an even 71 to end the third round at seven under par, with world number one and defending champion Woods looming at two under having also shot a 71.
That puts five-time Bay Hill winner Woods in the final group on the last day of a tournament for the first time since returning to the PGA Tour last month following reconstructive knee surgery.
With tournament organisers returning to three-player groups for the final round and off split tees in anticipation of rain and thunderstorms tomorrow, they will be joined by former Masters champion Zach Johnson, whose two-under 68 moved him to one under.
First-round leader Jason Gore will also start at one under alongside Japan’s Ryuji Imada, having finished his third round with a bogey and double bogey on his way to a 74. Imada fired a 73.
Brandt Snedeker fired the low round of the day, a 67, to reach level par in a four-way tie for sixth place with fellow Americans Pat Perez and Scott Verplank and Australia’s Robert Allenby.
Ireland’s Padraig Harrington and Sweden’s Daniel Chopra are part of seven-man group at one over par in a tie for 10th place.
American Hunter Mahan had been an early mover after chipping in for birdie at three of the first four holes but he collapsed in spectacular fashion on the back nine, carding six over par in the last five holes, including a double-bogey five at the 17th to post a 74 and end at two over for the week.
Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell hit a 73 to fall to three over while Jeev Milkha Singh of India is on the same mark after a 74.
England’s Justin Rose had started brightly with birdies at the third and fifth holes only to shoot five bogeys and just one birdie between the ninth and 16th holes. Rose finished with a bogey for a 73, five over for the tournament.
Masters champion Trevor Immelman posted a 71 and will begin the final round at five over while fellow South African Retief Goosen, who crept into the weekend on the cut mark at five over, carded a 72.
Their compatriot Louis Oosthuizen and Sweden’s Richard S Johnson both shot 76s that left them at nine and 10 over par respectively while English due Brian Davis and Oliver Wilson also had a day to forget.
Davis fired a 76 to slip to 10 over while Wilson suffered a four-hole run between the seventh and 10th that saw him card three bogeys and a quadruple-bogey eight at the eighth for a 78 and he will start the final round at 10 over par.
Vijay Singh added a 77 to his score to drop down to a tie for second last on 11 over par.
O’Hair was five shots clear of the field after 12 holes, despite dropping shots at both the sixth and the ninth. The American birdied the par-four 11th and par-five 12th and also saw playing partner Gore bogey the seventh.
Woods, though, was building momentum, with a birdies at the eighth, 12th and 13th to move to four under in a three-way tie for second with Gore and Allenby.
All four men, though, dropped shots as they neared the clubhouse.
Having holed his third birdie in a row with a three at the 13th, O’Hair returned to nine under with a bogey-five at the 15th while Gore was at four under having bogeyed the 12th.
Woods ran into trouble at the par-four 16th where he found the right greenside rough with his second shot and discovered a spectator had picked up his ball and then dropped it to the ground.
He punched the ball out to the edge of water on the other side of the green and saw his chip hold up 10 feet from the hole before taking a five.
There was further woe for Woods at the 18th when his second shot out of primary rough plugged in a grass bank short of the green between the fairway and a narrow strip of lakeside beach.
A fruitless five-minute search took the world number one back to a drop zone in the fairway 148 yards out and Woods sent his fourth shot to the green 25 feet from the hole.
Woods, though, holed his putt to escape with a bogey that was celebrated with a trademark fist pump. That gave Woods a round of 71 and left him looming ominously.
