Yang still ahead of the gang in
the Honda Classic in Florida
FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE
A fine birdie at the 15th helped Y E Yang maintain his slender one-stroke lead at the Honda Classic after the Korean carded a solid third round of 70 in Florida.
Overnight leader Yang began in underwhelming fashion when he bogeyed the third at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens but hit his tee shot to within six feet at the 15th to repair the damage and remain seven under par, one stroke ahead of Jeff Overton and Jeff Klauk.
Yang said: "It's very hard to get birdies out here, it's probably easier to get bogeys. I shot even par today and I'm happy with that. First day I wasn't putting well and my irons weren't great but I felt a lot more comfortable, I was putting better and saving pars."
Overton also posted a 70, largely due to a triple-bogey seven at the 11th, while Klauk's 67 contained four birdies against just one dropped shot. Yang's compatriot Charlie Wie fired an impressive 65 to climb to five-under alongside Brett Quigley and John Rollins, who shot 67 and 68 respectively. Mark Calcavecchia also produced a five-under 65 to join five other players within three of the leader.
Having dropped a shot at the par-five third, Yang steadied the ship in collecting 11 consecutive pars. With the pin towards the front of the 15th green bringing water into play, the 37-year-old just carried the hazard landed hit his tee shot to six feet and rolled in the putt for the birdie.
Overton, meanwhile, had a far more eventful day. Reaching the turn level after cancelling out a bogey with a birdie, the 26-year-old's round was in danger of falling apart when he triple-bogeyed the 11th after finding the water twice. But he battled back with three more birdies at the 13th, 16th and 18th where he landed an approach from just over 100 yards two feet from the pin.
The highlight of Klauk's round was a chip in from just off the green on the 14th to offset a dropped shot on the 11th after the 31-year-old rookie had played the front nine in three-under. Overton felt he relaxed after his triple-bogey at the 11th, which helped him to claw his way back into contention.
Overton said: "It was interesting. I felt like I played one really bad shot. I tweaked my putting stroke a little bit and I got a lot of confidence towards the end of the round and it carried over to ball striking. I felt a little bit tight at the beginning of the round because I was right there in the thick of things but I hung in there and after that triple I loosened up and dug deep."
Veteran Calcavecchia, meanwhile, is bidding for his third Honda Classic having previously won the tournament in 1987 and 1998.
He said: "I played great today, I hit a few loose shots in the middle of the round but after that I settled down. I actually practiced a little bit for a change and made a couple of drastic changes. At the beginning of the year it was tough, I wasn't putting well but I started hitting it better and making some putts. If I can keep my ball dry, I'll have a good chance."
Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke are keeping apace with each other, now both on 209 and sharing 18th position.
THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
Par 210 (3 x 70)
203 Y. E Yang (Kor) 68 65 70
204 Jeff Klauk 69 68 67, Jeff Overton 67 67 70
205 Charlie Wi (Kor) 67 73 65, John Rollins 69 68 68, Brett Quigley 71 67 67
206 Will MacKenzie 67 67 72, Ben Crane 70 65 71, Robert Allenby (Aus) 66 68 72, Fredrik Jacobson (Swe) 72 67 67, Mark Calcavecchia 74 67 65, Jason Dufner 72 66 68
207 James Nitties (Aus) 70 67 70, Alex Cejka (Ger) 71 66 70
208 John Merrick 69 69 70, Greg Chalmers (Aus) 73 64 71, Harrison Frazar 72 65 71, Kevin Streelman 70 68 70
209 Kent Jones 68 71 70, Rory McIlroy (NIrl) 70 68 71, Michael Allen 69 71 69, Jeff Maggert 70 70 69, Brendon Todd 74 69 66, David Mathis 68 68 73, Matt Kuchar 71 70 68, Darren Clarke (NIrl) 70 71 68
210 Spencer Levin 72 68 70, Chris Stroud 69 72 69, Robert Garrigus 72 70 68, Casey Wittenberg 71 72 67, David Berganio jun 71 69 70, Woody Austin 70 73 67, Stewart Cink 67 71 72, Steve Marino 69 70 71, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 67 72 71, Brandt Jobe 70 70 70
211 Erik Compton 69 69 73, Davis Love III 73 69 69, Scott Piercy 72 66 73, Nick O'Hern (Aus) 73 69 69
212 D.A. Points 69 69 74, Leif Olson 73 70 69, Briny Baird 72 69 71, Greg Owen (Eng) 72 69 71, John Mallinger 69 74 69, Scott Verplank 73 70 69
213 Brad Adamonis 70 73 70, Scott McCarron 72 71 70, Lucas Glover 71 70 72, Brian Gay 72 69 72, John Senden (Aus) 69 73 71, Angel Cabrera (Arg) 67 75 71, Todd Hamilton 72 70 71, George McNeill 71 72 70, Justin Leonard 70 73 70, Ryan Palmer 73 66 74, Ernie Els (Rsa) 73 70 70, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 70 73 70
214 Brendon De Jonge 72 70 72, Shaun Micheel 70 71 73, Marc Leishman (Aus) 73 70 71, Carl Pettersson (Swe) 72 69 73, Nicholas Thompson 69 71 74
215 Tadd Fujikawa 71 71 73, Tim Herron 72 69 74, Chris DiMarco 72 70 73, Boo Weekley 72 71 72, Tim Wilkinson (Nzl) 71 71 73
216 Michael Letzig 70 71 75, Chris Riley 68 75 73, Bart Bryant 70 73 73, Johnson Wagner 71 71 74
217 Nathan Green (Aus) 69 71 77, Derek Fathauer 73 69 75, Gary Woodland 72 70 75, Rocco Mediate 73 67 77, Brian Bateman 69 73 75
218 Steve Lowery 72 71 75
219 J J Henry 71 70 78
the Honda Classic in Florida
FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE
A fine birdie at the 15th helped Y E Yang maintain his slender one-stroke lead at the Honda Classic after the Korean carded a solid third round of 70 in Florida.
Overnight leader Yang began in underwhelming fashion when he bogeyed the third at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens but hit his tee shot to within six feet at the 15th to repair the damage and remain seven under par, one stroke ahead of Jeff Overton and Jeff Klauk.
Yang said: "It's very hard to get birdies out here, it's probably easier to get bogeys. I shot even par today and I'm happy with that. First day I wasn't putting well and my irons weren't great but I felt a lot more comfortable, I was putting better and saving pars."
Overton also posted a 70, largely due to a triple-bogey seven at the 11th, while Klauk's 67 contained four birdies against just one dropped shot. Yang's compatriot Charlie Wie fired an impressive 65 to climb to five-under alongside Brett Quigley and John Rollins, who shot 67 and 68 respectively. Mark Calcavecchia also produced a five-under 65 to join five other players within three of the leader.
Having dropped a shot at the par-five third, Yang steadied the ship in collecting 11 consecutive pars. With the pin towards the front of the 15th green bringing water into play, the 37-year-old just carried the hazard landed hit his tee shot to six feet and rolled in the putt for the birdie.
Overton, meanwhile, had a far more eventful day. Reaching the turn level after cancelling out a bogey with a birdie, the 26-year-old's round was in danger of falling apart when he triple-bogeyed the 11th after finding the water twice. But he battled back with three more birdies at the 13th, 16th and 18th where he landed an approach from just over 100 yards two feet from the pin.
The highlight of Klauk's round was a chip in from just off the green on the 14th to offset a dropped shot on the 11th after the 31-year-old rookie had played the front nine in three-under. Overton felt he relaxed after his triple-bogey at the 11th, which helped him to claw his way back into contention.
Overton said: "It was interesting. I felt like I played one really bad shot. I tweaked my putting stroke a little bit and I got a lot of confidence towards the end of the round and it carried over to ball striking. I felt a little bit tight at the beginning of the round because I was right there in the thick of things but I hung in there and after that triple I loosened up and dug deep."
Veteran Calcavecchia, meanwhile, is bidding for his third Honda Classic having previously won the tournament in 1987 and 1998.
He said: "I played great today, I hit a few loose shots in the middle of the round but after that I settled down. I actually practiced a little bit for a change and made a couple of drastic changes. At the beginning of the year it was tough, I wasn't putting well but I started hitting it better and making some putts. If I can keep my ball dry, I'll have a good chance."
Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke are keeping apace with each other, now both on 209 and sharing 18th position.
THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
Par 210 (3 x 70)
203 Y. E Yang (Kor) 68 65 70
204 Jeff Klauk 69 68 67, Jeff Overton 67 67 70
205 Charlie Wi (Kor) 67 73 65, John Rollins 69 68 68, Brett Quigley 71 67 67
206 Will MacKenzie 67 67 72, Ben Crane 70 65 71, Robert Allenby (Aus) 66 68 72, Fredrik Jacobson (Swe) 72 67 67, Mark Calcavecchia 74 67 65, Jason Dufner 72 66 68
207 James Nitties (Aus) 70 67 70, Alex Cejka (Ger) 71 66 70
208 John Merrick 69 69 70, Greg Chalmers (Aus) 73 64 71, Harrison Frazar 72 65 71, Kevin Streelman 70 68 70
209 Kent Jones 68 71 70, Rory McIlroy (NIrl) 70 68 71, Michael Allen 69 71 69, Jeff Maggert 70 70 69, Brendon Todd 74 69 66, David Mathis 68 68 73, Matt Kuchar 71 70 68, Darren Clarke (NIrl) 70 71 68
210 Spencer Levin 72 68 70, Chris Stroud 69 72 69, Robert Garrigus 72 70 68, Casey Wittenberg 71 72 67, David Berganio jun 71 69 70, Woody Austin 70 73 67, Stewart Cink 67 71 72, Steve Marino 69 70 71, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 67 72 71, Brandt Jobe 70 70 70
211 Erik Compton 69 69 73, Davis Love III 73 69 69, Scott Piercy 72 66 73, Nick O'Hern (Aus) 73 69 69
212 D.A. Points 69 69 74, Leif Olson 73 70 69, Briny Baird 72 69 71, Greg Owen (Eng) 72 69 71, John Mallinger 69 74 69, Scott Verplank 73 70 69
213 Brad Adamonis 70 73 70, Scott McCarron 72 71 70, Lucas Glover 71 70 72, Brian Gay 72 69 72, John Senden (Aus) 69 73 71, Angel Cabrera (Arg) 67 75 71, Todd Hamilton 72 70 71, George McNeill 71 72 70, Justin Leonard 70 73 70, Ryan Palmer 73 66 74, Ernie Els (Rsa) 73 70 70, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 70 73 70
214 Brendon De Jonge 72 70 72, Shaun Micheel 70 71 73, Marc Leishman (Aus) 73 70 71, Carl Pettersson (Swe) 72 69 73, Nicholas Thompson 69 71 74
215 Tadd Fujikawa 71 71 73, Tim Herron 72 69 74, Chris DiMarco 72 70 73, Boo Weekley 72 71 72, Tim Wilkinson (Nzl) 71 71 73
216 Michael Letzig 70 71 75, Chris Riley 68 75 73, Bart Bryant 70 73 73, Johnson Wagner 71 71 74
217 Nathan Green (Aus) 69 71 77, Derek Fathauer 73 69 75, Gary Woodland 72 70 75, Rocco Mediate 73 67 77, Brian Bateman 69 73 75
218 Steve Lowery 72 71 75
219 J J Henry 71 70 78
Labels: US PGA TOUR, US PRO TOUR
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Sunday, March 08, 2009
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