Knox birdies the 18th to earn

extra $1,800 in Florida

A last-hole birdie was worth around an extra $1,800 to Inverness exile Russell Knox in the final round of the latest NGA Hooters Tour event, the Amelia Island Plantation Classic in Florida.
Knox had rounds of 68, 71, 70 and 71 for eight-under-par total 280 over the Oak Marsh course. That earned him a shared of seventh place and a financial reward of $5,215 which would have been only $3,443 but for that 18th hole birdie, the fifth of the round, which also included four bogeys.
He birdied the first, second, 11th, 13th and 18th, and bogeyed the fifth, eighth, 12th and 16th.
Winner of the $33,566 jackpot prize was American Ted Potter with scores of 68, 69, 69 and 67 for 15 under par 273 and a two-shot victory.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72)
273 Ted Potter (Florida) 68 69 69 67 ($33,566).
275 Stephen Shellock (New Jersey) 73 71 61 70 ($16,655).
278 David Miller (Alabama) 73 67 69 69 ($11,061).
Selected total:
280 Russell Knox (Scotland) 68 71 70 71 ($5,215) (jt 17th).

O'Meara joins Langer in US

Seniors Tour lead

It's been a while since two-time major winner Mark O'Meara won anything. But he might just break his duck on the US Champions (Seniors) Tour in the Toshiba Classic at Newport Beach Country Club, California today.

O'Meara shaved a shot off his opening 67 to return a for a five-under-par 66 to join Bernhard Langer in the lead nine-under-par 133.

The American will have to beat a "League of Nations" to win. Apart from Germany's Langer,
Eduardo Romero (68) of Argentina is one stroke behind at 8-under 134 and Denis Watson (68) from Zimbabwe is at 7 under.
O'Meara, who won 16 US PGA Tour events -- including two majors -- has not won on America's over-50s circuit in 33 outings.
"It would mean so much to win, especially here," said O'Meara, who grew up about 20 miles away in Mission Viejo and played high school golf matches at Newport Beach Country Club. "It was a rough ride last year, but I have it straightened out again."
O'Meara replaced all of his woods this week and is ninth in driving distance and 12th in total driving.
He hit 13 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens in the second round.
Langer, who began the day with a one-stroke lead, was even par through 14 holes, but played the last four holes in three under, including birdies on 17 and 18, finishing with a 68.
It was the second consecutive day Langer has finished strongly.
"It might be an advantage in the final round," Langer said. "I think the course is easier at the end with two par 5s. My finishes might give me some positive vibes going in to the final round."
Langer is tied for first in greens in regulation, missing five greens in 36 holes, but is tied for 60th in putting.
"It just shows how well my ball striking is," Langer said. "I played well off the tee, but I couldn't make any putts."
SECOND ROUND TOTALS

Par 142 (2 x 71)
133 Bernhard Langer (Ger) 65 68, Mark O'Meara 67 66
134 Eduardo Romero (Arg) 66 68
135 Denis Watson (Zim) 67 68
136 John Cook 69 67, Tom Jenkins 69 67, Fred Funk 69 67
137 Gene Jones 68 69, Jim Thorpe 69 68, Jeff Sluman 69 68, David Eger 70 67, Morris Hatalsky 70 67, Sandy Lyle (Sco) 70 67
138 Andy Bean 68 70, Mike McCullough 70 68, D A Weibring 71 67, Bobby Wadkins 69 69, Tim Simpson 68 70
139 Robert l. Thompson 70 69, Mark W Johnson 70 69, Keith Fergus 70 69, Bob Gilder 66 73, Wayne Levi 72 67
140 Joey Sindelar 68 72, Bruce Vaughan 69 71, Mark Wiebe 74 66, Tom Watson 68 72, Tom Kite 70 70, Fuzzy Zoeller 70 70, Don Pooley 73 67
141 Fulton Allem (Rsa) 70 71, Scott Hoch 70 71, Jim Colbert 66 75, Mike Goodes 74 67, Nick Price (Zim) 72 69, Larry Mize 72 69
142 Bruce Fleisher 72 70, Bruce Lietzke 69 73, Massy Kuramoto (Jpn) 69 73, Ronnie Black 75 67, Allen Doyle 69 73, Larry Nelson 69 73
143 Ben Crenshaw 71 72, Blaine McCallister 71 72, Lonnie Nielsen 71 72, Tom Wargo 71 72, Brad Bryant 70 73, Dan Forsman 72 71, John Morse 73 70, John Jacobs 70 73
144 Jay Sigel 70 74, Dana Quigley 73 71, Dave Stockton 74 70
145 Joe Ozaki (Jpn) 71 74, Vicente Fernandez (Arg) 75 70, Wayne Grady (Aus) 72 73, Hal Sutton 76 69, James Mason 72 73, Ken Green 77 68, Ron Streck 72 73, Lee Trevino 71 74, Loren Roberts 69 76, Hale Irwin 72 73, Javier Sanchez 73 72
146 Bob Murphy 72 74, Craig Stadler 73 73, Graham Marsh (Aus) 72 74, Gary McCord 75 71, Tom McKnight 74 72, Steve Thomas 72 74
147 Isao Aoki (Jpn) 77 70
148 Gary Player (Rsa) 76 72, John Harris 74 74, Ian Woosnam (Wal) 72 76, Mark McNulty (Irl) 74 74
149 Hubert Green 75 74
151 Bruce Summerhays 77 74, Greg Hopkins 74 77

Sweden win boys' title with 100 per cent record

Scots boys beaten three times

in Sardinia quadrangular

Scotland were unsuccessful in their defence of the international boys' quadrangular title at a rather wet Is Molas Golf Club on the Italian island of Sardinia.
In a rain-abbreviated programme, the Scots lost 3-2 to Italy on the opening day and by 5 1/2-3 1/2 to Sweden in a match that spilled over into the third and final day.
On Saturday, Scotland made it three defeats in a row, losing 6-3 to France who took a stranglehold on the outcome by winning all three foursomes. Give the Scots boys, captained by Hazlehead's David Law, their due, they came out fighting after lunch to share the singles 3-3.
World and European boys' champions Sweden won the three-day title by beating Italy 6 1/2 to 2 1/2. The Swedes won all three matches.
France were runners-up with 2pt and Italy third with 1pt.
Scotland's most successful individual player was Paul McPhee, pictured above by Cal Carson Golf Agency, from Perth with 2 1/2pt.
Saturday's final results:
SCOTLAND 3, FRANCE 6
Foursomes (0-3)
David Law & Paul Shields lost to Clement Sordet & Gary Stal 3 and 2.
Scott Gibson & Paul McPhee lost to Erwan Vielleident & Thomas Elissalde 2 and 1.
Andrew McLachlan & Jack Scott lost to Matthieu Decottignies & Joel Stalter 3 and 2
Singles (3-3)
Law bt Stalter 1 hole.
Shields lost to Elissalde 4 and 3.
McPhee bt Sordet 1 hole.
Gibson lost to Vielleident 3 and 2.
Scott bt Decottignies 5 and 3.
McLachlan lost to Stal 5 and 4.
Other result:
ITALY 2 1/2, SWEDEN 6 1/2
Earlier matches completed on Saturday
SCOTLAND 3 1/2, SWEDEN 5 1/2
Foursomes: 2-1
Singles completed:
(Scott Gibson lost on Friday before play suspended)
Dave Law lost to Niclas Carlsson 3 and 2.
Andrew McLachlan bt Axel Arinbjornarson 3 and 2.
Paul McPhee halved with Joachim Lagergren.
Jack Scott bt Adam Strom 5 and 3.
Paul Shields lost to Oscar Arvidsson 3 and 2.

HOW THEY FINISHED
SWEDEN W3 H0 L0 F16 A7 Pts 3
FRANCE W2 H0 L0 F 13 1/2 A9 1/2 Pts 2
ITALY W1 H0 L2 F8 A15 Pts 1
SCOTLAND W0 H0 L3 F 8 1/2 A14 1/2 Pts 0

HOW THE SCOTS FARED

Paul McPhee LWHLW - 2 1/2pt

Jack Scott LLWLW - 2pt

David Law WLLLW - 2pt

Andrew McLachlan LLWLL - 1pt

Scott Gibson LWLLL - 1pt.

Paul Shields WLLLL - 1pt.

Scottish Disability Golf tuition and Open Day

PRESS RELEASE
Anyone with a disability or serious health problem is invited to attend the following Golf Training Open Day.
Established golfers, or anyone interested in learning how to play, are invited to come along to the Forrester Park Golf Resort in Dunfermline, on Friday, March 27 from 09:30 until 13:00 to receive tuition from our PGA professionals.
A round of golf is also available at Forrester Park from 14:00.
Anyone can learn how to play and a disability, serious health problem or mobility issue, should not be a barrier to playing and enjoying golf.
Since its launch in 2006 the Scottish Disability Golf Partnership has provided golf and tuition to hundreds of people with various disabilities and health issues, including those with sensory loss, i.e. the blind, vision-impaired and the deaf, as well as amputees and those with learning difficulties and other mobility issues
There is only a nominal charge for the package of PGA tuition and a round of golf.
For more details about the day, please contact Jim on 01334 650 963 or sdgp@btinternet.com

Rhys Davies runner-up in Singha

Thailand Open after final 67

PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY ASIAN TOUR
Indian star Jyoti Randhawa cruised to a comfortable two-stroke victory at the Singha Thailand Open for his eighth Asian Tour victory today.
The 36-year-old Randhawa produced a flawless five-under-par 65 to hold off Edinburgh-born Welshman Rhys Davies, pictured right, who equalled his best performance on Tour with a closing 67 at Laguna Phuket Golf Club for second place.
Chinese Taipei’s Lu Wei-chih settled for third position, three behind the winner, after a 65 while S.S.P. Chowrasia of India was tied fourth alongside upcoming Chinese talent Wu Ashun after rounds of 69 and 66 respectively.
“I’m feeling great. I played marvellous golf the last two days. To shoot five under without any bogeys was good, I’m very happy,” said Randhawa, whose winning total of 17-under-par 263 earned him a cheque for US$79,250.
Tied for the overnight lead with Davies and Chowrasia, Randhawa, who charged into contention with a sizzling 62 on Saturday, pulled one stroke clear of the pack after shooting three birdies in his opening five holes. He coolly maintained his grip down the final straight with further birdies on the 12th and 15th holes.
“The way the course was set up and the way it was playing, I thought I could shoot some low numbers and I did that the last two days and I’m glad I did it,” said Randhawa, who is the first Indian to lift the Singha Thailand Open King’s Trophy.
The 2002 Asian number one said his relaxed attitude, where he spent time scuba diving with fellow competitor and brother-in-law Digvijay Singh and their families, was the key to his success on the holiday isle of Phuket.
“That’s the mantra now,” said Randhawa. “I need to relax a bit and chill out. You don’t practice and work hard during tournaments. You do it before that. I came here, I swam, I went scuba diving and I enjoyed myself. And here I am, I’ve won a golf tournament. I learned a lot and I think I need to do this more often.
“The two boys (Davies and Chowrasia) got me going. They were on my heels the whole day. S.S.P. made an eagle on the first hole and I needed to wake up and do something and luckily I did. It was good competition.”
Davies, who was bidding for a first Asian Tour title, was happy that he pushed Randhawa all the way. “I thought that if I played a good solid round it would give me a chance. With a few holes to go I had a chance but I just missed out,” said the Welshman.
The 23-year-old stayed close on Randhawa’s shoulders and trailed by two at the turn. He blew his chance of turning on the pressure at the two closing par five holes by bogeying the 17th after finding trouble in thick rough.
“Jyoti played great– he hit a number of great shots and a few good putts at the right time and that was the difference, I think,” said Davies. “Maybe his experience also helped but I felt comfortable in that position. It just did not quite happen – a few things did not go right and if they had it would have been a different story.”
Lu, chasing a second Tour title, threw in a bold challenge by going to five under for the round through 15 holes but his hopes came undone at the demanding 17th, the second toughest hole during the week, when he hooked his drive into the hazard and dropped a bogey.
“I tensed up with the tee shot,” said Lu. “I didn’t think about winning all day long but when I was two back I thought of giving it a push but hit a poor shot on the 17th tee.”
Thongchai Jaidee, winner of the Enjoy Jakarta Indonesia Open last Sunday, and Chapchai Nirat finished as the top Thais in a share of 10th place at 270, seven shots behind the winner while two-time US PGA Tour winner Daniel Chopra of Sweden came in joint sixth place with England's Yasin Ali after closing with a 63.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS

Par 280 (4 x 70)
263 Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 68 68 62 65
265 Rhys Davies (Wal) 65 64 69 67
266 Lu Wei-Chih (Tpe) 65 68 68 65
267 Wu Ashun (Chn) 67 67 67 66, S.S.P. Chowrasia (Ind) 66 62 70 69
268 Daniel Chopra (Swe) 67 69 69 63, Yasin Ali (Eng) 70 68 66 64
269 Mardan Mamat (Sin) 66 67 69 67, Kodai Ichihara (Jpn) 68 66 68 67
270 Mark Purser (Nzl) 68 69 70 63, Anthony Kang (USA) 67 70 68 65, Himmat Rai (Ind) 65 72 68 65, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 69 70 64 67, Chapchai Nirat (Tha) 64 69 69 68, Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind) 64 66 71 69, Keith Horne (Rsa) 65 69 68 68, Unho Park (Aus) 64 71 66 69, Juvic Pagunsan (Phi) 70 65 65 70
271 Anirban Lahiri (Ind) 68 67 72 64, Mo Joong-Kyung (Kor) 65 71 69 66, Udorn Duangdecha (Tha) 66 66 70 69
272 Angelo Que (Phi) 67 67 71 67, Kim Dae-Hyun (Kor) 70 64 69 69
273 Jbe Kruger (Rsa) 68 67 72 66, Iain Steel (Mal) 69 66 71 67, Varut Chomchalam (Tha) 69 67 70 67, Rory Hie (Ina) 69 68 69 67, Tetsuji Hiratsuka (Jpn) 66 70 69 68, Tim Stewart (Aus) 65 67 69 72, David Bransdon (Aus) 66 65 69 73, Prom Meesawat (Tha) 71 64 66 72
274 Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Tha) 68 66 73 67, Lam Chih Bing (Sin) 68 67 71 68, Kwanchai Tannin (Tha) 65 70 70 69, Shiv Kapur (Ind) 69 68 68 69, Antonio Lascuna (Phi) 68 68 67 71
275 Frankie Minoza (Phi) 69 69 72 65, Young Nam (Kor) 65 74 69 67, Andrew Dodt (Aus) 68 69 70 68, Darren Beck (Aus) 67 67 72 69, Toni Karjalainen (Fin) 70 65 71 69, Bryan Saltus (USA) 68 66 70 71, Park Jun-Won (Kor) 67 70 66 72
276 Mars Pucay (Phi) 68 70 73 65, Artemio Murakami (Phi) 67 71 71 67, Adam Le Vesconte (Aus) 69 70 68 69, S. Siva Chandhran (Mal) 69 68 68 71, Ben Leong (Mal) 69 66 68 73
277 Boonchu Ruangkit (Tha) 65 71 70 71, Gavin Flint (Aus) 70 66 70 71, Jason Knutzon (USA) 72 63 70 72
278 Chris Campbell (Aus) 70 67 72 69, Nakul Vichitryuthasastr (Tha) 69 70 70 69, Zhang Lian-Wei (Chn) 70 67 70 71
279 Neven Basic (Aus) 70 69 70 70, Siddikur (Ban) 68 68 67 76
280 Chang Tse-Peng (Tpe) 67 71 73 69, Mitchell Brown (Aus) 63 71 73 73, Danny Chia (Mal) 69 66 70 75
282 Vuttipong Puangkaew (Tha) 66 73 73 70, Shang Lei (Chn) 67 72 73 70, Chaipat Darapanich (Tha) 72 67 72 71, Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha) 70 69 69 74
283 Amandeep Johl (Ind) 67 69 72 75
286 Peter Cooke (Aus) 70 69 76 71
288 Jean Van De Velde (Fra) 70 69 77 72, Digvijay Singh (Ind) 63 73 76 76

For further information, visit http://www.asiantour.com/

FOTHERINGHAM IN TOP 30 DOWN

UNDER WITH ROUND TO GO

Nairn's Fraser Fotheringham, beaten finalist in the 2007 British boys' championship, is tied for 28th place with one round to go in the Riversdale Cup, one of Australia's most prestigious stroke-play golf tournaments, at Riversdale Golf Club, Victoria.
Fotherham, pictured right, has scored 73, 71 and 73 for a one-over-par tally of 217.
Leading Scot is Australia-based Stephen Speirs in a share of 18th place with scores of 72, 69 and 74 for 215.
Leading the field by five shots is Australian Jordan Sherratt with scores of 63, 68 and 68 for 199. His nearest challenger is the defending champion and compatriot Scott Arnold with 68,70 and 66 for 204.
.
Leading third round totals (par 216: 3 x 72)
Players from Australia unless stated
199 Jordan Sherratt 63 68 68.
204 Scott Arnold 68 70 66.
205 Ryan Fox (NZ) 70 66 69.
206 Daniel Beckman 74 62 70.
Selected scores:
215 Stephen Speirs (Sco) 72 69 74 (jt 18th).
217 Fraser Fotheringham (Sco) 73 71 73 (jt 28th).
219 Paul Buckley (Ire) 74 72 73(jt 45th).
222 Jason Palmer (Eng) 73 69 80, Adam Wainwright (Eng) 71 76 75 (jt 71st).
230 Joe Lyons (Ire) 75 77 78 (jt 115th).

Jimmy Gunn, Scott Jamieson

finish with 68s in Arizona

Scots Jimmy Gunn from Dornoch and Glasgow's Scott Jamieson both shot final rounds of four-under-par 68 as they finished joint 42nd and joint 68th respectively in the Gateway Tour's Winter Series championship at Encanterra Country Club, Queen Creek in Arizona (on Saturday).
Gunn, pictured right, birdied the second, eighth, 14th, 17th and 18th with only one bogey, at the long 13th in his final round after earlier scores of 73, 72 and 71 for a final total of four-under-par 284. He earned $1,200.
Former Scottish boys stroke-play champion Jamieson got round in a final 68 despite a double bogey at the short 14th. He compensated with an eagle at the third and birdies at the first, seventh, eighth, 10th, 11th and 15th although he did bogey the second and ninth.
His earlier scores were 75, 73 and 75 and he finished at three-over-par 291 to earn $765.
American Chris Kamin won the jackpot prize of $30,000 with a total of 22-under-par 266, made up of 69, 60, 66 and 71. That second-round 12-under-par 60 was a course record.
He won by six shots from fellow Americans Jess Daley and Hugo Leon who earned $14,000 apiece.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS

Par 288 (4 x 72)

Players from US unless stated

266 Chris Kamin 659 60 66 71 ($30,000).

272 Jess Daley 68 66 71 67, Hugo Leon 68 66 68 70 ($14,000 each).

Selected scores:

284 Jimmy Gunn (Sco) 73 72 71 68 ($1,200) (jt 42nd).

291 Scott Jamieson (Sco) 75 73 75 68 ($765) (jt 68th)

Michael Sim joint 4th

in N Z after six-birdie

final round

Aberdeen-born Australian Michael Sim finished with a six-birdie round of 67 for a total of 12-under-par 276 to tie for fourth place in the New Zealand PGA championship at Clearwater Country Club, Christchurch.
New Zealanders filled the first three places. Steve Alker, with a closing 67 for 15-under 273, became the first Kiwi since Frank Nobilo in 1987 to win the title and the $113,684 first prize. Playing on a sponsors' invitation, Alker won by two shots from compatriots Josh Geary and David Smail.
Sim, pictured above, who finished third in the previous weekend's Moonah Classic near Melbourne, earning $42,631, birdied the first, long second, short fourth, sixth, long 10th and 12th in halves of 33 and 34 in his final round. His only bogey came at the short ninth. His earlier rounds were 71, 66 and 72.
Now if Michael could only shoot in the 60s in the third round! In the Moonah Classic he had a third-day 76 and in New Zealand he could "only" match the par of 72 on Saturday.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 288 (4 x 72)
273 Steve Alker (NZ) 69 70 67 67.
275 Josh Geary (NZ) 72 65 71 67, David Smail (NZ) 68 71 68 68.
276 Michael Sim (Sco) 71 66 72 67, Henrik Bjornstad (Nor) 71 70 68 67, Ryan Hietala (US) 71 67 69 69.
277 Josh Teater (US) 67 68 75 67, Gavin Coles (Aus) 70 68 71 68, Jason Norris (Aus) 73 65 70 69, Danny Lee (NZ) (am) 71 67 69 70, Steve Friesen (US) 69 67 69 72.
Other totals:
278 Kurt Barnes 64 71 71 72, Craig Bowden 69 68 70 71, Gareth Paddison 67 68 74 69
279 Anthony Brown 72 69 70 68, Matthew Griffin 69 68 72 70, Peter O'Malley 69 67 73 70, Geoffrey Sisk 72 67 71 69, Brian Stuard 70 68 70 71
280 Chad Ginn 71 69 74 66, Brad Kennedy 71 67 74 68, Craig Parry 71 68 71 70
281 Joe Daley 70 70 71 70, Alistair Presnell 67 74 70 70, Peter Senior 69 71 71 70, Paul Sheehan 70 71 71 69, Andre Stolz 67 74 72 68
282 David Branshaw 66 71 76 69, Michael Clark II 69 72 71 70, Jeff Gove 70 71 70 71, Ashley Hall 71 70 72 69, Scott Hend 68 70 70 74, Tripp Isenhour 72 67 75 68, Kevin Johnson 70 67 74 71, Richard Lee 69 69 71 73, David McKenzie 70 71 67 74, Brenden Pappas 71 70 72 69
283 Bradley Hughes 73 67 71 72, Dustin Risdon 71 69 73 70, Aaron Townsend 73 67 76 67
284 Stephen Dartnall 72 67 68 77, Paul Gow 69 72 73 70, Hunter Haas 72 69 73 70
285 Adam Bland 69 70 77 69, Scott Dunlap 67 71 78 69, Ryan Hammond 65 73 76 71, Drew Laning 70 71 71 73, John Riegger 70 71 73 71
286 Justin Hicks 69 69 74 74, Len Mattiace 69 72 72 73, Roger Tambellini 69 71 78 68, Andrew Tschudin 69 72 73 72
287 Nick Flanagan 71 67 71 78, Steve Jones 70 71 76 70
288 Rich Barcelo 70 70 76 72
289 Adam Crawford 68 73 77 71
290 Gary Christian (Eng) 72 69 74 75, Ryan Haller 73 67 73 77, Paul Marantz 71 69 73 77
291 Alex Prugh 73 67 77 74, Brad Shilton 70 69 76 76
292 Garth Mulroy 71 70 73 78
293 Michael Wright 71 66 79 77

Knox rallies with five birdies in a row

to stay in Hooters Tour hunt

Stephen Shellock (Orlando, Florida) took full advantage of “moving day” by bolting to the top of the leaderboard with a course record-setting round of 11-under-par 61 at the NGA Hooters Tour's Amelia Island Plantation NGA Classic presented by Valley Crest over the 6775 yard, par 72 Oak Marsh Golf Course. The round included 11 birdies, 1 eagle and 2 bogies.
Shellock will carry his now 11-under-par 205 three-round total, along with a one stroke advantage over Ted Potter (Silver Springs, FL) who posted ten under par 206, into the final round.
Kyle Ellis (Senatobia, MS) who finished with a three round total of nine under par 207 and will begin the final round two strokes back of the leader.
Inverness-born Russell Knox starts in joint fourth place on 209, having improved from joint eighth place at the start of the third round. When the Highlander bogeyed the short fourth and then ran up a double bogey 5 at the short seventh, he looked as if he were in free-fall but then Knox strung together five successive birdies - at the eighth, ninth, 10th, 11th and 12th - to retrieve the situation.
The total purse for The Amelia Island Plantation NGA Classic presented by Valley Crest is $200,000 with $33,566 going to the winner.
LEADING THIRD ROUND TOTALS
Par 216 (3 x 72)
205 Stephen Shellock 73 71 61.
206 Ted Potter 68 69 69
207 Kyle Ellis 70 68 69.
Selected score
209 Russell Knox (Scotland) 68 71 70.

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