RUSSELL KNOX ONLY FOUR SHOTS OFF THE PACE
LUKE DONALD LEADS RBC HERITAGE
BY TWO AFTER THIRD ROUND
FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
RBC HERITAGE: Leaderboard | Tee times | Wrap-up | Saturday photos | Event video | FedExCup
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, South Carolina -- When Luke Donald changed coaches late last year, the Englishman did so because he wanted his game to hold up better in the tough conditions of major championship golf.
He’s a week late for the Masters, but the conditions were no less difficult on a wet, chilly day along the Calibogue Sound.
Donald (pictured) matched the best round of the day with a 66 on Saturday at Harbour Town, where he has a two-stroke lead over John Huh going into the final round of the RBC Heritage.
It’s a chance for Donald to end a two-year winless drought on the US PGA Tour and avenge a playoff loss here three years ago.
“I think as players you always get a little anxious if it's been a little bit of time between wins, especially coming from me,” said the former world No. 1. “Taking nothing away from Pat (Goss), (the coach) who took me all the way to No. 1. I just felt like at times under pressure, and especially in majors where the course setup is more extreme, I wanted to be able to get the ball in play a little bit more, hit fairways, hit greens when I needed to.”
Through three rounds at Harbour Town, he has done just that. Donald has hit 30 of 42 fairways -- good for 15th best in the field -- and 39 of 54 greens in regulation -- the second most in the field.
With half the field having to finish the second round on Saturday morning after heavy rain wiped out play much of Friday afternoon, Donald had the benefit of being one of the players who finished.
Once he did get to the course, he didn’t waste any time making a move up the leaderboard.
Donald reached the par-5 second in two and rolled in a 23-footer for eagle. Then, after three bogeys and a birdie in his next five holes, he made five birdies over his final 11 holes, not missing a green until the difficult 18th, which he parred anyway.
“I felt like with Chuck's method I used the bigger muscles a little bit more,” Donald said. “The last couple of days it's kind of shown that on a course with tiny greens. I missed three (Friday) and four today. That's always a good recipe for success around a place like this.”
COLIN FARQUHARSON WRITES:BY TWO AFTER THIRD ROUND
FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
RBC HERITAGE: Leaderboard | Tee times | Wrap-up | Saturday photos | Event video | FedExCup
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, South Carolina -- When Luke Donald changed coaches late last year, the Englishman did so because he wanted his game to hold up better in the tough conditions of major championship golf.
He’s a week late for the Masters, but the conditions were no less difficult on a wet, chilly day along the Calibogue Sound.
Donald (pictured) matched the best round of the day with a 66 on Saturday at Harbour Town, where he has a two-stroke lead over John Huh going into the final round of the RBC Heritage.
It’s a chance for Donald to end a two-year winless drought on the US PGA Tour and avenge a playoff loss here three years ago.
“I think as players you always get a little anxious if it's been a little bit of time between wins, especially coming from me,” said the former world No. 1. “Taking nothing away from Pat (Goss), (the coach) who took me all the way to No. 1. I just felt like at times under pressure, and especially in majors where the course setup is more extreme, I wanted to be able to get the ball in play a little bit more, hit fairways, hit greens when I needed to.”
Through three rounds at Harbour Town, he has done just that. Donald has hit 30 of 42 fairways -- good for 15th best in the field -- and 39 of 54 greens in regulation -- the second most in the field.
With half the field having to finish the second round on Saturday morning after heavy rain wiped out play much of Friday afternoon, Donald had the benefit of being one of the players who finished.
Once he did get to the course, he didn’t waste any time making a move up the leaderboard.
Donald reached the par-5 second in two and rolled in a 23-footer for eagle. Then, after three bogeys and a birdie in his next five holes, he made five birdies over his final 11 holes, not missing a green until the difficult 18th, which he parred anyway.
“I felt like with Chuck's method I used the bigger muscles a little bit more,” Donald said. “The last couple of days it's kind of shown that on a course with tiny greens. I missed three (Friday) and four today. That's always a good recipe for success around a place like this.”
Russell Knox is lying in joint seventh place with the likes of Matt Kuchar and Matt Every on four-under 209 round the par-71 track. The man from Inverness has had rounds of 69, 72 and 68.
In Saturday's round Russell birdied the long second, the long fifth, the 10th and the long 15th.
He dropped only one shot, at the short 14th.
Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick, the US amateur champion from England, is in T16 place on 211 with rounds of 71, 71 and 69. He is a shot ahead of Graeme McDowell (71-69-72)
THIRD-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 213 (3x71) Players from USA unless stated
205 Luke Donald (England) 70 69 66
207 John Huh 71 68 68
208 Charl Schwartzel (S Africa) 70 70 68, Nicholas Thompson 70 70 68, Jim Furyk 71 66 71, Ben Martin 69 68 71
209 Russell Knox (Scotland) 69 72 68, Brian Stuard 69 72 68, Brian Harman 69 71 69, Matt Kuchar 66 73 70, Matt Every 69 70 70
SELECTED OTHER SCORES
211 Matthew Fitzpatrick (England) (am) 71 71 69 (T16)
212 Graeme McDowell (N Irlenad) 71 69 72, Martin Kaymer (Germany) 73 67 72, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spain) 74 71 67 (T22)
213 Paul Casey (England) 74 67 72 (T34)
218 Ernie Els (S Africa) 72 73 73 (T67)
219 Brian Davies (England) 71 75 73 (T74)
Labels: US PGA TOUR
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Sunday, April 20, 2014
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