A birdie hat-trick propelled Steve Marino into a tie for the lead with fellow American Paul Goydos after the Barclays Classic third round on Saturday.
Marino, chasing his first PGA Tour win, knocked his ball two feet from the pin at the par-three 14th before converting putts of 11 and seven feet at the next two holes as he registered a three-under-par 68 and a nine-under total of 204.
“I think if I play well, I’ll have a good chance to win the golf tournament,” he said.
The short-hitting Goydos had three successive birdies on the front nine as he carded 68.
The duo were two shots ahead of Swede Fredrik Jacobson (68) and 24-year-old American tour rookie Webb Simpson (72), who started the day two clear of the field. Steve Stricker was a further shot back on six under par, one stroke better than fellow American Heath Slocum.
US trio Tiger Woods, Zach Johnson and Matt Kuchar, Ireland’s Padraig Harrington and Briton Ian Poulter were tied for seventh on 209.
■JOHNNIE WALKER
REUTERS, GLENEAGLES, SCOTLAND
Sweden’s Peter Hedblom went to the top of the leaderboard for the second straight Saturday to take the lead after the Johnnie Walker Championship third round.
Hedblom was a four-under-par 68 for an eight-under 208, one ahead of 1999 British Open champion Paul Lawrie (73) who led for the opening two days.
Two late bogeys dropped Lawrie to seven-under, a stroke better than fellow Britons Steven O’Hara (66) and Jamie Donaldson (70), Frenchman Gregory Bourdy (71) and 2008 Ryder Cup player Soren Hansen (71) of Denmark.
A runner who stopped during a marathon in China to pose doing the splits and another who hoarded energy gels have been banned for two years, the local athletics association said yesterday. The incidents happened during Sunday’s marathon in Sichuan Province’s Chengdu and were widely shared online. Videos showed a female runner stopping suddenly and dropping to the ground in the splits position, holding up her arms in a heart shape as she apparently posed for a photograph. She “committed obstructive fouls during the race, affecting the safe participation of other runners,” the Sichuan Athletics Association said in a statement, which identified
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
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