Ernie Els, who ended a two-year title drought this month, put himself in position to make it two wins in two starts on Saturday as he seized the third-round lead at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Els carded a three-under par 69 at Bay Hill on Saturday for a 10-under total of 206. He was the only player in double-digits under par and the only one to shoot three rounds in the 60s.
The South African claimed his 17th US tour victory and second World Golf Championships title with his triumph in the CA Championship at Doral on March 14.
Ben Curtis, the 2003 British Open champion, had a two-shot lead until he bogeyed two of his last three holes. He carded a 70 for 207.
Els had just one bogey as scoring got tougher in blustery weather. He hit 14 of 18 greens in regulation and took 30 putts.
“There’s a lot of work left,” said Els, whose two closing pars were enough to overtake Curtis. “Obviously, I’m still in a very good position.”
After picking up birdies at four and five, Els gave one shot back at 11 before birdies at the two back-nine par-fives — 12 and 16.
At the par-three 17th he found the green despite the tricky wind conditions and at 18 he saved par from a bunker.
Els gave himself the opportunity to win back-to-back titles on the US tour for the first time in seven years.
Curtis’ round came unglued with his bogey at the par-five 16th, the easiest hole on the course, where he three-putted from 70 feet.
■ ANDALUCIA OPEN
AFP, MALAGA, SPAIN
South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen eyed a spot in the Masters on Saturday after opening a one-shot lead at the Andalucia Open.
Runner-up to Rhys Davies in Morocco last weekend after leading by three with 15 holes to play, 27-year-old Oosthuizen, who has yet to win a European Tour title, was likely to need a victory yesterday in his bid for a second successive trip to Augusta.
A four under par 66 on Saturday kept him on course for that achievement, but England’s Robert Coles is just one shot behind.
Coles’ 63 was his lowest round in 267 professional tournaments and lifted him from ninth to second while fellow Englishman Sam Hutsby, the joint overnight leader, dropped back to joint fifth on ten under with a level par 70.
■CAP CANA
AP, CAP CANA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Corey Pavin birdied his last four holes for a course-record 9-under 63 on Saturday and a one-shot lead over Nick Price after two rounds of the Champions Tour’s US$1.6 million Cap Cana Championship.
Pavin broke Bernhard Langer’s Punta Espada Golf Club record of 64 during the third round of last year’s tournament.
Taiwan’s Lu Chien-soon scored a 73.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but