Pep talk helps Cook grab lead
Canadian Adam Hadwin had a 67 a year after shooting a third-round 59 at La Quinta
LA QUINTA, CALIF.— Austin Cook hit a hybrid into the fairway bunker on the par-4 18th on a breezy Saturday afternoon at La Quinta Country Club, then chunked a wedge and raced a chip 20 feet past the hole.
Kip Henley, the longtime PGA Tour caddy who guided Cook to a breakthrough victory at Sea Island in November, stepped in to give the 26year-old former Arkansas star a quick pep talk.
“Kip said, ‘Let’s finish this like we did on the first day at the Nicklaus Course.’ We made a big par putt on18 there and he said, ‘Let’s just do the same thing. Let’s get this line right and if you get the line right it’s going in.’”
It did, giving Cook an 8-under 64 and a one-stroke lead in the CareerBuilder Challenge going into the final round on the Stadium Course at PGA West. Fellow former Razorback Andrew Landry and Martin Piller were tied for second, and Jon Rahm and Scott Piercy were a another stroke back after a tricky day in wind that didn’t get close to the predicted gusts of 40 mph.
But Cook played the final six holes on the front nine in 6 under with an eagle and four birdies.
“I know that I wouldn’t have wanted to play the Stadium today,” Cook said. “I think we got a great draw with the courses that we got to play on the days that we got to play them.”
“Starting on my fourth hole, I was able to make a birdie and kind of get the ball rolling and it never really stopped rolling,” Cook said. “Kip and I were doing really good at seeing the line on the greens.”
After a bogey on 10, he birdied 11, 12 and15 and had pars on the final three to get to 19-under 197.
“I think that tonight the nerves, the butterflies, all that will kind of be a little less,” Cook said. “I’ve been in the situation before and I was able to finish the job on Sunday. I think it would be a little different if I didn’t play like I did on Sunday at Sea Island.”
He’s making his first start in the event.
“I came in from Hawaii on Monday, so I only had two days to prepare for three courses,” Cook said.
Landry, the second-round leader, had a 70 at the Stadium. Piller, the husband of LPGA Tour player Gerina Piller, shot a 67 at La Quinta. Winless on the PGA Tour, they will join Cook in the final threesome.
Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., had a 67 at La Quinta a year after shooting a third-round 59 on the course. The Canadian was 16 under along with Grayson Murray and Brandon Harkins. Murray had a 67 on the Nicklaus Course, and Harkins shot 68 at the Stadium.
Phil Mickelson missed the cut in his first tournament of the year for the second time in his career, shooting a 74 on the Stadium to finish at 4 under — four strokes from a Sunday tee time.
Rahm had a 70 at the Stadium to reach 17 under. The third-ranked Rahm beat up the par 5s again, but had four bogeys — three on par 3s. He has played the 12 par 5s in 13 under with an eagle and 11 birdies.
“A little bit of a survival day,” Rahm said.
The wind was a bigger factor on the more exposed and tighter Stadium Course.
“The course is firming up,” Rahm said. “I know if we have similar wind to today, if we shoot something under par, you’ll be way up there contesting it over the last few holes.” Piercy had a 66 at the Stadium. “I controlled my ball really well today,” he said.
Charlie Reiter, the Palm Desert High School senior playing on the first sponsor exemption the event has given to an amateur, also missed the cut. He had three early straight double bogeys in a 77 on the Stadium that left him 1 over.
John Daly had an 80 at La Quinta. He opened with a triple bogey and had six bogeys — four in a row to start his second nine — and only one birdie. The 51-year-old Daly opened with a 69 on the Nicklaus layout and had a 71 on Friday at the Stadium.