Stenson takes one-shot lead at Bay Hill; Woods five back
ORLANDO, FLA. » Henrik Stenson gets his third chance in four years to finally win the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and the final hour Saturday reminded him it won’t be easy.
Part of that feeling came from three putts he narrowly missed — two for birdie, one for eagle — that could have given him some separation going into the final round at Bay Hill. Stenson settled for a 1-under 71 that gave him a one-shot lead over Bryson DeChambeau, who missed a few chances of his own in a round of 72.
And part of that feeling was seeing some of the names suddenly in the mix.
Four-time major champion Rory McIlroy made an eagle and birdied two of his last three holes, dropping a wedge into 3 feet on the 18th for a 67 to finish two shots behind. Former U.S. Open champion Justin Rose outplayed Tiger Woods before another raucous gallery, posting a 67 that left him three behind.
“I think that I didn’t really miss a shot the last six holes,” said Stenson, who was at 12-under 204. “The only frustrating part was not really getting the score with me on that fine play coming in . ... I felt like I left one or two out there coming in, and I definitely could have wrapped up a two- or three-shot lead for tomorrow, which would have been a nice cushion. But I guess it didn’t happen and we’ve just got to go out and play solid tomorrow to try and have a chance to win it.” Woods isn’t entirely out of just yet, either. He hit another it shot that had the fans buzzing, switching from a wedge to hit back to the fairway to a 5-iron he took over the lip, over the trees and over the water to set up a birdie on the par-5 16th. Woods had a 69 and was five shots behind.
“I’m within reach if I shoot a really, really low round tomorrow,” Woods said.
Park leads at Founders Cup
PHOENIX » Inbee Park played the first five holes in 6 under Saturday and finished with a 9-under 63 to take the lead into the final round of the LPGA Tour’s Founders Cup.
Park holed out from 90 yards for eagle on the par-4 third to highlight the early run at Desert Ridge. She birdied the par-4 ninth for a front-nine 31, made another birdie on the par-5 11th and capped the bogey-free round with an 18-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th.
Uribe birdied the 18th for a 67. Ariya Jutanugarn was two strokes behind at 12 under after her third 68.
Hall of Famer Laura Davies matched Park with a 63 at age 54 to move into for fourth at 11 under. a
Federer edges Coric to stay undefeated
tie INDIAN WELLS » Roger Federer rallied to beat Borna Coric 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in the BNP Paribas Open Saturday, extending his career-best start to 17-0 and putting him in the final with a chance to win his record sixth title.
Federer overcame a slow start in front of a partisan crowd that included Rod Laver and Pete Sampras. He rallied from a 5-7, 2-4 deficit to win the final four games of the second set, breaking Coric twice for the first time in the match.
There were five breaks in the third. Federer trailed 4-3 and then broke after two deuces on his way to winning the last three games of the two-hour, 20-minute struggle.
Coric’s crosscourt forehand was called out on match point. He challenged the call and the line system showed it was just wide of the sideline.
Federer hasn’t started a season
so well since 2006, when he won his first 16 matches en route to a 92-5 record.
The Swiss superstar was playing a rare 11 a.m. match. According to the ATP Tour, Federer hadn’t played that early since 2006. And it showed as he sprayed errors all over the court and didn’t break Coric for the first time until late in the second set.
“Really I just woke up,” Federer said in an on-court interview. “It was early today. I had pasta at 9:15. It was yummy.”
Logano cruises to Xfinity victory
FONTANA » Joey Logano cruised through the final laps of his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the season with more relief than excitement.
When you’re a Cup Series driver in the best car in the field, anything less than first place would be embarrassing.
Logano cruised to his 29th career Xfinity Series victory on Saturday, outpacing Justin Allgaier at Fontana.
“It was one of those races with one of those cars that was so good, you just hope you don’t screw up something and lose the race,” Logano said. “You’re supposed to win when you’ve got a car that fast.”
Logano pushed his Team Penske Ford to his third Xfinity win at Auto Club Speedway.