Kirk nudges in front of crowded leaderboard at The Players
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Kevin Na dropped his club and placed his hands on his hips as he watched his tee shot, certain that it was going to come up short of the island. Disappointment gave way to an embarrassed smile when he saw the ball settle 6 feet next to the flag.
That one shot summed up a warm and wild afternoon Saturday at The Players Championship.
For most players, nothing was ever as bad as it seemed. Or as good. Chris Kirk felt his round slipping away when he missed a short birdie putt and followed that with two straight bogeys to fall out of the top 10. Three consecutive birdies later, he was on his way to a 4-under 68 and a one-shot lead (10- under 206) going into the final round.
But that’s like having no lead at all. Not with two dozen players — Rory McIlroy, among them — within four shots of the lead.
Na was never too far from the lead, and he was tied when he was on the tee at the par-3 17th and hit slightly behind the ball, took up more of the earth than he intended and thought to himself, “Oh, boy.”
He was waiting for a splash. Instead, he heard a cheer.
And then he gave what was believed to be the first interview while going to the island green. He chased down Roger Maltbie of NBC, who said to him, “You gave up on it.”
“No, I didn’t,” Na said. “I hit it fat. And then I saw it fly and thought, ‘You know, this might get there.’”
“Never let them see you sweat, pal,” Maltbie replied.
There could be plenty of sweating today in a championship that is up for grabs.
“It seems like half the tour has a chance to win this thing,” McIlroy said after a 70 put him four shots behind.
Tiger Woods was part of the other half. He made the wrong kind of history Saturday by making two double bogeys on par 5s for the first time in his career, leading to a 75 that matched his worst score at the TPC Sawgrass. Woods was13 shots behind and chose not to share his thoughts on the day.
Na missed the birdie putt on 17, and then he three-putted for a double bogey on No.18 for a 72 that dropped him from a tie for the lead to a tie for fifth, another example of how volatile in the leaderboard looked all day.
Scores, 10C