The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Smoltz (74) falls 11 shots off pace; Singh is in final group at Honda
Mark O’Meara shot a 3-under 70 in breezy conditions Saturday to take the second-round lead in the Cologuard Classic, while Braves Hall of Famer John Smoltz closed with a double bogey to drop 11 strokes back in his PGA Tour Champions debut.
The 62-year-old O’Meara finished with a bogey on the par-4 18th to take a 10-under 136 total into the final round on Omni Tucson (Ariz.) National’s Catalina Course. He also bogeyed No. 18 on Friday in a 66 when he matched the tour record with eight straight birdies.
Smoltz was tied for 56th at 1 over after rounds of 73 and 74. The 51-year-old Hall of Fame pitcher made the double bogey on the par-4 ninth.
“Coming in here, felt like I could play under par and that I could play this golf course,” Smoltz said. “One more day to prove that. I was under par both days all the way until the end. It’s much easier closing baseball games than it’s been closing out the golf tournament.”
Kirk Triplett (69), Scott McCarron (70) and Willie Wood (71) were a stroke behind O’Meara.
PGA Tour: Vijay Singh’s last PGA Tour victory came in 2008. His only win at The Honda Classic was in 1999, on a course that he couldn’t remember. And he arrived at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., a few days ago wondering if his game is still good enough for him to be competitive with the younger generation.
He’ll have a shot today at making history.
Singh — who turned 56 on Feb. 22 — has a chance to become the oldest winner ever on the PGA Tour. His round of 5-under 65 on Saturday put him at 6 under for the week, one shot behind leader Wyndham Clark.
They’ll be in the final pairing today. Singh has been a pro longer than the 25-yearold Clark has been alive.
“It would be great,” Singh said when asked what a win would mean at his age. “I’ve worked pretty hard. I’m physically quite capable of doing it. Mentally, I’m going to go out there and see how my mind works.”
Singh, Keith Mitchell (70) and Kyeong-Hoon Lee (68) are one shot off Clark’s lead.
LPGA Tour: The No. 1 player in the world is No. 1 after three rounds at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore. Two strokes behind American Amy Olson after two rounds, Ariya Jutanugarn moved to the top of the leaderboard and a onestroke lead after a 6-under 66.
Jutanugarn had a threeround total of 11-under 205. No. 3 Minjee Lee was in second place after a 67, with Jodi Ewart Shadoff in third after a 68, two behind the top-ranked Thai player.