Cink leaves thefieldin his wake at Hilton Head
Veteran Stewart Cink retained a commanding lead midway through the third round of the RBC Heritage title at Hilton Head.
Cink smashed a 36-hole record by shooting a secondstraight 63 on Friday to take a five-stroke lead in the quest for his third win in the competition.
The 47-year-old’s mark of 16-under 126 sliced three shots off the previous best 36-hole total at the famed South Carolina course, with the old record of 129 set by Jack Nicklaus in 1975 and repeated in 2002 by Phil Mickelson.
Cink, whose victory at September’s Safeway Open was his first in 11 years, extended his advantage to six shots through 11 holes of the third round, ahead of Canada’s Corey Conners, Argentinian Emiliano Grillo and England’s Matt Wallace, who carded a brilliant third-round 65.
Scot Robert Macintyre was 11 shots behind after shooting a one-under-par 70 to sit on six under.
■ Lydia Ko again put herself in position for her first win in three years, shooting a sevenunder 65 to take a one-stroke lead into the final round of the Lotte Championship in Hawaii. Nelly Korda, who went back and forth with Ko for the lead throughout the third round, finished with a 63 and was one shot back. Ko pushed ahead one last time by rolling in the last of her seven birdies on the par-4 18th.
“It wasn’t a flying start compared to the other two days, but I stayed patient,” Ko said. “I had lots of looks but they just didn’t drop. When it’s that kind of day, you just have to be committed and do a good job on the next one and not be too worried.”
Ko is 21 under through three rounds at Kapolei Golf Club, which has offered little resistance this week even in windy conditions. She has played her last four rounds in 31 under, having fired a 62 last Sunday at the ANA Inspiration for her second runner-up finish of the year.