Fast finish puts Snedeker up by 3
Golfer birdies final three holes for edge over Tway in opener
Napa, Calif. Brandt Snedeker birdied the final three holes Saturday to take a three-stroke lead into the final round of the PGA Tour’s seasonopening Safeway Open.
Snedeker finished with a 3-under 69 to get to 16-under 200 on the North Course at Silverado Resort and Spa. He won the Wyndham Championship in August, opening with a 59 en route to his ninth PGA Tour title.
Kevin Tway was second after a 68.
Sungjae Im (69) was 12 under, and Bill Haas (67) followed at 11 under.
Phil Mickelson, tied for second entering the round, had a 74 to drop into a tie for 15th at 8 under.
Fred Couples also was 8 under after a 70 in his final regular PGA Tour start. european PGA: Tyrrell Hatton of England is on course to become the first golfer since
Tiger Woods 11 years ago to win the same European Tour event three years running. Hatton shot a 6-under 66 in the third round at St. Andrews, one of three courses being used at the Dunhill Links Championship, to open a one-stroke lead with a 14-under total of 202 on Saturday. Marcus Fraser of Australia was his nearest challenger after a 67 at Kingsbarns. Former Dunhill Links winner Stephen Gallacher (66) and Hatton’s European Ryder Cup teammate, Tommy Fleetwood (67), were in joint third place, two shots further back, at 11 under. Fourteen-time major champion Woods was the last player to win the same European Tour event three successive times when, in 2007, he completed a hat trick of titles at the Wgc-championship and the Wgc-invitational. Nick Faldo is the only Englishman to have previously achieved the feat after winning the Irish Open from 1991-93.
LPGA: Strong winds and heavy rain from Typhoon Kong-rey hit the Korean peninsula on Saturday, ensuring that there would be no play on Day 3 of the eightnation UL International Crown event in the city of Incheon, 25 miles west of Seoul. The defending champion United States led Pool B at the end of the second round with six points. Sweden is next with four points while Japan and Thailand have three each.