Woods flirts with lead before fading
Tiger Woods started with brief run at the lead. Hideki Matsuyama ended Saturday on his way to another victory.
Matsuyama, a winner in three of his last four tournaments, holed out for eagle on the front nine and kept his mistakes to a minimum for a seven-under 65 to build a sevenshot lead in the Hero World Challenge in Nassau, Bahamas. British Open champion Henrik Stenson (66) and U.S. Open winner Dustin Johnson (72) were the closest players to the Japanese star.
Woods was even farther back — 11 shots — though the opening hour was filled with big excitement and raised expectations. Woods opened with three straight birdies, and then holed out a 40-yard bunker shot on the par-three fifth hole to get within two shots as Matsuyama was getting started.
But after an 18-foot birdie putt on the 11th hole to reach 11 under, Woods started missing fairways and dropping shots. And he ended the third round with another tee shot into the water on the 18th hole for a double bogey. He had to settle for a 70 and was in 10th place among 17 players. Matsuyama was at 19-under 197. Johnson tried to stay with him, but had a hard time keeping it out of the sandy areas off the tee.
Brandt Snedeker (69) and Matt Kuchar (71) were at 11-under 205.
New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski has been placed on injured reserve after having season-ending back surgery. Gronkowski, who has missed playing time earlier in the season with a hamstring injury and bruised lung, left last week’s game against the New York Jets in the first half with what was described as a herniated disk in his back. He had surgery Friday . ... Houston Texans defensive end Jadeveon Clowney is out for Sunday’s game against Green Bay because of elbow and wrist injuries.
Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford is expected to sit out up to three weeks after undergoing an emergency appendectomy on Saturday, forcing him to miss his scheduled start against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Annals Of Time darted through a narrow opening in mid-stretch and overhauled stablemate Beach Patrol nearing the wire to win the $300,000 Hollywood Derby for 3year-olds by 11⁄2 lengths at Del Mar. Ridden by Javier Castellano, Annals Of Time ran 11⁄8 miles on turf in 1:47.73. Frank Conversation was another half-length back in third.
New York-based trainer Chad Brown finished 1-2 in the Grade 1 race. His other entrant, 7-2 favorite Camelot Kitten, was seventh.
In the $200,000 Bayakoa Handicap for older fillies and mares, 1-2 favorite Vale Dori won by three lengths. Ridden by Hall of Famer Mike Smith, Vale Dori ran 11⁄16 miles in 1:44.79.
The 4-year-old filly is trained by Bob Baffert.
Wild At Heart was second and Moyo Honey was another threequarters of a length back in third in the Grade 2 race.