honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, March 29, 2009

O'Hair pads lead in Palmer

Associated Press

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Sean O'Hair will take a five-shot lead into today's final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Fla.

PHELAN M. EBENHACK | Associated Press

spacer spacer

ORLANDO, Fla. — Sean O'Hair couldn't think of a bad shot he hit over the last four holes, yet he still made three bogeys.

Tiger Woods was thrilled with his last two bogeys — one after a shot caromed off the cart path, another after a shot no one could find along the banks of the lake guarding the 18th green.

Right after the sonic boom from the return of space shuttle Discovery resounded across the course, Bay Hill lowered a boom of its own yesterday and turned the Arnold Palmer Invitational into a windy, wacky test of survival.

O'Hair managed better than most with a 1-over 71 that put him in the final group with Woods for the second straight year, with one big difference. Instead of being in a five-way tie, O'Hair has a five-shot lead.

"I don't think I can do anything that's going to make him play worse," O'Hair said. "I think I'm just going to focus on me and focus on my game and do what I'm doing right now. And that's just playing shot-to-shot and add them up at the end."

O'Hair had a six-shot lead with four holes to play, made three bogeys and still was five ahead, finishing at 7-under 203. Woods only assured himself a spot in the final group when he spent five minutes looking for his ball in the shagging bank, took a penalty drop 145 yards from the hole and made a 25-footer for bogey and a 71.

LPGA TOUR

PHOENIX — Jiyai Shin moved into position for her second LPGA Tour victory of the year and fifth in eight months, shooting a 6-under 66 to take a one-stroke lead after the third round of the J Golf Phoenix LPGA International.

The 20-year-old Shin — hailed as "The Final-Round Queen" in South Korea — had a 10-under 206 total on the Papago Golf Course. After winning three LPGA Tour titles last year, including the Women's British Open, she won the HSBC Women's Champions this month in Singapore for her first victory as a tour member.

Im-Kyung Kim, the leader after the first two rounds, was in front by two strokes after 10 holes in the third round, but a bogey at 11 and a double bogey at 12 led to a 71 and dropped her into a tie with Karrie Webb (69) at 9-under.

Stanford sophomore and Punahou alum Michelle Wie, who barely made the cut, struggled again, shooting a 74, her third straight round over par. Her 7-over-par 223 was in sharp contrast to her only other tournament this year, when she finished second at 7-under in the SBS Open at Turtle Bay in February.

CHAMPIONS TOUR

CAP CANA, Dominican Republic — Two-time major winner Mark O'Meara moved into position for his first Champions Tour victory, shooting a 7-under 65 for a share of the second-round lead in the Cap Cana Championship.

Eduardo Romero and Keith Fergus shot 68s to join O'Meara at 8-under 136 on the Punta Espada Golf Club course. Mark McNulty (68), Joey Sindelar (68), Gene Jones (66), Bruce Vaughan (67) and Tim Simpson (70) were at 138.

EUROPEAN PGA TOUR

SEVILLE, Spain — Denmark's Soren Kjeldsen shot a course-record 10-under 62 to take a one-shot lead after the third round of the Andalucia Open.

Kjeldsen had a 14-under 202 total on the Real Club de Golf de Sevilla course. David Drysdale (66) kept Kjeldsen from pulling away, making six birdies in his final eight holes.

Colin Montgomerie, playing his 500th European tour event, had a 75 to fall 12 shots back.