ORLANDO, Fla. – The first meeting this year between Tiger Woods and Ernie Els was hardly the showdown everyone anticipated.
As usual, Woods was the only show at the Bay Hill Invitational.
Dominant in every phase of the game, Woods left his top rival and everyone else in his wake with a 6-under 66 that gave him a five-stroke lead and virtually assured him another place in the record books.
Woods, who has never lost a PGA Tour event when leading by more than one stroke going into the final round, was 18 holes away from becoming the first player in more than 70 years to win the same tournament four straight years.
Woods was at 15-under 201, and a 54-hole lead of any margin is a huge advantage for him. He is 27-2 when he has at least a share of the lead entering the final round.
Woods sensed a high level of energy in the crowd, but he wasn’t concerned with his playing partners, or even a fourth straight Bay Hill title.
“I knew I had to take care of business today and set myself up for tomorrow,” he said.
Brad Faxon, who also played in the final group with Woods at Torrey Pines, had only two pars over his final 12 holes in a round of 65 that left him at 10-under 206.
Sorenstam fires 65
PHOENIX – Annika Sorenstam shot a 7-under-par 65 Saturday to separate herself from some would-be rivals. Sorenstam took a two-stroke lead into the final round of the Safeway Ping tournament.
Sorenstam is two strokes ahead of Patricia Meunier-Lebouc, one of her playing partners.
Two more strokes back at 15 under were Karrie Webb, Se Ri Pak and Grace Park.
Dredge leads at Madeira
SANTO DA SERRA, Madeira Islands – Bradley Dredge of Wales missed birdie putts on the last two holes, squandering a chance to shoot the first 59 on the European Tour at the Madeira Island Open.
Dredge had 10 birdies and an eagle in 16 holes, but missed birdie putts of 11 and 30 feet at Nos. 17 and 18. He shot a 12-under 60 to move to 15-under, and has an eight-stroke lead.
heading into Sunday’s final round at Santo da Serra Golf Club.
“I really wanted to shoot a 59,” Dredge said. “I didn’t drive the ball as well as I normally do, but my iron play and putting made up for that.”
Dredge’s 60 is the 11th in European Tour competition, and just the fourth on a par-72 course. Darren Clarke has shot 60 twice.
Three players have shot a 59 on the PGA Tour – Al Geiberger, Chip Beck and David Duval – while Annika Sorenstam is the lone player to do it on the LPGA Tour. The last 60 at a PGA Tour event was by Mark Calcavecchia at the par-71 TPC of Scottsdale in the second round of the Phoenix Open in 2001. There have been 13 60s in PGA Tour events.
The 29-year-old Dredge, the only top 100 player in the tournament, made birdie on the first and third holes, and strung together four birdies on Nos. 5-8. He made a 20-foot eagle putt at the 11th, and had three straight birdies at Nos. 12-14.
After a par at the 15th, Dredge rolled in a 15-footer birdie putt at the 16th. He lipped out a birdie putt at the 17th and, after driving into the rough at No. 18, missed a long birdie putt to the left.
“I didn’t think about a 59 until walking off the green at 16th when I made birdie,” he said. “I gave myself a good chance on the 17th and just hit a bad drive on the 18th.”
England’s Van Phillips was in second place at 7 under after a 5-under 67. Andrew Marshall is third at 6 under after a third-round 69.
Seve Ballesteros, playing in his first tournament in five months, shot a 71 in the third round and was at 6 over with one round remaining.
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Webb said. “She’s not making any mistakes.”
Actually, Sorenstam counted a pair of mistakes on a day when temperatures were in the 80s, the ball was flying down the fairways and the greens were putting true.
With no rough on the course, it was a combination made for scoring.
“This course has shown you can shoot low,” said Sorenstam, who shot an historic 59 here two years ago. “Things are just perfect out there.”
But the most fun was being had by Meunier-Lebouc, who cheerfully made her way around the Moon Valley course seemingly not intimidated by two playing partners who have 70 LPGA wins between them.
The French player, in her third year on the LPGA Tour, matched Sorenstam with three birdies over the first four holes and was tied with her at 15 under at the turn.
“I’m really enjoying playing golf at the moment,” Meunier-Lebouc said. “It’s like I opened the door and I have many things to discover.”
A 5-foot birdie putt on the par-5 10th and Sorenstam’s troubles around the green after a second shot went over the green briefly gave Meunier-Lebouc a two-shot lead. But she made two bogeys coming in before finishing with a birdie on the final hole.
Still, she was as happy as could be after shooting 67.
“I think I have more fun than most of the girls out there,” Meunier-Lebouc said. “Life is short. I’m not going to speak badly to myself anymore.”
Webb had a frustrating finish to her day, missing the green on the 18th hole with a wedge, then missing a 5-footer for par that gave her a 68.
Webb was the dominant player on the tour before Sorenstam won 19 times over the last two years. But even she began to wonder just how good Sorenstam is after the Swede birdied the first two holes and had a 10-footer for birdie on the third.
“I said to my caddie that if she makes this shot she can still shoot 54,” Webb said. “Obviously, Annika is riding a lot of confidence in herself.”
One reason Sorenstam is so confident is she rarely has more than a wedge to any of the greens on a 6,459-yard course that is playing much shorter. Five of her birdies were set up with wedges, while two others came after she hit par-5s in two.
Sorenstam had trouble playing the back tees the weekend before at Colonial, where she will play with the men in May, and with Tiger Woods in Florida. On a short course against her fellow women, though, she seems unbeatable.
“I always play better when it counts,” Sorenstam said.
DIVOTS: Lorena Ochoa, in her first full season on the LPGA tour, had the day’s best round with an 8-under 64. … Laura Davies won here four times in a row, from 1994 to 1997. … Meunier-Lebouc’s husband, Antoine Lebouc, was a player on the European Tour and travels with her. She credits him with fixing flaws in her swing.
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Aaron Baddeley, the 22-year-old Aussie, had a brief scare from an alligator and wound up with a 70 to finish in a large group at 7-under 209.
Woods can become the first player to win the same tournament four straight times since Gene Sarazen in the Miami Open from 1926 to 1930. The Miami Open wasn’t played in 1927, when it switched from a fall to a spring date.
Woods had the advantage long before he and Els met on the practice green, where they stood back-to-back as they hit putts.
A few hours earlier, Woods had set the tournament record with 10 birdies in one round. He made six of them in 11 holes Saturday morning to complete the rain-delayed second round with a 7-under 65, giving him a three-stroke lead over Cink.
Els was four strokes behind, a daunting gap considering he was chasing Woods at Bay Hill, a golf course where Woods has dominated the last three years.
Still, the fact that Woods and Els were in the final group generated an enormous buzz. Some of the players were talking about it before they teed off, and fans crammed in behind the ropes from tee-to-green on the 441-yard opening hole.
And when Els’ 25-foot birdie putt took one last turn before falling, the anticipation grew even more under a steamy sun.
It didn’t last long.
Woods stuck his tee shot into 5 feet on the par-3 second hole for birdie, and it soon became clear that Els was struggling to find the pace on the greens.
He rolled a 25-foot attempt from the fringe on No. 2 some 8 feet by the hole and had to make that for par. On the next hole, Els’ birdie attempt from 15 feet rolled 4 feet by, and he missed that to take bogey.
Woods was simply unstoppable.
Any thoughts of a Sunday showdown vanished on the fifth hole. Woods missed the green to the left, the ball in the first cut but nestled close to the thick grass. His chip came out clean and rolled in for Woods’ third birdie in five holes.
“I honestly wasn’t trying to chip that in,” Woods said. “I just wanted to make sure I had the correct pace.”
Els could only smile, knowing he was in for another long day. The Big Easy pulled his tee shot into the water on the par-5 sixth and had to scramble for bogey, but the damage was already severe.
Els started the third round six shots behind. Through six holes, the margin was eight.
“Tiger just did his thing,” Els said. “He was relentless today.”
Baddeley provided the most excitement on No. 6.
His tee shot nearly went into the water, and he found a more severe hazard – an alligator not far from his ball. Baddeley scared the gator into the lake, then rolled up his lime-green pants and stepped into the water to take his stance.
Faxon caused the only other stir, although not many took notice until he birdied four out of five holes around the turn to become Woods’ only serious challenger.
Divots: Trevor Immelman became the first player in the 25-year history at Bay Hill to go from the first-round lead to missing the cut. The 23-year-old South African made two quadruple bogeys by hitting two balls into the water on No. 18 and No. 6, and he finished the second round with an 80. … Tiger Woods’ girlfriend, Elin Nordegren, was released from the hospital Saturday morning. She collapsed outside the clubhouse Friday afternoon because of food poisoning and dehydration. … The final round will start at 8 a.m. Sunday because of the prospects of heavy afternoon thunderstorms.
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