Faxon maintains three shot lead

His five-stroke lead was gone by the time Brad Faxon reached the green on the 510-yard ninth hole. The way he's been playing the par 5s this week, it was no time to panic.

Faxon made his third eagle in as many days to restore his lead in the Sony Open, then kept the ball in the short grass on another windy day at Waialae Country Club to keep his distance from Ernie Els and Tom Lehman.

``The tournament is in Brad's corner,'' Lehman said.

It has been from the start.

Despite a rugged start to the third round, Faxon finished at 3-under 67 and was at 194, his lowest 54-hole score ever. That was enough to give him a three-stroke lead over Els and Lehman going into the final round.

At stake: An exemption into the U.S. Open with his second PGA Tour victory since July, and perhaps enough world ranking points to get into the Masters.

Next on the agenda is a final round grouped with Els and Lehman, who have 18 holes left to make up three strokes against the best putter on the PGA Tour.

``I can't be defensive,'' Faxon said. ``There's no way.''

Els had a 65 that could have been much lower. The two-time U.S. Open champion survived a balky driver on the back nine and was in position to really put some heat on Faxon. But Els missed birdie putts of 10 feet or less on three of the last four holes.

He also failed to birdie the par-5 18th, hitting wedge for his second shot out of the rough from 182 yards, thinking the ball would come out hot. Instead, it landed 30 yards short of the green.

``The finish screwed me up,'' Els said. ``I could have picked up a couple of more coming in. I only picked up one shot when I could have picked up four. Thank goodness Brad didn't birdie 18, either.''

That's the only par 5 on which Faxon has made par. He is 8-under on the six par 5s this week, and the eagle on No. 9 was particularly crucial.

Els made three straight birdies, the last one a 25-footer on No. 10 that put him at 12 under. Faxon, after a rare three-putt on No. 8, also was at 12 under. But he made his eagle putt from about 10 feet, and the lead was restored.

Lehman didn't have as many close birdie putts as Els, but plodded along and kept his position. He made a 50-foot birdie putt on the 13th, and a 15-foot eagle putt on the 18th hole that just slid by on the right.

He also had a 65, and will playing the final group with Els and Faxon for what figures to be a three-man race for the $720,000 winner's check.

Carlos Franco had a 68 and was at 8-under 202, eight strokes behind. Davis Love III had a 65, but that only got him to 203, along with Loren Roberts, John Huston and Jim Furyk, last week's winner in the Mercedes Championships.

Despite the early start because of the five-hour time difference between the East Coast, the wind changed from breezy to gusty in no time, putting a premium on driving.

``I drove it really nice on the back nine. I thought it was tough out there,'' Faxon said.

It certainly was for Els. He hit only two fairways on the back nine, and nearly lost his momentum on a three-hole stretch. Twice he escaped with par.

One of those was on the 13th, when a nice approach from an awkward lie above the bunker caught a lone frond dangling from a tall, skinny palm tree and dropped 80 yards short of the green. But he hit a wedge to 5 feet and made the par putt.

He ran out of luck on the 14th, when he hit out of the trees to the back of the green. His flop shot came out heavy and stopped above the ridge, and his par putt from 30 feet turned away.

Unlike last week, though, the Big Easy kept his composure. And even though he missed three good birdie chances coming in, he was pleased with his position. Els has played the first three tournaments of the year, and has been in position to win all of them.

``I know what I have to do - play a good round and hope for the best,'' Els said.

Even his best might not be enough to catch Faxon. The greens at Waialae are in perfect shape, which favors a good putter. No one is better at that than Faxon, the tour leader in putting the past two years.

He took only 25 putts on Saturday, and has only 76 for the week.

``The greens are really good, so it's no surprise Brad is playing well,'' Lehman said. ``He'll be tough to catch.''

Divots: John Daly had three double bogeys and failed to make birdie on the two par 5s in a round of 76. After being tied for the lead after the first round, Daly is 16 strokes out of the lead. ... Garrett Willis, who won the Tucson Open last week in his first start as a PGA Tour member, had a 68 and was at 206. ... Peter Jacobsen, who lost his card last year and is playing on a sponsor's exemption, took a quadruple-bogey 8 on the second hole when his left-handed shot from against a fence hit a nook in the cart path. He was in the group five back of Faxon, but wound up with a 75.

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