| Castle
Rock, Colorado, 22nd August, 1998 - Tiger
Woods made the most noise, but steady, reserved Vijay Singh stayed in control
after three rounds of the Sprint International. Singh,
withstanding two eagles including a hole-in-one from the onrushing Woods, clung
to a narrow lead today. Singh, who began the day with a 4-point lead under the
modified Stableford scoring system used in this event, saw his margin trimmed
to a point. The
recently crowned PGA champion had four birdies and two bogeys in a solid if unspectacular
round at Castle Pines Golf Club, which for the first time in three days was spared
delays from lightning and rain. He added 6 points to his total for 33, just 1
ahead of Willie Wood and 2 ahead of Woods. Another
point back on a tightly bunched leaderboard was Rocco Mediate. Defending champion
Phil Mickelson also surged, finishing at 29. The top 12 players were separated
by only 8 points. "The
leaderboard is so bunched up right now," Singh said. "I think anybody
within 6 points is in it. "I
didn't play as well today as I did yesterday. I hit a lot of pretty average shots.
But I'm happy to finish in the lead. I didn't let it go. I hung on to it, I grinded
it out to the end. I'm still leading, and I'm still very positive about my game."
The International's
scoring format awards 5 points for an eagle, 2 for birdie, zero for par, minus-1
for bogey and minus-3 for double-bogey or worse. Points
accumulate over all four rounds. The field, cut after 36 holes, was cut again
to the top 36 scorers and ties for Sunday's final round. Among those missing the
54-hole cut were Ernie Els, Jim Furyk and U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen. While
Singh's point total hovered around the low 30s most of the day, the diminutive
Wood was a surprising presence among the leaders on a course that favors long
hitters. Wood
had eight birdies, including five of the last six holes. He sank long-range birdie
putts of 30, 20, 20, 18, 15 and 12 feet, and lipped out a 50-foot eagle attempt
at the par-5 17th. "This
course favors a big hitter who hits the ball high, and that's not me," said
Wood, 97th on the PGA Tour money list. "A lot of tournaments I go into thinking
about winning. Not this one. But if I keep putting the way I've been, I can win
this." But
it was a Tiger who roared the loudest. Woods, whose second-round struggles left
him 10 points behind Singh, wasted no time making a move in the third round. He
eagled the 644-yard, par-5 first hole, lacing a 4-iron second shot 257 yards over
trees and finishing 2-1/2 feet from the cup. Then, creating a thundering roar
from the gallery that Mediate called the loudest he had ever heard on a golf course,
Woods knocked an 8-iron shot into the cup on the fly at the 185-yard seventh hole
for the third hole-in-one of his pro career. Woods
also had two eagles Thursday, and his four eagles broke the tournament record
of three by Lee Janzen in 1995 and Mark Brooks last year. The
ace moved Woods to 28 points, and he added a birdie at No. 8 to tie Singh for
the lead at 30. Woods momentarily held the lead after a birdie at 14, but missed
greens at 15 and 16 cost him bogeys. "I
actually hit that 8-iron a little thin," Woods said. "I thought it was
going to be about 10 feet short. "I'm
right where I'd like to be. I'm very happy where I'm at." Woods
had a 4-under-par round, but it was worth 14 points. Asked if he wondered where
this scoring system had been all his life, he said, "Boy, you ain't lying.
Considering all the bad shots I've hit this week, I'm thankful." Mediate
also had eight birdies, five on his back nine. Fully recovered from back surgery
and trimmed down, Mediate called his round "very exciting. It was an easy
day, if there is such a thing." Mickelson
shot himself into contention with six birdies and an eagle in a 16-point round.
Mickelson --
the only multiple winner of this tournament, having also won in 1993 -- birdied
three straight holes on the front nine, but made his biggest move at the par-5
17th. He hit his second shot, a 6-iron from 202 yards, 10 feet from the pin and
made the eagle putt worth 5 points. "After
two rounds of putting very poorly, I thought I needed to get to 30 points today,
so this was a good day, obviously," Mickelson said. "The big turnaround
for me was 17. I badly needed an eagle to get within striking distance of the
lead." Steve
Flesch was at 28 points, Brandt Jobe at 27 and Mark Brooks at 26. Grouped
at 25 were Davis Love III, Steve Elkington, Peter Jacobsen and Kirk Triplett.
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