Steve Stricker produced a strong finish to his third round to ensure he will take a five shot lead into Monday’s final round of the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.
The Wisconsin-born 44 year old, who was 15 under par and five strokes clear of Webb Simpson at the tournament’s midway stage following a stunning 10 under par 63 on Saturday, struggled to continue his momentum in the early part of his third round on Sunday and was level par through 14 holes.
That meant his advantage had dwindled to just one shot, but four birdies in his final four holes propelled him back ahead of the pack as he carded a four under 69 to move to 19 under overall.
Defending champion Jonathan Byrd and Scotland’s Martin Laird both signed for 67s and were tied for second along with Simpson, who, like Stricker, went round in 69.
Bryce Molder and Kevin Na were eight shots off the pace on 11 under after rounds of 67 and 71 respectively on the Plantation Course at Kapalua.
Stricker admitted he took a while to get going but was delighted to have maintained his healthy cushion at the top of the leaderboard.
“It was pretty stagnant out there for me today,” he said. “I was not doing anything very special there for the first, I guess, 14 holes and then just hit a couple of good shots at 15, the par five, and stole a birdie at 16 after spinning it off the green and chipping it in.
“After that chip shot, I felt like I got a little momentum, even though there was a couple of holes to play. I got aggressive off the tee at 17 and hit a good iron approaching there, and hit two good shots at 18. So it was definitely a good finish.
“That [maintaining a five shot lead] was key - key to finish that way. I’m looking forward to tomorrow. It sets me up for some momentum going into tomorrow.”
Laird too was pleased with his day’s work, and was not surprised by the quality of Stricker’s finish.
The 28 year old Glasgow-born player, who lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, said: “I’m happy with my round.
“I got close to the lead before Strick went and birdied the last four holes, but after playing with him yesterday, that's no surprise.
“I played well today and, the same as the first two days, hit the ball great. I really played the same all three days. Yesterday I just made one bad swing and it cost me a double bogey on 17. Apart from that, I finally putted better today.
“I didn't putt very good yesterday, to be honest. I missed three or four pretty straightforward five- or six-footers yesterday and worked on that after I finished and found something in my putting stroke and I putted a lot better today.”
Laird accepted it would be difficult to claw back five shots on Stricker.
He added: “Everyone is pretty tough with a five shot lead, but someone like Stricker, who has won a bunch and is obviously very experienced and just the way he plays, very steady, solid golf... it's going to be tough to catch him.”
