Adam Scott tops young WGC leaderboard; Tiger Woods 13 back – Los Angeles Times
AKRON, Ohio — —
Though Adam Scott just turned 31 this month, no one could blame him for feeling like the old codger of Saturday’s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational leaderboard.
One shot off Scott’s lead was Jason Day, a 23-year-old fellow Aussie who was runner-up in the year’s first two majors. So was Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa, who still has another month left in his teenage years.
Next were PGA Tour rookie Keegan Bradley, 25, and Martin Laird, who at 28 is the closest to what Scott might call a contemporary.
“I’m just happy to be on the leaderboard,” Scott said after Saturday’s 4-under-par 66 gave him a one-stroke advantage to take into the final round.
“These guys, it’s unbelievable. I think golf is looking in good shape for the future with players like this up here now. … No, I don’t feel old. I still act like a teenager sometimes.”
Saturday’s crowded leaderboard did look like a mosh pit at times, with six players tied for the lead at one point before guys began to spread out.
None was Tiger Woods, relegated to the middle of the pack after a Saturday 72 in his third competitive round since a 12-week injury layoff. Trailing Scott by 13 shots, he was left to fix some bad habits that crept back into his game.
“I’m still fighting my old patterns,” said Woods, who hit just four of 14 fairways on the day and has languished near the bottom in driving accuracy for the week.
After seven wins in his first 11 visits to the WGC-Bridgestone, Woods has broken par just once in his past seven rounds. Last year he tied for next-to-last in a 78-man field.
“I’ve just got to put together a good round and let it build,” he said. “Unfortunately I’m not there battling with a chance to win, but I can still post a good round [to finish].”
Scott birdied three of his last five holes to complete three rounds in 12-under-par 198, best at the WGC-Bridgestone since Jim Furyk went one lower in the 2001 edition. After an opening 62, he has held at least a share of the lead every day.
Ishikawa, one of the last players into the WGC field, fired a bogey-free 64 that was his best scorecard in 20 events on U.S. soil.
“Actually, I am a little bit surprised at how I performed out there,” said Ishikawa, whose previous best was an opening 65 at Doral this year. He came to Ohio off a missed cut on his home tour.
If Ishikawa prevails Sunday, he would become the youngest winner of what’s now a PGA Tour event since Johnny McDermott captured the 1911U.S. Open.
Day jump-started a 66 when he eagled No.2 , then overcame back-to-back bogeys with birdies at three of his last four holes. In all, 10 players will begin Sunday within five shots of Scott’s lead.
“It’s a pretty bunched-up leaderboard,” said Scott, who now employs Woods’ former caddie Steve Williams on his bag. “A couple of guys are going to play well; I’m just going to have to play well to win.”
With forecasts calling for an afternoon full of thunderstorms, tee times were moved to 7 a.m. as PGA Tour officials sent players out in threesomes off both tees. Sunshine accompanied players through much of their rounds, though storms began rolling through by 5 p.m.
jshain@tribune.com. Read Jeff Shain‘s blog, The Downswing, at OrlandoSentinel.com/golfblog.