KAPALUA: Lucas Glover birdied the final hole Saturday to keep sole possession of the lead in the season-opening SBS Championship, with defending champ Geoff Ogilvy one shot back.
Glover, the US Open champion, started the day with a three-shot lead but fell behind by two before regaining the top spot at the last, where he completed a two-under par 71 for a 17-under total of 202.
Australia’s Ogilvy climbed up the leaderboard with a 68 for 203.
“I knew it was going to tighten up,” Glover said. “Some guys were going to play well, and some guys weren’t. That happened to be me.”
At 18, Glover capitalised on a shift in the wind that had the par-five playing short.
He reached the green in two and two-putted to hold the overnight lead for the third straight day.
“Everybody wants an opportunity on Sunday, and I have that,” said Glover, who struggled on the greens but still had three birdies in his last five holes. “My speed was terrible. I wish I could blame it on the wind, but I mis-read the greens and my speed was bad,” Glover said. “I’ll probably work on that a little bit tonight and in the morning.”
Ogilvy’s round was his seventh straight in the 60s on the Plantation Course at Kapalua. His only mis-step was a bogey at 16, where he was in a bunker. He too birdied the last.
Plenty of players in the 28-man field, open only to last season’s titlists, were within striking distance. Four shots separated the top 10 players going into the final round.
“This is a course where there’s still 10 guys who can win,” Ogilvy said.
Scotland’s Martin Laird fired a 69 for 204, while American Ryan Moore carded a 68 for 205. Half a dozen players were on 206, including reigning British Open champion Stewart Cink and Masters champion Angel Cabrera of Argentina.
Cink carded a 69 and Cabrera a 70 to join former US Open champion Retief Goosen of South Africa (67), Matt Kuchar (71), Sean O’Hair (71) and John Rollins (72).
“It’s that sort of week,” Ogilvy said. “There are cases when guys go crazy and win by a lot. It can bunch up guys as well. It doesn’t matter what you’re shooting.” — AFP