A steady diet of pars kept Jim Furyk in the lead Saturday at the Bridgestone Invitational, but not by much.
Furyk made his only birdie on the par-5 second hole and had to rely on a couple of strong par saves on the back nine at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio, for an even-par 70, giving him a one-shot lead over Louis Oosthuizen going into the final round of this World Golf Championship.
Furyk began the week with a 63, and he’s not sure he didn’t hit the ball better in the third round. Under three days of sun-baked conditions, the greens lost their moisture, and enough wind arrived to make players think more than they would prefer.
Oosthuizen had to scramble for pars early before he settled into his round of 68.
Keegan Bradley, who can move into the top eight in the Ryder Cup standings with a runner-up finish, had a 67 and was four back. He will be in today’s final group, when the tee times are early to avoid forecast storms.
ELSEWHERE
University of Washington senior Chris Williams won the championship match, 1-up, over Jordan Russell in the Western Amateur in Highland Park, Ill. Williams was also the qualifying medalist. … J.J. Henry had a five-point eagle for the third straight day and scored 14 points in the modified Stableford format to take a three-point lead over Brazil’s Alexandre Rocha after three rounds in the Reno-Tahoe Open. … David Peoples matched his career best with a 10-under 62 to take a three-shot lead in the Champions Tour’s 3M Championship in Blaine, Minn. Peoples, who got into the field because Russ Cochran withdrew, had a 14-under 130 total. Eduardo Romero was second after a 65.
Tracking Local Golfers on the PGA Tour
KYLE STANLEY
This week: WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Firestone Country Club South Course, Akron, Ohio.
Third-round score: 2-under-par 68.
Position: Stanley (even-par 210) is tied for 24th, 11 strokes behind leader Jim Furyk (199).
Recap: A good push by the Bellarmine Prep product moved him 20 spots up the leaderboard. And what an adventurous back nine he had, rallying with three birdies. He unleashed a 430-yard drive on the par-5 16th hole – unreachable for most – and hit 3-iron over the green. He got up and down from 50 feet for birdie. And on the next hole, a par 4, he holed out a 35-foot chip shot for birdie.
Tee time today: 5:40 a.m. (PDT) with Tiger Woods and Matt Kuchar.
TROY KELLY
This week: PGA Tour’s Reno-Tahoe Open, Montreux Golf and Country Club, Reno.
Third-round score (Modified Stableford scoring): Plus-6 points.
Position: Kelly (17 points) is tied for 36th, 19 points behind leader J.J. Henry (36).
Recap: Two opening birdies got the Central Kitsap product going – and he also birdied 15 and 16.
Tee time today: 10:40 a.m. with Guy Boros.
todd.milles@thenewstribune.com
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