By DOUG FERGUSON By DOUG FERGUSON ADVERTISING AP Golf Writer SAN MARTIN, Calif. — On a day of low scoring, Brooks Koepka kept up his end of the bargain and stayed in the lead at the Frys.com Open. In his
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
SAN MARTIN, Calif. — On a day of low scoring, Brooks Koepka kept up his end of the bargain and stayed in the lead at the Frys.com Open.
In his first regular PGA Tour event, Koepka rolled in two birdies putts to start his round Saturday and drove the par-4 17th green for another birdie. It added to a 4-under 67 and a two-shot lead over George McNeill and Jason Kokrak going into the final round at CordeValle.
A win would mean more than just a trip to the Masters for Koepka.
The 23-year-old Floridian started the year with no status on any tour, and since then has earned membership on the Challenge Tour and European Tour. A victory Sunday would give him a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour, and keep him from having to reload the pages in his passport. He already has played in 15 countries this year, with three victories on the Challenge Tour.
“The Challenge Tour prepared me pretty well,” Koepka said. “Learning how to win is a big deal.”
CordeValle was set up for low scoring on a Saturday of ample sunshine and very little wind.
McNeill made 10 birdies in his round of 62 that put him in the last group with Koepka. McNeill is a two-time winner on the PGA Tour. He has never played in the Masters because both wins were opposite-field events that didn’t award full FedEx Cup points.
“I’m going for the record to win the most times without qualifying,” McNeill said.
That’s no longer the case.
The Frys.com Open is the first event on the 2013-14 PGA Tour schedule, which has gone to a wraparound season for the first time in history. It’s the start of the FedEx Cup season, offering full points, meaning the winner goes to Augusta National.
Kokrak started his day by holing out from 129 yards in the first fairway for eagle, and he nearly ended his third round the same way. He settled for a short birdie putt and a 68 that kept him in the game.
Koepka was at 15-under 198. He has played every major once except the Masters, though this is his first regular PGA Tour start. He was between stops in Scotland (Dunhill Links) and Shanghai (BMW Masters) when he received a sponsor exemption to the Frys.com Open.
Jimmy Walker also had a 62 and was three shots behind with Robert Garrigus (68) and Vijay Singh, the 50-year-old Fijian making his first PGA Tour start in nearly two months. Singh hit driver on the par-4 17th hole up the back of the green, back down the slope to about 2 feet for an eagle. That carried him to a 65.
Singh last season failed to finish in the top 125 on the money list for the first time in his career. He missed the cut in six of his last 11 tournaments since filing a lawsuit against the PGA Tour for the way it investigated his admission that he used deer antler spray, which was said to contain a banned substance.
Ryo Ishikawa also holed out from the fairway at No. 10 and had a 67. He was among those five shots behind, still in the mix but needing something low to have any chance the way the leaders are playing.
“I don’t think you can play overly aggressive,” Koepka said. “You can’t play not to lose, either. It’s conservatively aggressive.”
Whatever it’s called, it worked.
The average score was 68.8, and Koepka had one of the 24 rounds at 67 or better. Only six players were over par, led by Camilo Villegas with a 77 that dropped him out of contention. It could have been worse for the Colombian. He tried playing a shot from the water in front of the ninth green, and the ball hit off the bank and nearly struck him.
Koepka had no such trouble. He made bogeys on the sixth and 14th hole, but otherwise was giving himself plenty of looks at birdie.
He said he has won all his Challenge Tour events from the lead. Koepka will be paired with McNeil, a pair of Florida State alums. It was last year when McNeill called Koepka to answer any questions he had about qualifying for the U.S. Open.
“We just had a nice talk,” McNeill said. “Honestly, I’ve never met him. Never seen him in person. I would like to.”
And he will, in the final round of the first PGA Tour event of the season with plenty at stake.
DIVOTS: Because 81 players made the cut, there was a 54-hole cut. Among those who won’t return on Sunday were Geoff Ogilvy, Justin Leonard, Tim Clark and Justin Thomas, who was making his first PGA Tour start as a pro. Thomas still earned his first PGA Tour check worth $9,600. … Hideki Matsuyama had a 68 and was six shots out of the lead, and one shot behind Ishikawa. … Since the Frys.com Open moved to CordeValle, Rocco Mediate is the only player who converted a 54-hole lead into the win.
LPGA MALAYSIA
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Lexi Thompson moved into position for her second LPGA Tour title, shooting a 5-under 66 on Saturday to take a three-stroke lead in the LPGA Malaysia.
The 18-year-old American, the 2011 Navistar LPGA Classic winner, had five birdies in her bogey-free round to reach 17-under 196 at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club. She opened with rounds of 67 and 63.
South Korea’s Ilhee Lee was second after a 70.
Norway’s Suzann Pettersen and China’s Shanshan Feng were third at 11 under. Pettersen, coming off consecutive victories in the Safeway Classic and Evian Championship, had a 67. Feng, the Reignwood LPGA Classic winner last week in China, shot 70.
PORTUGAL MASTERS
VILAMOURA, Portugal — Scotland’s Scott Jamieson matched the European Tour record with an 11-under 60 to pull within two strokes of leader Paul Waring after the third round of the Portugal Masters.
The 18th player to shoot 60 on the tour, Jamieson settled for par on the final hole when his 15-foot birdie chip grazed the edge of the hole and stayed out. After opening with rounds of 66 and 73 to make the cut by a stroke, he had 11 birdies in the bogey-free round.
Waring, from England, had a 67 to reach 16 under.
Jamieson was 14 under along with Ireland’s Simon Thornton, Wales’ Jamie Donaldson and South Africa’s Hennie Otto. Thornton shot 65, Donaldson had a 66, and Otto a 69.
SAS
CHAMPIONSHIP
CARY, N.C. — Russ Cochran shot his second straight 6-under 66 to take a two-stroke lead after the second round of the Champions Tour’s SAS Championship.
The 54-year-old left-hander, the 2010 winner at Prestonwood Country Club, birdied five of the first six holes, dropped a stroke on the par-5 seventh and added birdies on Nos. 15 and 17. He won the Principal Charity Classic in Iowa in June for his fourth victory on the 50-and-over tour.
Defending champion Bernhard Langer, Kirk Triplett and David Frost were tied for second. They each shot their second straight 67. Triplett is coming off a successful title defense two weeks ago in the First Tee Open at Pebble Beach.
