BETHESDA, Maryland (AP) ― A triple bogey for Bill Haas. Double bogeys for Andres Romero and Roberto Castro. They still wound up in a four-way tie for the lead in the AT&T National with James Driscoll, whose third round was pleasantly dull by comparison.
Castro put the perfect finishing touch on this most wild day at Congressional when he hit his approach into the water left of the 18th green, and then chipped in for par from 80 feet to salvage an even-par 71.
Haas made nine birdies and had to settle for a 68, courtesy of two wedge shots that cost him four shots, including his triple bogey on the beastly 11th hole. Romero had a three-shot lead at one point, and then it was gone. He went from the water to a bunker on the 11th for double bogey and followed that with a bogey on the next hole. He made six pars the rest of the way for a 70.
LEE FLIPS BIRD: After firing long with his approach shot on the 12th hole at Congressional, Lee Dong-hwan, apparently reacting to a fan in the gallery, flashed his middle finger toward the crowd. The gesture was caught by CBS’ cameras. (AFP-Yonhap News)
Driscoll He had a 68, the only player in the field to break 70 all three rounds. Coming off a bogey on the 15th, Driscoll though he might be headed for another with a poor tee shot. But he knocked a 4-iron out of the rough, barely got onto the green and rolled in a 25-foot birdie.
They were at 7-under 206.
Ten players were separated by four shots going into the final round, a group that includes 19-year-old Jordan Spieth. He had a two-shot lead after opening with two straight birdies, and then went through a stretch of missing five putts inside 8 feet on a four-hole stretch. One of them was a three-putt from 5 feet for double bogey on No. 8. Spieth had a 74, though he’s still in the game, just three shots behind.
Senior Players Championship
PITTSBURGH (AP) ― Fred Couples birdied three of the final five holes for a 3-under 67 and a two-stroke lead after the third round of the Senior Players Championship.
Couples completed a 62 in the morning in the rain-delayed second round and had a 15-under 195 total at Fox Chapel.
Kenny Perry was second in the Champions Tour major.
He finished off a 63 in the morning and backed it up with another 63 in the afternoon. Duffy Waldorf was third at 11 under after rounds of 67 and 66.
