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David Toms |
Third round at The International:
Toms hangs tough, Duval close
By David R. Holland,
Regional Staff Writer
CASTLE ROCK, CO - Persistent David Toms, the leader in all three
rounds of The International, equaled Phil Mickelson’s 54-hole
record of 39 points Saturday at Castle Pines, but there was equally
persistent duo of David Duval and Stephen Ames hot on his trail
with 36 points each.
“This was a day I knew I couldn’t win the tournament,” Toms said, “but it was a day I could have lost it.” Toms, who has one career victory -- the 1997 Quad City Classic (a wire-to-wire win), was 11th in last year’s International. The International’s modified-Stableford format requires a cut to the top 36 players and ties after the third round and that meant Tiger Woods, in a tie for 37th, is headed for home along with Jose Maria Olazabal, Lee Weswood, Mark Calcavecchia and Nick Price. “The pins today were tough,” said Toms, who still recorded six birdies along with two bogeys. “I got a little too conservative on the back nine. It feels good to be leading this tournament, but tomorrow I need to drive the ball well. We all want to lead tournaments, but the fun of it all is to see how you accept the challenge. I wasn’t watching the scoreboards. I was just playing my game and trying to take care of business. “I’ve been in this position before, but I won’t say I’m used it it,” Toms said. “Even thought it doesn’t happen very much I still enjoy it and I will be able to sleep fine.
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Stephen
Ames |
Ames, who was born in San Fernando, Trinidad, lives in Calgary, so he said the altitude has no affect on him. “The altitude just means take one club less to me, but putting was the key -- it always is,” he said. Ames had seven birdies and one bogey in totaling 13 points on the day. “I just want to go out and have fun tomorrow.” More than likely Ames will breeze past his total money earned this year of $33,825. Duval finished fast. He had birdies on eight, 10, 13, 15, 17 and 18 with a bogey on three. “I am very pleased with how I played today -- it was a bit of a slow start,” he said. “I hit some good shots, but didn’t make the putts. And then I made a lot of birdies in the last 11 holes.”
“I think I have a chance to win and I’m hoping to get
my first victory in the USA,” Garcia said. “I’m here
trying to win the tournament and I’m not thinking about what
happened last week at the PGA. I’m just going out tomorrow
and try to make some birdies, because that is what it takes. I’m
not thinking about next year and whether I want to play in Europe
mainly or play in the States.”
Els really had an up-and-down round. He got birdies on one, three, eight, 12 and 15, but had bogeys on five, six, 16 and 18, along with a double bogey on 10 and an eagle at 17 for eight points on the day. “I just couldn’t quite find the rhythm out there today with my driver,” Els said. “I didn’t hit the ball very well off the tee, which was unlike the first two days when I was hitting the fairways. Today I was in the rough a lot and you just have to play away from most of these flags.”
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Ernie Els |
Els said the reason the scores didn’t go up as much as on Friday was because the pin placements were tight, especially on the par five’s. “I also think the greens were faster today. They are still soft, but you can’t quite ram it by or be too aggressive on the greens,” he said. The modified-Stableford format gives eight points for a double eagle, five for an eagle, two for a birdie, zero for a par, minus one for a bogey and minus three for a double bogey or more.
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