SINGAPORE — Australia’s Adam Scott was among four players tied for the lead at the Singapore Open on Saturday when a tropical storm and fading light forced the suspension of the third round.
Already behind schedule after Southeast Asia’s fickle weather disrupted the opening day, the storm left Asian Tour officials scrambling to finish the $1million tournament on time.
Organizers face the possibility of a Monday finish after heavy rain resulted in more long delays at the Sentosa Golf Club. Almost half of the 77 players who made the cut were unable to finish their third rounds after thunder and lightning caused a three and a half hour delay.
The players did manage to get back on course after ground staff drained the greens of surface water and made some repairs to the bunkers, but play was again halted when darkness fell.
Scott, playing in the final group, was on the 14th hole when play was abandoned for the day in drizzling rain. Already a three-time winner of the Singapore Open, he was locked in a four-way share of the lead with his playing partner, South Korean-born American Han Seung-su, and Thai pair Tirawat Kaewsiribandit and Phacha Khongwatmai, who managed to complete their rounds to share the clubhouse lead.
Kaewsiribandit charged up the leaderboard with a superb round of five-under 66, featuring an eagle three on the fourth hole and four birdies on the back nine, while Khongwatmai signed for a 67.
Scott held the outright lead at nine-under at the turn but the 2013 US Masters champion dropped back to minus eight when he three-putted the 12th hole after hitting his approach to the fringe of the green.
Han, who led after the second round, surrendered his place at the top of the leaderboard when he double bogeyed the third hole but pulled one shot back on the fourth to stay in contention.
Swafford one ahead at La Quinta, Mickelson four back
American journeyman Hudson Swafford, seeking his first PGA Tour title, continued to reap the benefits of hard work on his swing as he earned a one-shot lead after Friday’s second round of the $5.8 million CareerBuilder Challenge in La Quinta, California.
On a rare wet and cold day in the California desert, Swafford birdied three of the four par-fives to card a seven-under 65 on the Nicklaus Tournament Course, one of three venues hosting the pro-am event formerly called the Bob Hope Classic. Swafford posted a 14-under total of 130, with first-round leader Dominic Bozzelli and New Zealand’s Danny Lee equal second on 13-under. PGA Tour rookie Bozzelli, the only player in the field to go bogey-free after 36 holes, fired a 67 at La Quinta Country Club where South Korea-born Lee returned an eight-birdie 64.
Five-time major winner Phil Mickelson, a perennial fan favorite at the tournament where he is the biggest name competing this week, ended the day four strokes off the pace after a 66 on the rain-softened Nicklaus layout.
Refreshed Johnson shoots 64, in contention in Abu Dhabi
Over his jet lag and familiar with the golf course, Dustin Johnson is finally a real factor at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. The US Open champion shot an 8-under-par 64 in the third round on Saturday to catapult into title contention in his first event of 2017.
He started the day eight shots off the lead and finished it in a five-way tie for second at 12 under par, one stroke behind new leader Tyrrell Hatton. Johnson is showing a steady improvement on the 7,583-yard, American-style National Course, which was always going to suit one of the biggest hitters in the sport. He opened with an even-par 72, made the cut by shooting a 68 and then — refreshed after his best sleep of the week — powered through the field by making six birdies and chipping in for eagle from the back of the eighth green.
Martin Kaymer, seeking a fourth victory in Abu Dhabi, started the third round with a one-shot lead over Rafa Cabrera Bello, but they were two of the 14 players who failed to break par on a low-scoring day. Kaymer shot a 72 and Cabrera Bello had a 74.
Hatton, a rising star from England, broke free from a five-way share of first place late in the day by rolling in an 8-foot putt for a birdie on the 18th for a 68.
"I'm a little bit surprised where I am," said the 23rd-ranked Hatton, who said he spent most of his offseason on his Xbox playing "Call of Duty." He finished in the top 10 at both the British Open and US PGA Championship, and he won the Alfred Dunhill Links in Scotland in October for his first European Tour title.
Hatton will be grouped with Johnson and 2014 winner Pablo Larrazabal, who shot a 69 in the third round, in the final round Sunday. Johnson and Larrazabal are tied for second with Kaymer and two players who shot a 70 on Saturday, Tommy Fleetwood and Kiradech Aphibarnrat. Sixteen players are within three shots of the lead. — Agencies
