Winless for two years, Ernie Els put himself in position yesterday for his second straight victory.
Els made sure the last two holes did not unravel a solid day of work at Bay Hill. He made a 10-foot putt to save par on the 18th hole for a 3-under 69, giving him a one-shot lead over Ben Curtis in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
The Big Easy is starting to make golf look that way.
Two weeks after his four-shot victory at Doral that ended the longest drought of his career, Els broke 70 for the third straight round at Bay Hill and was at 10-under 206.
“There’s a lot of work left,” said Els, who last won at Bay Hill in 1998 when he dominated Tiger Woods and Davis Love III in the final group of a 36-hole Sunday.
Curtis looked just as good. He just didn’t finish.
The former British Open champion had a two-shot lead until he chopped up the par-5 16th hole from 60 yards short of the green. He bladed a wedge some 70 feet long and three-putted for bogey on the easiest hole at Bay Hill. Then, he went long on the par-3 17th and chipped off the green for another bogey. Curtis had to make a 6-foot par putt on the 18th to keep it together with a 70, leaving him one shot behind.
“That last putt on 18 was big,” Curtis said. “You always want momentum going forward.”
They will be in the final group today with Chris Couch. The final round will be threesomes and start early to avoid thunderstorms in the forecast for this afternoon.
Phil Mickelson was nowhere near the lead. Right when he was starting to build momentum with his putter, Mickelson made only two putts longer than 5 feet and staggered to a 75, leaving him seven shots out of the lead.
PAVIN SETS RECORD
In Cap Cana, Dominican Republic, Corey Pavin birdied his last four holes for a course-record 9-under 63 and a one-shot lead over Nick Price after two rounds of the Champions Tour’s $1.6 million Cap Cana Championship. Pavin broke Bernhard Langer’s Punta Espada Golf Club record of 64 during the third round of the 2009 tournament.
OOSTHUIZEN UP BY ONE
In Malaga, Spain, Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa has shot a 4-under 66 to take a one-shot lead over Robert Coles after the third round of the Andalucia Open.
SEO EXTENDS LEAD
In Carlsbad, Calif., Hee Kyung Seo, a South Korean who is not a member of the LPGA Tour, shot a 3-under 69 to widen her lead to five strokes after three rounds of the inaugural Kia Classic.
