PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. - Vijay Singh recovered from a rugged start by unleashing five birdies in a six-hole stretch Saturday for 4-under 68 that gave him a share of the lead with Arron Oberholser in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
Singh has 11 consecutive top-10 finishes, three off the modern record set by Jack Nicklaus in 1977. He was in the final group today with Oberholser, who had 67 at Spyglass Hill to join Singh at 13-under 203.
Oberholser, who grew up 90 minutes away in San Mateo, was even more impressive on a far more difficult track, playing bogey-free to get into serious contention for the first time on the PGA Tour.
They led by three over Jeff Maggert (67, Pebble), second-round leader Luke Donald (72, Poppy Hills) and Phillip Price (69, Pebble).
Phil Mickelson (71) had a three-shot lead at the turn but lost seven shots to Singh on the back nine and finished four back.
CHAMPIONS TOUR: Wayne Levi shot 4-under 68 and Don Pooley had 69 to move into a tie for the lead after two rounds of the Royal Caribbean Classic at Key Biscayne. Nine players were within two strokes of the lead, with 19 within four shots heading into today's final round of the first full-field event of the year. First-round leader Tom Kite took double bogey at No. 18 and was three shots off the lead after 73.
EUROPEAN PGA: Ernie Els moved closer to his third straight Heineken Classic title in Melbourne, Australia. Els increased his lead to eight with 4-under 68. He shot 60 Thursday and 66 Friday. He was at 22-under 194, a shot off the 54-hole tour record he set in last year's Johnnie Walker Classic.
PEARL OPEN: Michelle Wie advanced to the final round of the men's 54-hole event in Aiea, Hawaii, shooting 4-under 68 to finish at 2-under 142. The top 80 plus ties qualified for today's play. The 14-year-old had six birdies and two bogeys. She birdied five of her first eight holes and cooled off on the back side. "I was pretty hot the first nine," she said. "I made three birdies in a row." The 6-foot ninth-grader from Honolulu was nine strokes behind leader and two-time tournament champion Kiyoshi Murota (65), a 48-year-old from the Japanese tour. Wie is the only woman in the field of 192 and the youngest for the third straight year. The field has 92 men from Japan, including 70 of that tour's top pros.
