As course toughens up, so do players
Stewart Cink stands up to the wind to take a two-stroke lead.
By Rodney Page, Times Staff Writer
Published March 9, 2008
PALM HARBOR - On a day when temperatures dropped and scores soared, Stewart Cink rose to the top of the PODS Championship leaderboard. Cink was unable to complete his second round on Friday, so he was faced with the daunting task of playing 28 holes Saturday in some of the toughest conditions the 8-year-old PGA Tour event has seen.
It didn't seem to matter to Cink. He finished his final 10 morning holes at par and was tied for third at 3 under. He then negotiated the windy conditions on Innisbrook's Copperhead Course for a third-round 2-under 69 and a 54-hole total of 5-under 208. He was two shots ahead of Geoff Oglivy, who also shot 69 to vault from a tie for 17th. Brandt Snedeker and Billy Mayfair, playing in the final group, were 3 under, but they had three holes to complete in their third round.
Play was stopped at 6:39 because of darkness with six players on the course. They will complete their rounds at 9:30 a.m. The final round is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. on the first and 10th tees, with the leaders going off at 1:05 p.m.
It is the third time this season Cink has been in the final group. He has yet to capitalize. In fact, he hasn't won in 86 official PGA Tour events. His last win was the 2004 WGC-NEC Invitational.
"I feel like I'm due for a lot of great things to happen," said Cink, who is 1-8 when leading after three rounds. "I'm waiting for that big flood of wins to come. I just haven't really learned how to take the bull by the horns when I'm in this position every time. I've had my chances and I've let some go. I don't think I've won as much as I should have."
If he plays like he did Saturday, Cink, 34, could end his drought. He birdied Nos. 10-12 in his third round, the only blemish bogey on 18.
The average score Saturday was just over 74, or 3 over par. Joining Cink and Oglivy in bettering par: Kevin Sutherland and Jonathan Byrd at 70 and Corey Pavin at 69.
"I was very solid from tee to green and that's what this course demands," Cink said. "It's an execution style golf course where you really have to hit the ball well ... I did that today."
For most of Saturday, it appeared Snedeker would run away from the pack. He started the third round 5 under, and after he birdied three of his first seven holes, he had a four-shot lead. But he missed his birdie putt on the par-3 eighth hole badly, and missed the 7-footer coming back. He bogeyed three of his next five holes before darkness ended his round after 15 holes.
"It was a bad first putt, no way around it," Snedeker said of the eighth hole. "I'm disappointed about having two three-putts on the par 3s (No. 13 as well). Both were stupid, bonehead mistakes. You're going to have those. You can't lose your patience."
While Cink and Snedeker have been playing on weekends this season, Oglivy is in new territory. He missed the cut in his first three full-field events. But he believes his game is back after time off for the birth of his second child, a boy, on Jan. 2.
"It was a rusty start this year," said Oglivy, who had three birdies and just one bogey Saturday. "The clubs were in the closet for quite a long time. It took a lot longer to get the rust off than I envisioned. This is the first time it's shown."
There was rust on some of the second-round leaders. Lee Janzen was tied for third when he teed off Saturday, but faded to 4 over with two holes to play this morning. Jeff Maggert was in second, but 15 holes later found himself 6 over for the round and 2 over for the tournament.
Defending champion Mark Calcavecchia was 1 under after 16 holes and 2 over for his round.
It is Cink's goal to avoid that kind of fade. He is seventh on the money list, but there is that pesky winless streak. In his last tournament, Cink lost to Tiger Woods 8 and 7 in the WGC-Match Play final. He plans to display a little Tiger attitude today.
"It's wide open," he said. "I'm going to keep on pushing. It's my goal to give no one a chance."
Rodney Page can be reached at page@sptimes.com or (727)893-8810.
PODS Championship
What: The second of four tournaments on the Florida Swing and the 11th of the PGA Tour event season.
When/where: Today; Copperhead Course 7,340 yards, par 71, Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club, Palm Harbor
Purse: $5.3-million, winner earns $954,000
FedEx Cup points: 25,000, winner earns 4,500
Today
Innisbrook Resort, Palm Harbor. TV: 3 p.m., Ch. 8. Weather: High 66, 10 percent chance for rain, wind 12 mph.