GOLF ROUNDUP

Donald has Heritage title in sight

English golfer Luke Donald had an eagle and six birdies to shoot 66 on Saturday to take a two-stroke lead over John Huh after three rounds at the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head Island, S.C.
English golfer Luke Donald had an eagle and six birdies to shoot 66 on Saturday to take a two-stroke lead over John Huh after three rounds at the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head Island, S.C.

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. - Luke Donald believes he’s got the right game on the right course - and is ready to make up for so many near-misses at the RBC Heritage.

Donald had an eagle and six birdies to shoot 66 on Saturday to take a two-stroke lead over John Huh after three rounds at Harbour Town Golf Links. The Englishman has done just about everything on Harbour Town the past five times he’s played - except win.

He lost in a playoff to Brandt Snedeker here in 2011, part of a run of four top-three finishes since at the tricky Pete Dye-designed course. Now, he’ll carry the lead into today’s final day and is ready to make it stand.

“If I can go out as relaxed and confident as I was today,” he said. “If I can control the trajectory [of shots] as well as I did today, then hopefully I’ll be sitting here as the winner.”

Donald’s round started with a 25-footer for eagle on the par-5 second. He added four more on the next six holes. Donald then tied leader Nicholas Thompson with a birdie on the 14th before stretching his lead with a final one by rolling in a 15-foot putt on the par-3 17th.

Donald nearly closed with a flourish when his approach on the closing, lighthouse hole nearly landed in the cup on the fly before bouncing to the edge and settling for par. Huh shot a 68 and was at 6 under.

Charl Schwartzel (68), Jim Furyk (71), Nicholas Thompson (68) and Ben Martin (71) were tied for third at 5 under.

Matt Kuchar, ranked sixth in the world, shot 70 as part of a group of five golfers another shot back at 4 under.

Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State) had four birdies and two bogeys for a 2-under 69 (212) and a share of 22nd place.

John Daly (Arkansas Razorbacks), Glen Day (Little Rock) and Bryce Molder (Conway) did not make the cut.

CHAMPIONS TOUR

‘Mechanic’ ahead by 1

DULUTH, Ga. - Fun-loving Miguel Angel Jimenez might turn the Champions Tour into his personal cigar and-wine club. Ever-serious Bernhard Langer keeps churning out sub-par rounds. Bad back and all, Fred Couples is thriving in the wind and cold rain.

It makes for an enticing last group in today’s final round of the Greater Gwinnett Championship.

Jimenez, nicknamed “The Mechanic,” continued his impressive tour debut by shooting a 2-under 70 on Saturday and leads by one stroke after two days at TPC Sugarloaf.

Langer and Couples each had a 68 in the second round. Langer is one stroke back of Jimenez and Couples is two back, setting up today’s all-star final group.

Jimenez, Langer and Couples carried over their momentum after strong finishes last week in the Masters. Jimenez was fourth, Langer tied for eighth and Couples tied for 20th in Augusta.

Langer was tied with Jimenez for the lead at 8 under entering Saturday’s final hole. Jimenez had a birdie on No. 18. Langer missed putts for eagle and birdie before settling for par and his second consecutive 68.

Jimenez is trying to become the second consecutive player to win in his Champions Tour debut. Jeff Maggert won the tour’s last event in Saucier, Miss., on March 23.

LPGA

Wie rallies to victory

KAPOLEI, Hawaii - Michelle Wie rallied from four strokes back entering the day to shoot a 5-under 67 on Saturday and win the LPGA LOTTE Championship.

The American finished at 14-under 274 after coming into the final round trailing third round leader Angela Stanford by four shots after Friday’s play. It was Wie’s third career victory on the LPGA Tour, and first since taking the CN Canadian Women’s Open in 2010.

Stanford had her worst round of the tournament, shooting a 1-over 73 that put her at 12-under 276 and two shots behind Wie, 24. Top ranked Inbee Park finished third with an 11-under 277.

Stanford, the leader after the second and third rounds at breezy Ko Olina, came out strong with a birdie on the par-4 third hole to set herself up at 14-under early in the day. A bogey for Stanford and a birdie for Wie on the par-4 sixth closed the gap to within a stroke.

The par-3 eighth brought Stanford, Wie and South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim to tie at 12 under.

A birdie for Wie on the par-3 12th gave her the outright lead, and she gave a small triumphant fist pump to the crowd. Another birdie on the par-5 13th put Wie two strokes ahead of two-day leader Stanford and three strokes ahead of Kim, who came in fourth with 1-under 71 for 10-under 278 overall.

EUROPEAN PGA

Westwood leads by 1

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Lee Westwood saw his four-shot lead trimmed to just one on Saturday after a bogey at the final hole of the third round of the Malaysian Open.

Westwood shot a 1-under 71 for a three-round total of 14-under 202 but is only one shot ahead of English compatriot Andy Sullivan, who had a 66 as he chases his first tour title. Frenchman Julien Quesne is another three shots back in third place after a 69.

Westwood, who turns 41 next week, won the Malaysian Open in 1997 and is looking for a repeat to end a near two year winless drought. For the third day in a row, he birdied the opening hole of the Kuala Lumpur Golf Club course before dropping a shot with a bogey at the second.

He added birdies at the fifth and at the par-3 12th before two-putting the final green for bogey after having to play his approach shot from the slope of a fairway bunker.

There was no sign of the hornets that attacked Pablo Larrazabal on the 14th hole during Friday’s second round, forcing the Spaniard to jump into a water hazard. Larrazabal shot a 70 and is tied for 23rd at 4 under.

Leaderboard PGA TOUR RBC HERITAGE At Harbour Town Golf Links (Par 71, 7,101 yards), Hilton Head, S.C.

Purse: $5.8 million a-denotes amateur

Luke Donald ..................70-69-66-205

John Huh .......................71-68-68-207

Charl Schwartzel ...........70-70-68-208

Nicholas Thompson ......70-70-68-208

Jim Furyk ......................71-66-71-208

Ben Martin .....................69-68-71-208

ARKANSAN Ken Duke .......................72-71-69-212 - Complete scores, Page 10C

Sports, Pages 29 on 04/20/2014

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