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Ernie Els leads at Memorial
Ernie Els came out firing and never let up on Saturday until he had a 6-under 66, a strong round that gave him a two-shot lead at the Memorial.
- Indo-Asian News Service
- Updated: February 25, 2007 09:04 AM IST
Read Time:2 min
Dublin, Ohio:
Ernie Els came out firing and never let up on Saturday until he had a 6-under 66, a strong round that gave him a two-shot lead at the Memorial. The South African pulled away with back-to-back birdies late in the round to give himself a small cushion over Fred Couples, K.J. Choi and Justin Rose. Els was at 12-under 204 and had a 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour for the first time since winning the season-opening Mercedes Championships last year. He has not lost such a lead in four years on tour. Five players were within three shots of the lead, including three-time Memorial winner Tiger Woods, who got into Sunday contention for the third straight time with a 67 that put him at 9-under 207. Crucial time South Korea's KJ Choi played well in the third round of the Memorial, even though a Cicada bug flew onto his face at a crucial time - when he was attempting to putt. On the seventh hole, as the Cicadas chirped, as they did all day, Fred Couples chipped in for birdie to lower his score to 7-under par. World number one Tiger Woods seems to be back in form. The 27-year-old sank a 4-foot (122 cm) birdie on the 10th hole and got to 7-under par, two strokes shy of his great rival Ernie Els. Short birdie Later, on the 10th hole, Couples became the co-leader with a short birdie that dropped his score to 9-under. On the 11th hole, Woods sank still another birdie. This took Woods to 8-under par for the tournament, one shot back of the lead. The approach shot of the day was played by K.J. Choi. His shot on the 10th came within centimetres of the cup. No matter, just a few moments later, Choi sank a birdie on the 10th hole that lowered his score to 10-under par and gave him the outright lead. Just one hole later, Els sank a slow-rolling birdie putt that gave him a share of the lead at 10-under par. On the 15th hole, Tiger looked like he did when do dominated golf. He sank a birdie putt from the fringe and then pumped his fist and smiled broadly. That took him to 8-under par. On the 16th hole, Els sank a short birdie putt and lowered his score to 12-under par. England's Justin Rose continues to impress everyone on the PGA Tour. He sank a difficult birdie putt on the 17th hole to get to 10-under par. But Els seemes relaxed as he signed autographs after his round. There was only a mild breeze Saturday and if that holds true Sunday, it could be a thrilling shootout among so many top players. (AP)Topics mentioned in this article
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