Watson raced off to an eagle-birdie start, then survived a few errant shots coming home on the Blue Monster for a 5-under-par 67, giving him a three-shot lead and putting him on the verge of his first World Golf Championship title.
“All in all, it was a great day,’’ he said.
His optimism was tempered not by the few guys chasing him as much as a course that for Watson remains an acquired taste.
“The challenge is the Blue Monster,’’ said Watson, who is at 17-under 199.
Watson hit a man with his tee shot on the 12th, but wound up making a 15-foot birdie to regain the lead, and he stretched it from there. His one nervous moment came on the 16th, when he caught too much ball out of the sand and it flew well over the green, heading for a pond Watson didn’t even know was there. The ball hit a tower, and he escaped with bogey.
He will play in the final group Sunday with PGA champion Keegan Bradley, who had a bogey-free 66 and was at 14-under 202. Justin Rose was tied for the lead through 11 holes until Watson found his groove and Rose made too many mistakes. Rose three-putted from long range on the 18th for a 69, leaving him tied with Bradley but no longer in the final group.
“Three back, it’s a lot to Bubba on this golf course,’’ Rose said. “But at least there’s not a lot of guys ahead of you.’’
Indeed, only one other player was within five shots of the lead. Peter Hanson nearly holed a bunker shot on 18 and shot 69, leaving him at 12-under 204.
Matt Kuchar (66) and Zach Johnson (67) were another shot behind. Adam Scott looked as though he might give Watson a run until the Australian started missing short putts, then pulled his tee shot into the water on the 18th and made double bogey.
Rory McIlroy played the last six holes in 2 over and still shot 65, while Tiger Woods failed to do much after his birdie-birdie-birdie start. He twice made bogey on the par 5s and shot 68. They were eight shots behind.
McIlroy hit two fluffy wedges at the start of his round, but he atoned for the second one by chipping in for birdie, and away he went. McIlroy shot 30 on the front nine without making birdie on the two par 5s, then made up for that with a fairway metal into about 18 feet for an eagle on No. 10. That put him 10 under for the tournament, only two off the lead.
He hit a good chip from short of the par-5 12th, with his right foot deep in the sand and his left foot on the hill, and converted that into a birdie that put him into contention. He was 9 under for the day through 12 holes, and he couldn’t help but think of a 59.
“You’re thinking four [birdies] of the last six and here we go,’’ McIlroy said. “But obviously, it didn’t happen like that.’’
Woods, meanwhile, made a bad bogey on the par-5 eighth when he pulled a 2-iron over the green, dumped his third shot in the bunker, and couldn’t get up-and-down. He also took a penalty shot on the par-5 12 and made bogey, and his momentum was gone.
PGA - George McNeill shot a 5-under 67 to take a one-stroke lead over Henrik Stenson (65) and Kevin Stadler (66) into the final round of the Puerto Rico Open in Rio Grande.
McNeill, at 13-under 203, is trying to win for the first time since 2007 when he was a Tour rookie. He eagled the par-5 fifth, dropped strokes with three-putt bogeys on No. 7 and 8, then birdied five of the last 10 holes.
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