The Korea Herald

피터빈트

Walker in control at Pebble

By Korea Herald

Published : Feb. 9, 2014 - 19:10

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Korea’s Choi Kyung-ju reacts after a putt on the eighth hole at Pebble Beach on Saturday. (AFP-Yonhap) Korea’s Choi Kyung-ju reacts after a putt on the eighth hole at Pebble Beach on Saturday. (AFP-Yonhap)
PEBBLE BEACH, California (AP) ― Jimmy Walker had a hot hand in the cold wind Saturday and built a six-shot lead in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Walker made his first bogey of the tournament, and that hardly slowed him. He countered with five birdies in 30 mph gusts at Monterey Peninsula for a 4-under 67, leaving him on the verge of his third PGA Tour victory this season.

He was at 13-under 202.

Tim Wilkinson of New Zealand had a 69 and Hunter Mahan had a 72, both at Monterey Peninsula. They were at 208.

Jordan Spieth, tied with Walker going into the third round, had to face Pebble Beach at its fiercest. He was 5 over through 15 holes ― nine shots out of the lead ― when the third round was halted by darkness. The wind was so strong that the third round was delayed for 2 hours, 19 minutes because golf balls were rolling off some of the greens. It was a peculiar sight to see clouds gathering on the Pacific horizon, and officials trying to spray water on the greens to help balls stay on the putting surface.

It didn’t work.

And when play resumed, Brian Gay was given relief on the fourth green at Pebble Beach because of standing water left from hosing down the greens. He was able to move his ball some 15 feet to the other side of the green.

But the big trouble was the wind. Kevin Chappell’s approach to the par-3 fifth sailed over the cliff, and he ambled down toward the beach to play the shot. The par-5 sixth at Pebble, usually reachable with a long iron, was a true three-shot hole. On the 109-yard, downhill seventh hole into the wind, the club of choice was a chip 8-iron.

Allianz Championship

BOCA RATON, Florida (AP) ― Michael Allen was prouder of the 3-under 69 he shot Saturday than his record-tying 60 the day before.

A day after making the game look so easy when he was the ninth player to shoot 60 on the Champions Tour, Allen fought his swing from the opening drive at Broken Sound.

He fell out of the lead after playing his first 10 holes in 1 over, but birdied four of his last eight holes to take a one-stroke lead over Scott Dunlap and Chien Soon Lu in the Allianz Championship.

“This is one of those rounds I really feel good about,” said Allen, who is at 15-under 129 entering the final round. “I knew if I hung in there, eventually the birdies would start coming.”

Ladies’ Australian Masters

GOLD COAST, Australia (AP) ― Cheyenne Woods won the Australian Ladies’ Masters on Sunday for her first major professional tour victory, holding off 17-year-old Australian amateur Lee Min-jee by two strokes.

The 23-year-old Woods, Tiger Woods’ niece, closed with a 4-under 69 at Royal Pines to finish at 16-under 276. Lee also shot 69 in the event sanctioned by the European and Australian tours.

Woods birdied the par-5 15th to open a two-stroke lead, hitting a wedge from about 120 yards to 4 feet.