Sabbatini leads Wachovia by one after long, thrilling Saturday  CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- The roars were relentless from all corners of the course, a salute to a record-tying score, three eagles from the fairway, an ever-changing leaderboard and trouble for those who dared to take on too much. Quail Hollow is not Augusta National. It only sounded like it Saturday.  Rory Sabbatini is wild off the tees, but strong on the greens. (Sam Greenwood/WireImage)
Rory Sabbatini holed out a sand wedge for eagle on his opening hole, and picked up even more ground with an 18-foot birdie putt on the final hole to tie the course record with an 8-under 64 and to get the final pairing he wanted with Tiger Woods. "There was a sense of Augusta because typically this is a golf course where there's a lot of people out there and you're fairly close, so you can hear everything that's going on," Sabbatini said. "There were a lot of big roars. It was a fun day of golf." It must have felt like the Masters for Woods, too. Just like the third round last month at Augusta National, he lost a chance to be in the lead with bogeys on his final two holes. From under a tree right of the 18th fairway, he went for the green and wound up in the creek, and Woods was fortunate to escape with bogey when he made a 7-foot putt in the dark. "I knew it was going left-to-right, but I had no idea how much because I couldn't see it," Woods said, knowing that the putt would put him in the final group with Sabbatini, only one shot behind after his 68. Asked about a final-round pairing with the world's No. 1 player, Sabbatini relished the chance. He remains bitter about his victory last year at the Nissan Open, saying he has heard whispers that it happened without having to beat Woods because he had withdrawn on the weekend with the flu. "He's here this week -- best opportunity I've had to put any of that criticism or doubt aside," said Sabbatini, who was at 11-under 205. Woods wasn't the only one who struggled down the stretch on a gray afternoon of light rain and an unlimited supply of excitement. Phil Mickelson was in contention until a peculiar decision to hit a hybrid out of the thick grass on the bank of the creek, the ball going too far and into the water for a double bogey. Arron Oberholser, who earlier holed out for eagle on the third hole, was tied for the lead and in the fairway bunker on the 18th when he came out too far left, into the creek, and took double bogey. That gave him a 69. Singh, whose eagle from 161 yards on the 12th was the best of the tree, also went into the creek, but his ball didn't. It stayed in the thick grass, and he rolled up his pants to his knees to go into the water and blasted out of the hazard down the fairway. He nearly escaped with par until his 45-foot cruelly caught the left edge of the cup. He also shot 69 and joined Oberholser at 9-under 207. Steve Stricker (66) and Ken Duke (68) were another shot back at 208, while Mickelson wasted a solid round on his final hole and settled for a 68 that put him in the group at 209. Sabbatini closed with a 64 to tie for third last week at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship, and he showed how quickly he can get it going.
Woods also played in the final group with Stuart Appleby at the Masters, but wound up in a tie for second to Zach Johnson. He is the best closer in golf, but not necessarily in this position. In five previous tournaments when Woods had at least a share of the 36-hole lead and lost it in the third round, he has never won. Scoring was ideal. Even with light rain and overcast conditions, the fairways remained fast and the greens were more receptive. And it showed, with excitement at every turn. Some thought the Masters was dull this year after a convergence of firm conditions, cold weather and wicked wind on the weekend that kept birdies at a minimum and the crowd quiet. The Wachovia Championship has all the trappings of a major, and it certainly sounded like one Saturday. "We've heard a lot of roars today -- I mean, a lot of big roars," Stricker said. "I didn't know who was doing it, but obviously, there were some great shots." The biggest might have come from Singh. From the first cut on the right side of the 12th fairway, 161 yards from the hole, he had to bend his shot slightly around a tree line and twisted his body, trying to get a look at the elevated green. He really didn't need to see anything -- the crowd noise told him everything. The ball banged into the back of the cup and settled at the bottom, thrusting Singh into a share of the lead. Woods was the only one who didn't do anything spectacular, although the cheers for eagles -- especially Singh's shot -- brought him to life with four birdies in a five-hole stretch that put him atop the leaderboard at 12 under. After Singh repaired the cup from his eagle, Woods holed a 12-foot birdie putt to join a four-way tie for the lead. Then came a 12-foot birdie on the 14th, and after hitting into the rough on the par-5 15th, he holed an 18-foot birdie to take the outright lead. The key was to finish the round before darkness and to avoid bogeys. At least he could say he finished -- just not the way he wanted. Divots: Five players had at least a share of the lead Saturday, although J.B. Holmes made only a brief visit. He went out in 31, but two double bogeys on the back nine sent him to a 40. ... Trevor Immelman made eight birdies in his round of 68. ... The TOUR moved the tees up 40 yards on the eighth hole, making it play just over 300 yards to tempt players to go for the green. It caused a backup that stretched to the fifth tee. Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. |
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