By The Associated Press
R.W. Eaks moved a step closer to his first win on the Champions Tour, shooting a 6-under-par 66 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead into the final round of the SAS Championship in Cary, N.C.
Eaks, who starred at Northern Colorado, made four birdies over the final eight holes at the 7,177-yard Prestonwood Country Club, putting the 53-year-old in position for his first professional victory since the 1997 San Jose Open on what is now the Nationwide Tour.
“I’m excited. I can’t wait until tomorrow,” said Eaks, who has not led going into the final round of any tournament since 1997. “I wish we could go play right now.”
Eaks’ best previous finish was a tie for sixth place in the Commerce Bank Championship in July. He has finished out of the top 30 the past two weeks, a problem he attributed to an ill-advised experiment with new irons.
“I’m one of those guys that comes close a lot,” Eaks said. “You’ve just got to learn how to win.”
Eaks is at 11-under for the tournament, one stroke ahead of Bob Gilder, who also shot 66 on Saturday. Tom Jenkins posted a 65 to get to third place at 9-under, and Rodger Davis is at 8-under. Five players, including defending champion Craig Stadler and Hale Irwin, are tied at 7-under.
Gilder, who broke a two-year victory drought two weeks ago at the Constellation Energy Classic, had six birdies and an eagle to remain in the final group. The eagle came on a 164-yard 7-iron at the par-4 10th hole.
“I am streaky, and I like the streak that I’m on right now,” Gilder said. “It can be kind of fun when it’s tight like this. A lot of guys jumped back into contention.”
PGA Tour: K.J. Choi shot a 5-under 67 and D.J. Trahan shot 66 to tie for the lead after the third round of the Chrysler Classic of Greensboro. Jason Bohn and Shigeki Maruyama were at 15-under, one shot back.
Choi, who began the day one shot off the lead, fell three shots back early in the round before birdieing the 12th, 13th and 16th holes at Forest Oaks Country Club in Greensboro, N.C. Trahan tied thanks to an eagle on the 16th and a birdie on 17.
Trahan, who started the day tied for third, holed his second shot from 165 yards on the par-4 16th to move to 15-under. The PGA Tour rookie ran toward the gallery and hugged several family members and friends on his way to the green.
“What can I say? When you make a 2 on a par 4, if you just stand there and don’t do anything, something is wrong with you,” Trahan said.
LPGA Tour: Morning fog blanketed the new Trump National course in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., preventing 25 golfers stranded by darkness Friday from teeing off early and completing the first round of the LPGA Office Depot Championship.
They finally got going 3 1/2 hours later, and when they were done, there were no changes atop the first-round leaderboard. Wendy Ward, Nicole Perrot of Chile, Karine Icher of France and Hee-Won Han of South Korea were tied for the lead after shooting a 6-under 65 on Friday.
The second round wasn’t expected to be completed Saturday.
European PGA: Kenneth Ferrie of England shot a 5-under 67 on The Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland, to open a five-stroke lead after the third round of the Dunhill Links Championship.
He was at 13-under 203 and followed at 208 by Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie (73), Sweden’s Henrik Stenson (65) and Argentina’s Ricardo Gonzalez (71).
