Dufner charges to lead
Jason Dufner birdied seven of his final nine holes Saturday at La Quinta Country Club to take a two-stroke lead in the CareerBuilder Challenge.
Dufner finished with an 8-under 64 to reach 23-under 193 with one round left at PGA West’s TPC Stadium Course. He opened with a 64 Thursday on the Nicklaus Tournament Course for a share of the lead and had a 65 Friday on the Stadium Course to take a one-stroke advantage.
“I made the turn at 1 under, and told the guys we were going to have a good back nine,” Dufner said. “I told my caddie and my amateur partners, `I’m about to do something good.’ So, when you start thinking like that, good things happen. So, that’s just kind of where my mindset is right now.”
Jamie Lovemark was second after a 65 on the Stadium Course.
Locally, Steve Wheatcroft was 5-under par through three rounds and Brenden Todd finished the three rounds at 4-under. Both failed to make the cut.
“Any time you go out there and shoot 7 under, it’s a good day, no matter what,” Lovemark said. “I was pleased with the way I played the entire round. I’m in good position to compete for a win tomorrow.”
Adam Hadwin had a 64 on the Nicklaus Course to get to 20 under. The Canadian missed a chance to get closer, bogeying the par-5 15th after hitting into the water and closing with three pars.
“It’s just going to be a question of handling the nerves and making sure those putts kind of keep hitting the lines tomorrow,” Hadwin said.
Phil Mickelson was tied for fifth at 17 under in his first start since the Presidents Cup and first since splitting with swing coach Butch Harmon to work with Andrew Getson. Lefty had a bogey-free 66 at the Stadium Course, holing a flop shot for birdie on the 10th hole.
“It’s been a good three days,” Mickelson said. “It’s been a good start.”
Dufner started the birdie spree on the first hole, hitting a lob wedge to 10 feet. He made a 20-footer on No. 3, hit a 9-iron out of a bunker to 3 feet on 4, two-putted the par-5 fifth and sixth, and made it five in a row with a 12-footer on 7. He rolled in another 12-footer on 9 for his 10th birdie of the day.
“I don’t worry about zones and talking about stuff like that,” Dufner said. “I’m just trying to hit each shot as good as I can and not let results and outcome dictate how I feel or how I think out there. … I’m just playing golf like I should.”
McIlroy leads Abu Dabhi: Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler were part of a five-way tie for the lead at the Abu Dhabi Championship after Andy Sullivan made a triple-bogey in fading light to relinquish a two-shot advantage late in a fog-affected third round Saturday.
Sullivan drove into a bush, couldn’t find his ball, returned to the tee, and eventually made a 7 at No. 9 in a dramatic finish to the day’s play, which ended with most of the field yet to finish their third rounds.