Adam Scott can scarcely believe he is poised to complete the Triple Crown of Australian golf after jumping out to a four-stroke lead over the Australian Open field with an ice cool third-round 68 at Royal Sydney.
Scott's much-hyped head-to-head duel with Rory McIlroy failed to deliver any real fireworks on Saturday as the Masters champion tightened his grip on the championship with another six birdies.
After starting the third round two shots adrift of Scott, McIlroy is now four back at 12-under following a rollercoaster 70.
The tournament's headline acts will again face off in the final group on Sunday, with the Open seemingly now a two-man affair.
Matt Jones is outright third but eight shots off the pace.
"Obviously to win my national championship tomorrow and then also win the three events down here is an unbelievable spot to be in," Scott said.
"If you'd told me that a month ago, I wouldn't have believed you.
"Before this month started, I hadn't won two tournaments in a row ever.
"So to have this opportunity is a bit unreal."
Robert Allenby in 2005 is the only other player to win the Australian Masters, PGA and Open titles in the same season.
Scott admitted he would sleep a lot easier after holing a six-foot birdie putt on the last on Saturday and then watching McIlroy miss his own birdie attempt from even closer.
But the world No.2 still wasn't counting his chickens, knowing McIlroy reached world No.1 last year for a very good reason.
"One round away and a lot can happen - a phenomenon behind me as well - so I'm sure he's going to throw plenty at me tomorrow," Scott said.
"I'm going to have to do a couple of things better than I did today, I think, but as long as the eye stays in with the putter, I should be able to hang on.
"To finish it off tomorrow would be an incredible way to end the year."
McIlroy conceded missing his short birdie attempt at the 18th hurt.
"It was big," he said.
"It would have been nice to birdie that to make the gap from four to three.
"Obviously I've got a tough job on my hands to catch Adam."
Richard Green (73) and Max McCardle (69) are equal fourth, one stroke behind Jones (72) but a distant nine in arrears of Scott.
Former champion Stuart Appleby is in a four-way tie for sixth at seven-under with Nathan Holman (68), Scott Arnold (69) and Leigh McKechnie (71).
Jason Day fired the day's equal-best round of 66 to climb to six-under and give himself a remote chance of running Scott down with a course-record round on Sunday.
"It's a long shot but, if I can go out tomorrow and the leaders are not too far away and I shoot a low one, maybe I can catch them," Day said.
Three amateurs are in the top 20 entering the final round, headed by 18-year-old Anthony Murdaca (66) and Brady Watt (73) at five-under.
Ryan Ruffels got to six-under late in his second round, only to stumble with a double-bogey five on the par-3 17th to slip back outside the top 10.
The 15-year-old nevertheless signed off for an impressive 68 to be four-under for the tournament and on track for a big finish in his Open debut.
Scott closes in on golf's Triple Crown - The West Australian
Rory McIlroy was relieved and guilty in equal parts after denying Adam Scott Australian golf's Triple Crown with a drama-charged one-stroke Australian Open victory at Royal Sydney.
McIlroy snatched the Stonehaven Cup from Scott's grasp with a birdie on the last after Australia's great hope took bogey from the middle of the fairway to let slip a championship he'd led since the very first hole on Thursday.
"I can't believe I won. I didn't think it was going to unfold the way it did," McIlroy said.
"It's hard not to feel some sort of guilt in the way I won it.
"Adam's a phenomenal player, a great competitor and probably an even better guy. I feel a bit sorry that I was the one that sort of ruined the Triple Crown for him.
"I knew what it meant and just the way the tournament finished for him. Having a one-shot lead going into the last and having it taken away from you right at the very end, it's tough.
"I've been in that position before."
McIlroy, the one-time world No.1 and two-time major champion, started the final round four shots adrift of Scott but overturned the deficit with a bogey-free six-under 66 to finish at 18-under.
The victory ended a 13-month winless run for the now world No.6.
"I knew I was going to have to do something pretty special to catch Scotty," he said.
"I wanted to get a win by the end of the season and I've been able to get one.
"But more satisfying than that is that I've been able to take on one of the best players in the world down the stretch and come out on top." It was McIlroy's 10th triumph worldwide and the 24-year-old admitted it was special to win what was once considered golf's fifth major.
"Gary Player, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicholas, (Tom) Watson, (Peter) Thomson ... it's a trophy packed with true champions of the game, greats of the game," he said.
Scott had numerous chances to slam the door shut on McIlroy but will forever rue five lip-outs and a costly three-putt on the par-5 16th when he could have skipped three strokes clear with two holes to play.
"Nothing was going my way on the greens today," Scott said.
"I could have put this thing away early on if the putter was behaving how it should have, how it did the rest of the week."
Scott had been hoping to join Robert Allenby as only the second player to complete the Triple Crown in the same season after also winning the
Australian Masters and Australia PGA titles last month.
He also won the Australian Open in 2009 but was shattered not to have captured a second national championship.
"I'm gutted. I felt I'd never have a better chance to win the Aussie Open," he said.
Former champion John Senden closed with a 66 like McIlroy to claim outright third - and automatic qualification for next year's British Open - at 11-under.
Rhein Gibson and Brydan Macpherson also clinched Open berths by carding 69s on Sunday to share fourth spot at nine-under.
Jason Day (70), Matt Jones (72) and Kiwi Mark Brown (69) tied for eighth a further shot back at eight-under.
West Australian Brady Watt (72) was the leading amateur in equal 14th at five-under after 15-year-old Ryan Ruffels closed with a 73 to finish joint 24th at three-under.
McIlroy denies Scott to win Aussie Open - Golf News | TVNZ
Men’s golf in India has never been short of sponsors, but it’s time women’s golf also got some serious business. Money has always been a trickle and the government, too, has remained shy of giving the ladies game a good shot. It’s the usual big four supporters who hold this up for the young girls – Hero Group, Avantha, Usha and DLF. The game needs to spread and grow. Even within India Inc, you would find no more than five or six women playing actively led by Moelis banker Manisha Girotra. This needs to change.
This weekend carried a cue as a young amateur Indian girl Gauri Monga (pictured) surged to the leader mix and stayed in contention for all days during the Hero Women’s Indian Open. The $300,000 tournament, which is sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour, Asian Tour and the Women’s Golf Association of India, was held for the first time at the busy and buzzing Delhi Golf Club and brought with it many spectators. Monga knew the course, she picked her clubs carefully and got the ball straight into the centre in a club where the fairways are flanked by forests or obstructed by Mughal architecture. Monga’s leading moments are a serious reason to put the spotlight back on the ladies game in India.
A good mix of money, full galleries and players make for a perfect reason for women’s golf to launch off. The young amateur and pro brigade are competitive, know the game, are training their mind, maintaining focus and can outshine a lot of male talent, too.
For years, India could only talk of one of its stars – Simi Mehra. Today, we should be proud that out of 16 Indians at the Hero Open, 10 made the cut and played the only international women’s tournament on home soil. Bangalore’s Sharmila Nicollet has made headlines for both golf and glamour. She hits longer than most male golfers I know. A new crop of young players like Vani Kapoor, Neha Tripathi, Ankita Tiwana, Shweta Galande are all fine-tuning their game and getting global exposure as they explore tournaments in Asia or even go to train overseas. Sharmila, Vani and Neha took home key awards at the India Golf Awards in November. Behind the success of all these women is one self-less woman, Champika Sayal, who has pushed boundaries, glass ceiling to put together funds and a body for women’s golf in the country. Adding to Sayal’s strength is Kavita Singh, the first Indian on the board of the Ladies European Tour.
Consider how fantastic it would be to see women playing during the same week as the men’s tournaments? How rewarding tournaments would be if every sponsor backed a ladies game, along with an all-men tournament?
Strange as this may sound, but should golf take a lesson from tennis? Which runs its major events in a way they have men’s and women’s competitions in the same place and under the same banner at essentially the same time? It’s an idea to think about.
Fair play - should golf learn from tennis now? - Money - DNA
Lawyer Gabriel Kambale has, on Sunday, added another trophy to his long-list of medals after emerging as champion in Airtel Money Men’s Champion Golf Tournament at Limbe Country Club, Blantyre.
Kambale proved his composure and skillfullness by outclassing 152 golfers in the three-day tournament that saw him pocketing other two medals to justify why he emerged a champion.
He got Overall Best Golfer as well as Nearest to the Pin trophies. For emerging champion, Kambale received a trophy, a golf bag and K15,000 Airtel Money voucher as well as a tyre repair kit.
Other golfers who emerged winners in other categories include Fear Chimwaza who topped B category followed by Francis Mwansa on second position as well as a Mr. A Lazarus who became number one in group A and was seconded by Clement Chilungulo. Whayo was Best Senior Golfer.
The competition held to a tune of K5 million, proved to be a moment when men were separated from boys, as golfers turned out highly charged to patronize this year’s largest men’s golf tournament.
Kambale, owner of GK Associates law firm, described it as quite tough and promised to retain the championship if the tournament returns next year.
“There was stiff competition especially on the last day (Sunday). But there is always one winner, and am happy to be the one. I love golf, I train when I have time but my secret is not to have any expectation. I just want to play and enjoy the game,” said Kambale.
Airtel Malawi Managing Director, Saulos Chilima said was impressed with the turnout and the individual performances, which proved that the game was slowly but surely improving.
Chilima promised to stage another tournament next year, which will be extended to other regions in the country.
“Men fall only inorder to rise but some have a tradition not to win anything. This is what was witnessed during these three days. Be assured that next year we are coming big. It will be a tournament that will not only be staged in Blantyre but other parts of the country as well. This tournament is to show our appreciation of the support we are getting from you our customers,” said Chilima.
Dubbed as a must-attend for all stakeholders, the three-day tournament attracted elite of golfers from various corporate institutions including banks.
Aside hosting the tournament, Airtel Malawi also donated K200,000 to Limbe Country Club for the maintainace of the golf course.
Most golfers have bemoaned vandalism of golf courses as one of setbacks affecting the sport in the country. Airtel Money Marketing Manager, Masiye Mazaza said the tournament was a thank-you feast to its high value customers, especially those who play golf.
“These are the elite of the industry and its been long time since we gave them such feast. This is one way of showing how we value their loyalty and transaction with our services,” said Mazaza.
Airtel Malawi is part of Bharti Airtel Limited, a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa.
China is mobilizing the state behind golf, but 13-year-old Ye Wocheng, the youngest player to compete on the European Tour, says officials should turn instead to the country’s “tiger” parents to find the next Tiger Woods.
Golf was once banned in Communist China as a bourgeois indulgence, but its return to the Olympics has seen Beijing build a high-tech $80 million training complex and enlist its rigid education system in a search for new stars.
While officials are looking to satisfy the national urge for medals, a wave of child prodigies is already emerging, tutored by foreign coaches and ingrained with an insatiable desire to succeed by their wealthy, highly-disciplined parents.
Ye made history earlier this year when he played at the Volvo China Open aged just 12 years and 242 days.
The schoolboy smashed the record set by compatriot Guan Tianlang, who astonished the world in April when he made the Masters cut at the age of 14.
The rise of golfers like Ye and Guan outside China’s sporting infrastructure throws up potential challenges for Beijing, which presents individual talents as state-molded patriotic champions, rather than self-motivated sports stars.
China has now introduced golf into its Soviet-like sports school system for the first time, and its ultra-modern training center in Shandong province is expected to be a production line for future champions, with an eye on the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
But Ye — who still wears braces — believes China’s future as a golfing superpower will be down to individual hard work, along with a dose of firm parenting.
“There will be lots of great (Chinese) players in the future,” he told AFP, predicting half the world’s top 100 will come from China in 20 years, a huge improvement for a country which currently has only six in the PGA’s top 1,000, with its top player Liang Wenchong at 107.
“This is because in China a lot of children play golf and they are all conscientious and hard
working. They train hard and also the parents are very strict.
“Sometimes, if the kids don’t play golf well, the parents will hurl abuse at them or even hit them,” he added, with a serious stare belying his age.
Strict parenting is common in China, particularly with regards to education, and sometimes sport.
The tough approach became a media phenomenon in 2011, when Chinese-American professor Amy Chua’s book “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” detailed how she insisted on top marks from her kids.
The best golfer of recent years, Tiger Woods, a child prodigy who was on television aged two, has often praised his ex-military father and Thai mother for helping develop his competitive edge, and said in 2007 he would be a “disciplinarian” with his own children.
Ye lives with his parents — who he says are “not strict” — in the southern city of Dongguan in Guangdong, China’s most affluent province, although the family are considering moving to the US to focus on his golf.
His father, a wealthy interior designer, has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on Ye’s training, and has recruited British former professional David Watson, who coached Lee Westwood and Justin Rose when they were amateurs.
Ye trains at Lion Lake Country Club near Guangzhou, a lavish dual-course complex containing China’s largest inland yacht club and a “southern California-style” clubhouse.
Guan also trains there, and his image is everywhere, with his trophies on show in the restaurant.
“We have an exclusive putting green just for Guan,” said club president Zheng Jingfen. “And we don’t charge him to use the course, as youngsters need an environment to develop their skills.”
Club officials say several families have moved into the local area purely to develop their children’s golf.
A few hours away is the enormous Mission Hills complex in Dongguan, the world’s largest golf club with 12 sprawling courses.
Ye won an under-18 tournament there in June, carding a two round two-under-par total of 142 on its World Cup course, designed by golf legend Jack Nicklaus.
Its Mission Hills Golf Series Junior Tour is open to children as young as nine, and competitor Chen Geyi, 14, was born Beijing, 2,000 kilometers to the north, but said he moved to Shenzhen when he was a toddler because “you cannot play golf in the winter in Beijing”.
His father Chen Daxin says the family relocated to warmer climes for “work reasons”, but admits he has spent a fortune on developing his son’s golf.
“Parents basically don’t bother too much about cost when it comes to children’s interests,” said the 43-year-old, brushing off suggestions he was a strict parent.
Some “give up their career and life to throw everything into their children’s future” Chen added, before taking his son’s clubs on his shoulder.
Read more: Golf: ‘Tiger Dads’ in search of China’s Tiger Woods | Inquirer Sports
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"Started off with an EZ-Go Golf-Cart, then stripped it down to the frame and 4 cup holders."
"Is hand crafted from the frame and sheet metal, including a sculpted, molded cowl, attention was paid to every detail."
"Has well over $30,000 to make it runs great and cosmetic condition is excellent, along with low hours."
I'm not sure how the economics of selling a $30,000 cart for $17,500 works but I'm not complaining.
I'm also not sure where, exactly, you put your clubs. But who cares? Some lucky fool is driving a Batman golf cart next to his buddy's Bubba Hovercraft!
Pictures: Batman golf cart sells for $17,500 on eBay - CBSSports-com
Zach Johnson, with his renowned wedge game in sparkling order, soared to the top of the leaderboard with a five-under-par 67 in Thursday's (Friday, PHL time) opening round at the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge.
Twice a runner-up in the elite 18-player event hosted by world number one Tiger Woods, American Johnson mixed seven birdies with two bogeys to take control on a sun-splashed but chilly day at Sherwood Country Club.
Compatriot Matt Kuchar, a double winner on the 2013 PGA Tour, was alone in second after a 68 while five-time champion Woods had to settle for a 71 after missing a three-foot birdie putt at the last.
Johnson, who finished second at the 2011 World Challenge, was delighted with his opening round after the scheduled start of play was delayed by frost for an hour.
"I did everything decent, drove it well for the most part with the exception of probably the last hole," Johnson, a 10-time champion on the PGA Tour, told reporters. "I wedged it really good.
"Any time I had a wedge in my hand, I seemed to be hitting my lines and my yardages, which is certainly key. I putted it great. Just a real solid day all around.
"I kept the course in front of me, I was aggressive when I needed to be aggressive and I was conservative when I needed to be conservative. But it's nothing more than a decent start."
Birdie blitz
Johnson was especially pleased that he managed to birdie four of the five par-five holes on the heavily undulating, Jack Nicklaus-designed layout.
"I hit it close," the 37-year-old said. "I hit it close on two, I hit it close on 11, 13, and I hit it close on 16. I had good shots in there with the proper spin, nothing more than that.
"But you've got to take advantage of them [the par-fives]. You've got five of them."
Despite a perfectly manicured layout and very little wind, only five players in the field of 18 dipped under par in the opening round but Johnson was not at all surprised.
"First of all, there's some tough pins," he said. "Second, it's that time of year where some guys are trying to shake rust off. That may be part of it.
Woods, who won the most recent of his five titles here in 2011, was a little frustrated with his score after missing short putts on both his first and last holes.
"I made a few mistakes today, I also hit a couple of good shots that ended up in some interesting spots," the 14-time major champion said. "That can happen out here. Maybe I could have gotten one or two more [shots] out of it.
"There's some tough pins out there. You miss them on the wrong spots, you're going to pay a price, and I think that's kind of what's signified in the scoring. No one is running away with it. Nobody went low today."
Defending champion Graeme McDowell, who also triumphed here in 2010, opened with a 72 while fellow Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy carded a 73, just four days after winning his first title of the year at the Australian Open.
"My [putting] speed was a little clumsy, and it showed today on the greens," McDowell said after offsetting four birdies with four bogeys. "But generally I was quite happy the way I hit the ball."
Golf: Johnson takes early control at Tiger's event | Sports | GMA News Online
Although there's a windy chill in the air as well as frost on the early morning greens, golf still goes on pretty much year-round in Lake County. While all the club champions have already been crowned, there are still golfers hitting the links during midday to take advantage of the 50-degree highs and the occasional sunlight.
On the local golf front, we're at that time of the season when the golfing members of the area clubs along with those members of traveling or associate clubs re-up for another year as well as renew their USGA/NCGA handicaps for the 2014 calendar year.
Handicapping systems are, in theory, the game's great equalizer. The 70-year-old grandfather who hits it 200 yards off the tee and shoots 95 at his local municipal course can have a match with his 18-year-old grandson who bashes it 300 yards with his driver and shoots 75 at all the tough courses. In this instance, the grandpa might have a 20-handicap, his grandson would have a 2-handicap, and an equitable match between the two would mean the younger golfer giving 18 strokes - one per hole - to the less talented senior. It's kind of like those early days on the playground when the kids would play one-on-one basketball and the more talented hoopster would start his opponent out with a 5-0 lead.
I've had a USGA handicap for the past 47 years. However, it's not the 47 years that I have been part of the USGA system that gives me some amount of expertise on this subject matter. Instead, for a four-year period of time from age 17 through age 21, I was the club handicapper at Beverly Country Club in Chicago. Every day for four summers, I recorded the daily scores of the members, computing their handicaps on an ever-changing basis. There was a giant membership board in front of the pro shop under glass, and each evening I would change the handicaps to be totally up to date for the following day.
While it's accurate that all Beverly members had USGA handicaps through the Chicago District Golf Association, those handicaps were adjusted on a monthly basis. Nowadays they are changed twice per month. Because Beverly had a large number of members who participated in high-stakes gambling on the golf course, they wanted a daily handicap update so that someone with an inflated handicap in early July couldn't carry that numerical handicap all month long and take their money all month long. Simply speaking, the Beverly members didn't necessarily trust one another and the daily recalculation leveled the playing field in their minds.
The mathematics of the handicapping system hasn't changed all that much since 1970. The handicap index is determined by taking the most recent 20 scores and identifying the 10 low ones. With those 10 low scores, you determine the difference between the score and the course rating. That difference is called the course differential. What this does is to allow comparisons between tougher courses and those that play easier. For instance, the course rating from the back tees at Pebble Beach is 75.5 and the par is 72. The par at Hidden Valley Lake is 72 and the course rating is 73.0. What this means is that Pebble Beach is approximately two and one half strokes more difficult than HVL. A golfer who consistently shoots 80 at Pebble Beach would have something near a 4-handicap whereas the linkster who historically cards an 80 at Hidden Valley Lake would probably play to a 6.5 handicap.
What the handicap system allows for is the fact that not all 80 golfers are created equal. If the HVL golfer was to play the Pebble Beach golfer, typically he would get two or three strokes to have an equitable match. It's the mathematics of golf's handicap system.
Way back when I was computing handicaps by hand, the course rating was the way to distinguish between hard courses and easier courses although that may be a misuse of the term because I don't know if there's such a thing as an easy golf course. Anyway, the course rating is heavily influenced by yardage. One of the reasons that Adams Springs has a course rating of 65.9 is because its par-4s typically measure from 300 to 400 yards in length whereas the par-4s at Hidden Valley range from 350 to 460 yards, giving it the higher 73.0 course rating. Over time the powers that be added another numerical concept to computing handicaps. They call it slope.
The idea behind slope is to attempt to quantify course difficulty. For instance, the first, the third and the seventh holes at Hidden Valley are just about as long as the eighth, ninth and 10th holes at Pebble Beach. If you hit your tee shot 20 yards off the line on the seventh hole at Hidden Valley Lake, you're in the right rough. If you hit it 20 yards off line at Pebble on the ninth hole, then your ball is probably in the Pacific Ocean. Slope ratings determine all those intangibles such as water, thick rough, trees, narrow fairways, side hill lies, multi-tiered greens, gaping bunkers, and the like. To compare and contrast, the slope at Pebble Beach is 145 while the slope at HVL is 128. The average slope rating is 113. A precision course such as Cobb Mountain Golf Course carries a slope of 105.
So, to the truly mathematical, your USGA/NCGA golfing handicap is based on your low 10 out of 20 scores, their differential from the course rating multiplied by the average slope of 113, which is then divided by the specific course rating, with that number multiplied by a 96-percent factor. If your low 10 scores at Hidden Valley Lake average 95 and the course rating is 73, then you're looking at a differential of 22 multiplied by 113 and then divided by HVL's slope of 128. That equals 19.4 and 96 percent of that gets you a handicap of 18.6.
Regardless of your viewpoints of the validity of the mathematics of the handicap system, the end result is that if golfers are reputable and post their scores in a timely manner, then the system works and allows linksters of varying abilities to play equitable matches. Of cou
The annual holiday cash grab thrown by Tiger Woods that is also a fun-filled week at a posh Southern California country club turned a bit nasty on Saturday.
The weather was more befitting the holiday season, and only the hardiest of souls would bother with golf on such an occasion. Steady rain at Sherwood Country Club turned to sunshine by early afternoon, but with it came a brisk wind and plenty of discomfort.
"That was work," Zach Johnson said after he came off the course following the third round of the Northwestern Mutual World Challenge.
For his part, Johnson made sure that Woods will have to work for a victory in his own tournament, being played here for the last time.
Both players shot even-par 72, with Woods maintaining a 2-stroke advantage heading into the final round of the $3.5 million tournament. Bubba Watson is 4 back with Matt Kuchar in fourth place, 7 strokes behind.
It very well could come down again to a battle between Woods and Johnson, the 2007 Masters champion who gave Tiger all he could handle here in 2011. That day, Woods birdied the last two holes to win by one, his first victory anywhere in more than two years.
Since then, he has gone on to win eight times; a victory Sunday would be his sixth this year.
"I have five wins and four seconds here at this place," Woods said. "Sherwood has certainly fit my eye, and I would love to win here. It would mean a lot to us at the (Tiger Woods) Foundation, and I'm going to try and get it done and then move to my old home course next year where I've played hundreds of rounds."
Now in its 15th year, Woods' tournament is moving from California to Florida, leaving the area where he grew up and where his foundation is based. It will make for a bittersweet day either way.
Or maybe just bitter.
The weather has been unseasonably cold for this part of the world, with frost delays the first two days and the rain that fell for the early part of the third round. With more frost in the forecast Sunday, the tournament has gone to a two-tee start -- even though the field has just 18 players.
Woods knows it won't be easy. Not with the cold weather, and not with Johnson in pursuit.
"Zach's not going anywhere," Woods said. "He's consistent. He's tough. And he's proven he can win major championships ... he's just tough to beat."
After shooting 62 on Friday, hitting 12 of 13 fairways and all 18 greens, Woods found -- as is typically the case -- that it was difficult to keep up that pace. He missed only three fairways and just four greens Saturday, but took 33 putts -- five more than on Friday.
The result was a score that was 10 strokes higher, but one that was bettered by just four players. The low score Saturday was 68.
"You ask a lot of guys on tour, and shooting something that is 9 or 10 deep (under par) is obviously very difficult to do," Woods said. "Shooting back-to-back 66s or 65s is much easier. If you play the par-5s well, there's 4 (-under). You make a couple putts, there's 2 or 3 more. Boom. That's 6- or 7-under. But to get to that 9, 10 level ... it's a lot more difficult to do. And to be consistent (on) more than one day is really hard to do."
Woods admitted his putting was off and that he "left a few out there," but he still heads into the final day in a position from which he has always been tough to beat.
In his PGA Tour career, Woods has converted a 54-hole lead 39 of 41 times when he had the outright advantage.
"If you get the lead, it's totally different," he said. "They gotta come get you."
Woods knows this drill quite well. He has a comfort level when being in front, and can gauge what the competition is doing. Should he fail to convert, it would be a mild surprise, but would be of little impact going forward -- and a victory certainly would not have the same meaning as the one he got here two years ago after such a lengthy drought.
But Woods plays to win, and his foundation stands to gain a substantial sum -- he has always donated his prize money, which is $1 million for first place -- if he manages to prevail.
The rest of the field is enduring a bit more hardship for the purse, which pays out to $100,000 for last place. Then again, playing golf in the cold isn't such a bad deal at that price.
Tiger Woods sitting in familiar spot at Northwestern Mutual World Challenge -- golf - ESPN
Thomas Bjorn had two eagles in his last nine holes, one brilliant and one a bit lucky, to finish with a 7-under 65 and win the Nedbank Golf Challenge on Sunday.
Overnight leader Jamie Donaldson of Wales lost his three-shot advantage in a final-round 70 and tied for second with Sergio Garcia (65).
Bjorn's victory was hailed by fans in the galleries on No. 18, waving streams of South African flags in late afternoon sunshine on a day dedicated in the country to prayer and reflection following the death of former President Nelson Mandela.
Bjorn's 5-iron into No. 10 set up the first eagle to move past Donaldson. The Dane had his second on No. 14 after his approach hit a bunker and rolled up onto the green.
"They were two big moments," Bjorn said. "Obviously, having two eagles on the back nine on a Sunday doesn't happen very often. The shot into 14 was a bit fortunate, but that's what happens when you win golf tournaments, I guess."
The $1.25 million winner's check at Sun City marks the 42-year-old Bjorn's biggest prize and his 15th European Tour title.
Tournament members stood for a rendition of the South African anthem at the end of the event.
"I think to the whole world, he was just an inspiration to human beings. He was a great man," Bjorn said of Mandela at the trophy presentation. "To see what one man can do, it's an inspiration to all of us. If we all just did a bit more, this world would be a better place."
Donaldson was attempting to become the first debut winner at Sun City since Zimbabwe's Mark McNulty in 1986. But he bogeyed No. 9 and couldn't make any more birdies until No. 17.
Garcia dropped a shot on No. 16 after a run of four straight birdies at the end of his front nine, allowing Bjorn to bogey the last at Gary Player Country Club and still win.
FedEx Cup and European money list winner Henrik Stenson was fourth after his 67 in the No. 3-ranked Swede's first tournament back since ending last season as the world's best player.
Brendon de Jonge (66) was fifth and Charl Schwartzel (66) finished sixth, the highest placed South African. Ryan Moore of the United States, another Sun City rookie, was in contention through three rounds before a 73 on Sunday led to a tie for seventh with U.S. Open champion Justin Rose.
Home favorite and three-time champion Ernie Els had to deal with news of Mandela's passing on Thursday and the death of his former psychological coach on Saturday. He finished with a second straight 77 and second from last in the expanded 30-man field.
This is the first year the Nedbank has been part of the European Tour's schedule.
Thomas Bjorn rallies to win Nedbank Golf Challenge
Zach Johnson put together the storybook finish at Sherwood on Sunday that for the longest time belonged to Tiger Woods.
Johnson rallied from four shots behind with eight holes to play, holed out from a drop area for par on the last hole to force a playoff, and beat the No. 1 player in golf at the World Challenge when Woods missed a 5-foot par putt on the first extra hole.
"Pretty impressive what he did," Woods said. "He got me."
It was an extraordinary sendoff at Sherwood, which hosted the World Challenge for the 14th and final time before it moves to Florida next year.
The big surprise was the winner in so many ways.
"I feel very fortunate, and a bit lucky," said Johnson, who moved into the top 10 in the world ranking for the first time in his career.
For Woods, it was only the fourth time in his career that he lost a lead of at least two shots going into the final round, the second time at Sherwood. Graeme McDowell overcame a four-shot deficit in 2010 and beat Woods in a playoff.
This was far more dramatic.
They were tied after Johnson hit his tee shot to 4 feet for birdie on the 17th hole. Playing from the left rough, Woods came up just short and watched his approach tumble down the elevated green and into the bunker. Johnson followed with his worst shot of the week, an 8-iron so weak that it came up well short and into the hazard.
Johnson knew Woods had a difficult bunker shot, and if he figured if he could stick his wedge close from 58 yards away in the drop zone, a bogey might be enough to get into a playoff. The ball bounced three times and then spun back a few inches into the cup for an unlikely par and a 4-under 68.
"A little too dramatic for me," Johnson said.
Woods' hit a superb bunker shot to 2 feet and matched his par for a 70. They finished on 13-under 275.
Woods was between clubs from the 18th fairway in the playoff and tried a smooth 7-iron that he lost enough to the right that it again found the bunker. He hit an exquisite sand shot, this one sliding 5 feet by the hole, and the par putt spun out of the left side.
Johnson top-10 in the world
Johnson won $1 million and should go to No. 9 in the world.
Woods ended what he called a "damn good year" — five wins, the most of anyone in the world — with a shocking loss to Johnson. Two years ago, Woods ended the longest drought of his career when he went birdie-birdie at Sherwood to beat Johnson by one shot.
Matt Kuchar (67) and Bubba Watson (70) tied for third at 9-under 279.
The attendance Sunday was 24,922, a record for any round in 14 years at Sherwood. Traffic outside the tony club in the Santa Monica foothills looked like an LA freeway in what could be the last chance in the near future to see Woods in southern California.
Woods appeared to have his sixth title at Sherwood sewed up when Johnson missed a short par putt on the 10th hole to fall four shots behind with eight holes to play. Woods had said on Saturday that Johnson wasn't the kind of player who went away easily, and he was right.
Johnson picked up birdies on the 11th and 12th holes, and then got back in the game on the 14th when Woods three-putted from long range on the 14th, and Johnson saved his par with an 8-foot putt to get within one shot.
The rest of the way looked like the final rounds of a heavyweight fight, even if only one of them looked the part.
Johnson laid up on the par-5 16 and nearly holed a sand wedge from 88 yards, setting up a tap-in birdie. Woods, with a tough chip left of the green, rehearsed the shot over and over and it came out perfectly for a matching birdie. Johnson finally caught him with a tee shot to 4 feet for birdie on the 17th, leading to the big finish.
Johnson looked almost apologetic when Woods missed his par putt in the playoff, and it was shocking to see. No one from his generation as made more clutch putts than Woods, who spoke about the topic earlier in the week. But not this time. It was not the way he wanted to leave Sherwood, where Woods has five wins and now five runner-up finishes. The only consolation was $400,000 for finishing second, bringing to just over $14 million the earnings he has donated to his foundation from the three tournaments (AT&T National, Deutsche Bank, World Challenge) that support his education programs.
Zach Johnson outduels Tiger Woods at World Challenge - CBC Sports - Golf
A well-known youth golf coach who has worked with kids in Livermore and around the country has been arrested and charged with numerous counts of child molestation, authorities said Tuesday.
Livermore resident Andrew Michael Nisbet, 31, sexually assaulted several boys between the ages of 12 and 17 between 2009 and 2012, said Officer Steve Goard, a Livermore police spokesman.
Alameda County prosecutors have charged Nisbet with 65 felonies, including lewd acts with a child, oral copulation of a child, sending harmful matter and arranging a sexual meeting with a minor.
Nisbet, who had worked at Las Positas Golf Course in Livermore since 2006 and was director of instruction, has also trained students in Michigan, North Carolina, Mississippi and Alabama, Goard said.
Nisbet was arrested Saturday and has been fired by golf course officials, authorities said. He is being held without bail at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin.
Apparently unaware of the arrest, the PGA's Northern California Section announced Monday that it had given Nisbet the 2013 Junior Golf Leader Award for his "dedication and leadership in developing a wealth of exciting and educational golf programs for juniors."
The PGA said Nisbet managed a golf league for middle-school students in and around Livermore and launched the U.S. Kids Golf Bay Area Tour, the largest tour of its kind in the country.
He also started "College Golf 101" to help kids and their parents through the college golf recruiting process, and put out a newsletter that reached more than 1,000 people.
For the past five years, the PGA said, Nisbet helped run the U.S. Kids Golf championships in Pinehurst, N.C., the biggest junior event in the world.
Livermore youth golf coach accused of sex abuse - SFGate
A popular golf coach in Northern California has been charged with child molestation after allegedly sexually assaulting multiple boys during a three-year period, authorities said.
Andrew Michael Nisbet, of Livermore, did not enter a plea on Tuesday in Alameda County Superior Court after he was charged with 65 felonies, including lewd acts with a child and oral copulation of a child.
He was arrested Saturday while he was working at the Las Positas Golf Course in Livermore, about 40 miles east of San Francisco, said Officer Steve Goard, a Livermore police spokesman.
Nisbet is a well-respected golf instructor and his arrest came a day before he was to receive the PGA's Northern California Section 2013 Junior Golf Leader Award for his work with young golfers, Goard said. The charges against Nisbet mostly stem from allegedly sexually assaulting two boys between the ages of 12 and 17 from 2009-12, Goard said.
"(Nisbet) created this coach-athlete bond with these young men and gave them rides to and from practice and bought them top-of-the-line golf equipment," Goard said Wednesday. "He clearly used that to his advantage. He had pretty evil intentions and he exercised them."
During an interview with investigators shortly after his arrest, Nisbet admitted to some of the lewd acts on his students, Goard said.
Nisbet's attorney, Timothy Rien of Livermore, did not immediately return a call for comment on Wednesday.
Nisbet allegedly performed oral sex with the students in his home and his car while showing them pornography on his computer and mobile devices, Goard said. Other acts allegedly occurred in the golf course's parking lot and during out-of-town golfing trips, Goard added.
When the victims made efforts to stop Nisbet's alleged abuse, the perks stopped, Goard said. Police learned about Nisbet after one of his golf students reported the alleged incidents last month, Goard said.
Since Nisbet's arrest, investigators have discovered a third alleged victim and possibly a fourth, Goard said. Nisbet has also trained students in Alabama, Michigan, Mississippi and North Carolina, Goard said.
Nisbet is being held in jail without bail and is due back in court on Jan. 15, Alameda County Assistant District Attorney Teresa Drenick said Wednesday.
California golf coach Andrew Michael Nisbet facing molestation charges - ESPN
Tim O'Neal doesn't travel to golf tournaments with one of the big staff bags that players use on the PGA Tour. The 41-year-old native of Savannah, Ga., can't afford the extra fees that many airlines charge for overweight baggage.
Bridgestone, his club manufacturer, wanted him to tote a new staff bag for this week's Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament, which begins Thursday at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif., but O'Neal is sticking with his lightweight carry bag for the six-round, 108-hole marathon. He scoured the Internet until he found the best hotel rate for his 10-night stay in the Palm Springs area. And rather than hire a tour caddie for the week for about $2,500, he brought along a friend from home to perform the task.
O'Neal is not completely desperate, but frugality is a means of survival in a sport that's difficult to thrive in without substantial financial backing from either individuals or corporate sponsors.
The greatest pressure in the game, many players say, isn't often the putt to win the tournament, but the one that could make a difference in meeting the mortgage or putting gas in the car to reach the next event.
On the PGA Tour's Latin American series this year, O'Neal earned $90,015. His third-place finish on the money list got him a spot in this week's Q-school finals and conditional status on the Web.com Tour. A 45th-place finish or better at PGA West would give him better status and a chance to play a full schedule.
"I might have made $90,000 in Latin America," said O'Neal, who has not had a sponsor in more than 10 years, "but I have probably spent at least half of that on travel, hotels and entry fees, and I still have bills at home. So I didn't really make much money."
As a child, he loved golf for the sheer joy of hitting shots and for the competition. As an adult, the game suddenly became the means to support his family and a tough business as an independent contractor.
"It's really hard to play without a sponsor," said O'Neal, who was sponsored by actor Will Smith for two years early in his pro career. "I'm not complaining, but people ask me all the time why there are not more African-Americans on tour and a part of the reason is that there is no money.
"Golf is one of one of those sports where if you don't have any kind of financial backing, you can't play."
Q-school represents hope on his arduous journey. Come the start of the Web.com season in 2014, O'Neal should have a few sponsorships to lessen the burden of playing well simply to help pay his bills.
"That's what makes it tough, when you're trying to make ends meet and you don't play well," said O'Neal, who turned pro in 1997. "My wife has worked. So that's taken the pressure off at times. But it's never easy."
To O'Neal, earning a PGA Tour card is not the most important thing. His wife and two young children are the center of his life. Yet for close to 20 years, he has been consumed with this quest to reach the game's most elite circuit. And when the opportunity to reach golf's big leagues comes around every year, it's a keen reminder of an unfulfilled dream.
For the first time in the 48-year history of the qualifying tournament, golfers like O'Neal won't have a chance to make it directly from this event to the big tour. Now, instead of 25 regular tour cards awarded at Q-school, the finalists will earn membership exclusively on the Web.com Tour.
"It's the system that's in place now," O'Neal concedes. "So unless you get some exemptions into some regular tour events and play well, it's the only way to get out there. It's just another way to prove yourself and get to the show.
"But I don't like it where you can't get to the tour directly from Q-school anymore. Even if they had five spots, that's better than not having any."
The life of a penny-pinching journeyman was not in O'Neal's sights as he stood on the 18th hole of the Nicklaus Tournament Course on the last day of the 2000 Q-school finals at PGA West. All the former Jackson State golfer needed was a bogey on that final hole to secure his card. Instead, he hit his tee shot into a hazard and made a triple-bogey to miss earning his card by 2 shots.
Never mind that he walked to that final tee thinking that he needed birdie to get his card or that many in the golf world were rooting for him because they wanted to see another African-American on the PGA Tour.
O'Neal soldiered on and had a few good years on the Web.com Tour. Since dropping off that tour after a poor 2008 season, he has done short stints on the Asian Tour, the European Professional Development Tour in Morocco and the eGolf Tour in the U.S. In 2011, he stopped playing competitively to work as a swing instructor.
Most who attempt a life as a pro golfer will fail. And many of them will likely leave the game or seek a job as a swing instructor or club professional.
O'Neal's coach at Jackson State, Eddie Payton, has tried to persuade his program's greatest recruit to come back to his alma mater and take over the men's golf team. But the former Georgia State Amateur champion, the first African-American to win that title, is committed to seeing his plan through to play the big tour. The PGA Tour's Latin America series, which was formed in 2012 with 11 tournaments, has helped O'Neal resuscitate these aspirations.
In April at the Roberto De Vicenzo Invitational in Uruguay, he lost in a three-way playoff. The next week, he won in Colombia. In his final three starts of the year before heading home to Savannah for Thanksgiving, he had a tie for third, a fourth and a win in Chile, which guaranteed him status on the Web.com Tour.
O'Neal has matured mightily since blowing his first chance in the Q-school finals in 2000.
"I'm definitely stronger mentally," he said. "That's been one of the main things that's changed. A lot of that comes with age."
O'Neal, who is making his fourth trip to Q-school finals -- all at PGA West -- isn't yielding anythi
Twenty years after it began, the Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic is coming to an end.
Organizers hope to reach people through other events.
The classic began alongside The V Foundation for Cancer Research in 1993, the year of the death of Jim Valvano, the legendary N.C. State University basketball coach.
Both nonprofits have followed Valvano’s parting wish to improve care and find a cure for cancer. The golf weekend, often held at Lonnie Poole Golf Course or North Ridge Country Club in Raleigh, was one of the most visible parts of the fundraising effort.
The V Foundation will focus on other events, such as the Rock ’n’ Roll Raleigh Marathon and Racquets for Research, it announced Friday in a news release. By branching out of golf, the nonprofit hopes to reach beyond an audience primarily of golfers.
‘Shininess’ wore off
The V Foundation’s staff hopes that its role in new events – it will be the main beneficiary of the Rock ’n’ Roll Raleigh Marathon – will give a helpful boost as it enters its third decade.
“I think that (the golf classic) was the most popular, actually, when it just started,” said Sherrie Mazur, a foundation spokeswoman. “In those early years, it had so much support, not just in this community but nationwide. Throughout the years, as you continue to have an event, perhaps the newness and the shininess of that event tends to wear off.”
Mazur said the event has been successful, “wonderful and very well received” throughout. And the foundation, she said, is going strong.
In its 20 years, the golf weekend brought about 500,000 spectators in total, along with a host of celebrities, including Michael Jordan, Mia Hamm and Kevin Costner. It raised about $13.5 million for cancer research, according to the foundation.
The organization donates 100 percent of “direct cash donations and net proceeds of events” directly to cancer research and related programs, according to its website.
‘Don’t ever give up’
Mazur said the golf tournament “did a wonderful job of bringing together this community – just remembering Jim and his ‘Don’t give up, don’t ever give up’ spirit.”
The golf classic was run by a staff of three, separate from The V Foundation, Mazur said. It was unclear Friday whether those staff members would continue to work with the foundation, she said.
“We will forever be grateful for the work and dedication of Golf Classic Executive Director Frank McCann, the Board of Directors and thousands of Golf Classic volunteers who have been tirelessly devoted to finding a cure for cancer,” Valvano’s brother, Nick Valvano, the foundation’s president emeritus, said in a written release.
The V Foundation is seeking runners to join its charitable team in the Rock ’n’ Roll Raleigh Marathon on April 13. It’s accepting applications at run4v.org.
Read more here: RALEIGH: Charity organizers end Jimmy V celebrity golf event after 20 years | Wake County | NewsObserver-com
Sergio Garcia claimed his first win in 2013 after he shot a final round of 68 to win the Thailand Golf Championship on Sunday.
The Spaniard carded six birdies and two bogeys to finish on 22 under par, four strokes ahead of Henrik Stenson.
Garcia had claimed the lead in the second round and the 33-year-old kept Race to Dubai and FedEx Cup winner Stenson at bay, with the Swede also carding 68 in his final round to finish with an overall total of 270.
France’s Alexander Levy also shot 68 on the final day to finish a further four strokes back, with last year’s winner Charl Schwartzel finishing in a four-way tie for fourth with England’s US Open champion Justin Rose, Yuki Kono of Japan and India’s Anirban Lahiri.
Garcia was pushed by Stenson, who cut his overnight lead by half at the turn, but the Spaniard fired three successive birdies from the 10th hole to make sure of his first win since last December’s Johor Open in Malaysia.
“I knew Henrik was going to make it difficult for me. He’s been playing so amazingly great, and he did,” Garcia told Asian Tour – Professional Golf in Asia.
“He kept hitting good shot after good shot. And then when I bogeyed seven, I had to make a good par save on nine after getting a bit unlucky with the approach shot. And then I made three very important birdies on the first three on the back nine and gave myself a little bit of a cushion.”
Garcia, who had his girlfriend Katharina Boehm caddie for him during the event, added: “It was great, an amazing week. Obviously being the last week of the year and for having Katharina caddie for me.
“I pretty much knew that finishing par, par, the tournament was pretty much mine, and then just making sure I kept the tee shot dry on 18 and I hit a great second shot with a six iron, and once the ball came out of the clubface, I knew that I was pretty much done.”
Stenson, who had been aiming to cap off a successful year, revealed he had been running on empty during the tournament.
“I’ve had a great year but coming here really on the fumes left in the tank, not too much going for me to perform in that sense,” he said.
“But I played really nicely yesterday and I was hanging in there today and I was just coming up a couple short.
“I needed something really, really good to happen on eight and nine but I didn’t make those two birdie putts and Sergio was hanging in there, made one or two good saves and then he made three birdies in a row, and pulled away.
“Congratulations to Sergio on a great week. He played really well.”
Sergio Garcia wins in Thailand - Golf News | World & Ireland Golf Results, Fixtures & Tables - Sun, Dec 15, 2013
Former Ryder Cup captain Bernard Gallacher has returned to the golf course for the first time since having a life-threatening cardiac arrest.
The 64-year-old spent five days in an induced coma after collapsing as he was about to deliver a speech at an Aberdeen hotel in August.
The Scot has started a campaign to encourage all golf clubs to be equipped with automated external defibrillators.
Gallacher believes the device, costing around £1,000, saved his life.
Speaking at the project's Wentworth launch, the three-time European skipper told BBC Sport: "I've played at Wentworth and I've been practicing hitting a few balls on the range.
"To be honest I think I have overdone it on a couple of occasions. I have to stay in the care of the doctors and do exactly what they say.
"When we talk about what happened to me, the same thing happened to Fabrice Muamba in football."
Muamba, 23, suddenly collapsed while playing for Bolton Wanderers against Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup last year.
"There was a perfectly fit young man, a footballer obviously monitored by his training team," said Gallacher.
"Everything seemed in order and then he just collapsed in the middle of a game.
"He was lucky like me because there was a doctor around and they had a defibrillator at the football club."
The Scot, who is a regular summariser for BBC Radio 5 live, is convinced lives will be saved if golf clubs back his appeal.
Gallacher, who is working with his wife Lesley to promote the campaign, has received backing from the PGA and European Tour.
Currently only 30% of golf clubs in the UK and Ireland have defibrillators.
"Without early intervention, an individual has just a 5% chance of surviving a sudden cardiac arrest," he said.
"Lesley and I felt it appropriate to try to ensure others are equally as fortunate as I was should they collapse in or around a golfing venue in future."
BBC Sport - Bernard Gallacher returns to golf three months after cardiac arrest
Henrik Stenson has been selected European golfer of the year after winning the money title and the U.S. PGA Tour's FedEx Cup. The 37-year-old Stenson, who succeeded Rory McIlroy, is the first player from Sweden to win the award.
In addition to his six-shot victory in the season-ending World Tour Championship to clinch the Race to Dubai, Stenson also won the Deutsche Bank Championship and the Tour Championship in Atlanta to seal the FedEx Cup.
Another highlight was his third-place finish in the U.S. PGA Championship.
Stenson's most consistent year started at the end of last season, when he won the South African championship.
He says the latest honor reflected "the stellar year I have had. You can call it a dream season, year of my life, whatever you want."
Augusta National added 14 players to the field for the Masters when the final world ranking of the year was published Monday.
That brings the field to 90 players who are expected to compete April 10-13, and again raises the possibility of the Masters exceeding 100 players for the first time in nearly 50 years.
Those who qualified by being in the top 50 of the final ranking were Hideki Matsuyama, Thomas Bjorn, Jamie Donaldson, Victor Dubuisson, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Francesco Molinari, Rickie Fowler, Matteo Manassero, David Lynn, Thongchai Jaidee, Peter Hanson, Joost Luiten and Branden Grace.
Players can still qualify by winning a PGA Tour event (except for the Puerto Rico Open) or being in the top 50 on March 30, a full week before the Masters.
Vijay Singh is shopping for a new equipment deal after nearly 15 years with Cleveland Golf.
Ernie Els has signed an endorsement deal with Ecco. He was wearing the shoes for most of the year without a deal.
Anthony Kim, who last played in the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship, ended last year at No. 300 in the world. He ends this year at No. 1,488. Kim had surgery after injuring the Achilles tendon in his left leg in June 2012.
Golf: Henrik Stenson named European golfer of the year - San Jose Mercury News
Scott's much-hyped head-to-head duel with Rory McIlroy failed to deliver any real fireworks on Saturday as the Masters champion tightened his grip on the championship with another six birdies.
After starting the third round two shots adrift of Scott, McIlroy is now four back at 12-under following a rollercoaster 70.
The tournament's headline acts will again face off in the final group on Sunday, with the Open seemingly now a two-man affair.
Matt Jones is outright third but eight shots off the pace.
"Obviously to win my national championship tomorrow and then also win the three events down here is an unbelievable spot to be in," Scott said.
"If you'd told me that a month ago, I wouldn't have believed you.
"Before this month started, I hadn't won two tournaments in a row ever.
"So to have this opportunity is a bit unreal."
Robert Allenby in 2005 is the only other player to win the Australian Masters, PGA and Open titles in the same season.
Scott admitted he would sleep a lot easier after holing a six-foot birdie putt on the last on Saturday and then watching McIlroy miss his own birdie attempt from even closer.
But the world No.2 still wasn't counting his chickens, knowing McIlroy reached world No.1 last year for a very good reason.
"One round away and a lot can happen - a phenomenon behind me as well - so I'm sure he's going to throw plenty at me tomorrow," Scott said.
"I'm going to have to do a couple of things better than I did today, I think, but as long as the eye stays in with the putter, I should be able to hang on.
"To finish it off tomorrow would be an incredible way to end the year."
McIlroy conceded missing his short birdie attempt at the 18th hurt.
"It was big," he said.
"It would have been nice to birdie that to make the gap from four to three.
"Obviously I've got a tough job on my hands to catch Adam."
Richard Green (73) and Max McCardle (69) are equal fourth, one stroke behind Jones (72) but a distant nine in arrears of Scott.
Former champion Stuart Appleby is in a four-way tie for sixth at seven-under with Nathan Holman (68), Scott Arnold (69) and Leigh McKechnie (71).
Jason Day fired the day's equal-best round of 66 to climb to six-under and give himself a remote chance of running Scott down with a course-record round on Sunday.
"It's a long shot but, if I can go out tomorrow and the leaders are not too far away and I shoot a low one, maybe I can catch them," Day said.
Three amateurs are in the top 20 entering the final round, headed by 18-year-old Anthony Murdaca (66) and Brady Watt (73) at five-under.
Ryan Ruffels got to six-under late in his second round, only to stumble with a double-bogey five on the par-3 17th to slip back outside the top 10.
The 15-year-old nevertheless signed off for an impressive 68 to be four-under for the tournament and on track for a big finish in his Open debut.
Scott closes in on golf's Triple Crown - The West Australian