Sweden’s Carl Pettersson, seeking his first United States PGA Tour triumph, fired a four-under-par 67 on Saturday to match American Steve Lowery for the lead after three rounds at the Chrysler Championship.
Pettersson, with one career European Tour victory, fired the second-best round of the day, one stroke off Australian Stuart Appleby’s 66, to join Lowery on nine-under-par 204 after 54 holes at the $5,3-million tournament.
”It played tough,” Pettersson said. ”This is a tough course without any wind and we had a fair breeze today. I played well.
”I’ll try my best to play well tomorrow. I have to stay patient. I hope I can do it.”
The pace-setters enjoyed a three-stroke margin over the third-place group of Sweden’s Daniel Chopra and Americans Tom Pernice and Davis Love. American Jeff Brehaut was sixth on 208.
Pettersson, whose best US PGA finish was second at the 2003 Buick Invitational, opened with a birdie and bounced back from a bogey at the third with a birdie at the fourth, and then birdied the seventh, eighth and 10th before concluding with eight pars.
”I played a good back nine, just as good as the front,” Pettersson said. ”I had a couple of lip-outs and some tricky putts.”
But pars are good scores.
”You could feel the wind on the first tee, even on the range warming up. Anything around par would be a good score, so I just told myself to be patient and try to be my best.
”I had a good round going. This is just a tough course to keep going low.”
Lowery began the day with a two-stroke lead, but fired a 70 to open the door for the Swede. He began with a birdie, but made bogey at six. Birdies at 10 and 11 were followed by a bogey at 13 and he made bogey at 17 after a birdie at 16.
”I got rocked a little bit with that wind out there, hit some loose shots,” Lowery said.
Lowery (45) had made only 15 cuts in 30 prior starts this year.
His only US PGA titles came at the 1994 International and 2000 Southern Farm Bureau Classic.
”I always come to play well, to win,” Lowery said. ”The focus is more on the final group and that’s a challenge, but typically these tournaments are won from the groups that are second, maybe third off.
”So, the guys in the last group have to play really good to hang in there.”
Love took a double bogey at the par-three third hole but went three-under par over the final 15 holes to give himself a chance at his first victory of the year.
”The key for me is to get off to a good start [on Sunday],” Love said. ”But if you are trying to get up-and-down on every hole, it starts to look impossible. So, I’ve got to hit a lot of fairways and greens.” — Sapa-AFP