SINGAPORE, 10 September 2006 — Australia’s Adam Scott moved into position to defend his Singapore Open title with a brilliant five-under 66 yesterday, setting up a final day showdown with South Africa’s Ernie Els.
The pair stand on eight under for the tournament, three clear of the field, and Scott will be hoping for a similar final round to 12 months ago, when a sizzling 65 helped him coast to a seven-stroke victory.
“I have to get out there tomorrow and try to get going early,” Scott told reporters of his strategy for today.
“The first four holes give you a chance to get off to a good start. Compared to the rest of the course, they are the easier holes.
“If I can take advantage of them, I can have a good day. I am playing well so no matter what happens, I feel I can hang in there.” Having to contend with deep rough, narrow fairways and the most difficult pin positions of the week, the players were also forced off the course for more than two hours because of the threat of lightning, but the delay did little to stop Scott.
Starting the day three strokes adrift of Els, the 26-year-old registered five birdies in his flawless round and was the only player without a dropped shot on his card.
Dredge Takes Lead Into European
Masters Final Round
In Crans-Sur-Sierre, Switzerland, Briton Bradley Dredge takes a two-shot lead into today’s European Masters final round as he makes another bid to claim his second European Tour title.
Dredge, last year’s World Cup winner, shrugged off an early double bogey to fire a six-under-par 65 and head his playing partner Marcel Siem of Germany (67), who is also looking for a second title.
Last year’s winner and tournament favorite Sergio Garcia had a 68 yesterday to sit five strokes off the lead. His playing partner Oliver Wilson of Britain held the Spaniard to fourth place with a 67.
Dredge, who won the World Cup last year in Portugal for Wales with Stephen Dodd, has had a number of chances to win on his own since winning the 2003 Madeira Island Open but has always failed at the final hurdle.
While he considers Garcia “the main guy to beat” Dredge said he would also keep a wary eye on all his close rivals, aware of his final-day frailties.
Garcia’s three birdies in four holes before the turn gave the holder hope he could win back to back but he lessened his chances by stalling when coming home in level par.
A large crowd watched Garcia and Michelle Wie, who missed the cut, play a shootout at the final hole with 14-year-old amateurs.
After a disappointing European Tour debut, Wie at least earned one triumph when she and her partner beat the Garcia team in the shootout.
Villegas Adds to Logjam
at Canadian Open
In Ancaster, Ontario, young Colombian Camilo Villegas fired a 64 to share the second-round lead at the Canadian Open on Friday and move into contention for his first PGA Tour win.
Twice a runner-up this season at the Doral and FBR Opens, Villegas bogeyed the first hole but then played sizzling error-free golf, carding seven birdies to join Sweden’s Jesper Parnevik and Americans Arron Oberholser and Jonathan Byrd atop the leaderboard at seven-under 133.
Byrd, Parnevik and Oberholser, who claimed his maiden PGA Tour win this season at Pebble Beach, all posted two-under 68s in difficult scoring conditions at the Hamilton Golf and Country Club.
Parnevik, who had not made the cut in his last five events, began his day on the back nine with back-to-back birdies on 11 and 12.
The veteran Swede, chasing his first PGA Tour win since the 2001 Honda Classic, dropped a shot at the third but finished his round in style by rolling in a 13-foot birdie putt at his last.
Lurking just one-shot back on a congested leaderboard were a pack of nine players bunched at six-under 134.
They included first round joint leaders Justin Rose and Jim Furyk, who followed up their professional course record 63s in the opening round with 71s.
Brett Quigley matched their course record with an error-free 63, propelling himself up the leaderboard alongside fellow Americans Sean O’Hair (69), Tom Pernice Jr. (68) and Eric Axley (66).
Joining the logjam were Australian Nathan Green (70), South Africa’s Trevor Immelman (66) and Japan’s Ryuji Imada (68).
The chances of Canadians seeing the first home winner of the national championship in 52 years suffered a setback when Stephen Ames, winner of the Players Championship this year, withdrew midway through his second round with a sore back. Mike Weir missed the cut by five shots.
Sorenstam Grabs Two-Stroke
LPGA Lead
In Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, two-time defending champion Annika Sorenstam fired a seven-under par 64 Friday to seize a two-stroke lead after the first round of the one million-dollar LPGA Hammons Hotel Classic.
World No. 1 Sorenstam put herself in prime position to claim her 70th career LPGA title and her second in as many weeks.
The Swedish superstar won her third tournament of the year last week at the State Farm Classic, firing a final-round 62 for a two-stroke triumph.
She picked up where she left off here at 6,602-yard Cedar Ridge Country Club by firing eight birdies and suffering her lone bogey at the par-4 12th hole.
“I’m happy to get off to a good round, kind of keep the momentum going,” Sorenstam said.
Starting on the back nine, Sorenstam sank birdie putts from 24 feet at the par-3 15th, 20 feet at the par-4 17th, 16 feet at the par-3 sixth, 20 feet at the par-4 seventh and 10 feet at the par-4 ninth, her last hole of the day.
