Rory McIlroy is two shots off the lead going into the final round of the Northern Trust Open in California and the Northern Irishman knew he had to rely on some hustle to stay in contention.
The world No 3 fired five birdies in a four-under-par 67 in his third round to join five other players on 10 under, two shots behind leader Bubba Watson.
After a second-round 70 was blighted by some indifferent putting, McIlroy regained his form with birdies at the second, sixth, 10th, 15th and 17th holes, with his bogey five at the par-four third his only blemish.
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That was due to some impressive up-and-down play, which saw him scramble unlikely pars at holes seven, eight and 18.
He told pgatour.com: “I didn’t play particularly well, I didn’t hit my first fairway until the eighth but my scrambling was good, my putting for pars was good, I stayed patient and let the opportunities present themselves.
“It added up to a great 67 and I am right in there going into the final day.
“There were a lot of up and downs today that didn’t look like they were going to be up and downs. You need to do that especially if you are a little scrappy with your long game as I was today.”
There are plenty of other players standing in the way of McIlroy and glory in his maiden outing at the tournament, not least two-times Masters champion Watson.
Watson also carded five birdies in his 67, let down by a solitary bogey at the eighth, as he forged a one-shot lead at 12 under.
Second-round leader Jason Kokrak, Chez Reavie and Dustin Johnson are in the chasing pack at 11 under, though Kokrak squandered a one-shot overnight lead with his round of 70.
McIlory is joined on 10 under by K.J Choi, Adam Scott, Marc Leishman and Kevin Chappell, who hit the best round of the day with 66.
Fraser lands Malaysia title after Lee falters
Australian Marcus Fraser sank testing putts on his final two holes to land the European Tour’s $3 million Maybank Championship Malaysia on Sunday after overnight leader Lee Soo-min fell apart down the stretch.
The South Korean led by two with three holes to play but went double bogey-par-double bogey as Fraser sunk a 10-foot effort on 17 and an uphill left to right 15-foot par putt on the last to win the inaugural event by two shots in Kuala Lumpur.
Lee, 22, had begun the final day with a three-shot lead and looked solid for most of his round before his closing struggles as a first tournament win on foreign soil slipped from his grasp.
Fraser gratefully took advantage to end his almost six-year trophy drought after the 37-year-old closed with a final round of three-under-par 68 at the Royal Selangor Golf Club for a 15-under 269 total, two better than Lee (73) and Filipino Miguel Tabuena (68).
Japan’s Nomura beats Ko to win Australian Open
Japan’s Haru Nomura fired a closing seven-under par 65 to deny defending champion and world number one Lydia Ko and win the LPGA-sanctioned Australian Open at The Grange in Adelaide on Sunday.
Nomura, 23, holed eight birdies in the final round having started the day in a three-way share of the lead at nine-under.
The Japanese player closed the door on Ko’s chances with a monster 15-metre birdie putt at the 17th when she was three shots ahead of the New Zealand ace.
It allowed Nomura the luxury of her only bogey at the par-four 18th when she found the front-right sand trap and failed to get up and down.
It was the 67th-ranked Nomura’s first LPGA win after five seasons on the tour in America without drawing much attention.
She clinched victory with a run of three consecutive birdies at the 15th, 16th and 17th holes that the top-ranked Ko could not match.
Ko finished alone in second place at 13-under par after finishing with a five-under par 67.
Australia’s five-time Australian Open winner Karrie Webb was third at nine-under, having joined the lead early in the round with three birdies before faltering.
Nomura had just 26 putts. “The putter... Wow... Unbelievable,” she said.
Nomura is the first Japanese winner of the tournament since 1974, when Chako Higuchi won at the Victoria course.
American Danielle Kang and South Korean Jenny Shin had shared the overnight lead with Nomura but fell away on the final day. Kang’s closing 73 saw her finish in a tie for fourth on eight-under 280, while Shin was joint ninth a stroke further back after a 74.
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