Mike Weir holed a 5-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole for a 4-under 67 to take a one-stroke lead in the Deutsche Bank Championship on Sunday in Norton Massachusetts.
It puts Weir in a familiar position although he'll be looking for a better outcome today. It was the 10th time the Canadian has had at least a share of the 54-hole lead on the US PGA Tour, but he has only one victory when leading going into the final round.
Protecting this one might be the toughest yet.
Camilo Villegas ignored the swirling wind and increasingly firm conditions at TPC Boston to shoot 63, putting him in the final group with Weir for perhaps his best chance at his first US PGA Tour victory.
Three shots behind were Sergio Garcia (68) and Vijay Singh (69), part of the playoff last week at The Barclays that Singh won to move atop the standings in the tour playoffs.
And right behind them were Jim Furyk, looking for his first victory in an otherwise solid year, Ernie Els and Ben Crane, whose 63 came during the morning before the wind hit full strength.
"I've got my hands full," said Weir, who was at 17-under 196.
Ten players were separated by five shots going into the US Labor Day finish. It's the kind of exciting shootout the Deutsche Bank Championship always seems to produce.
Tiger Woods isn't around to take part in this one, and neither is defending champion Phil Mickelson. He played an ordinary round of 1-over 72 and missed the 54-hole cut, leaving questions about whether he will play next week in St Louis in the third round of these playoffs.
Weir, who opened with a 61, was equally pleased with a 67 considering he struggled to find fairways and hit only half the greens. But he got moving in the right direction with a 7-iron that stopped just under 3 feet away on the 14th, one of only eight birdies on the day.
Conditions were much more difficult, but Villegas and Crane sure didn't take notice.
"There's great players on the leaderboard," Weir said. "Some guys that are hungry to win for the first time, guys that haven't won many times, and I'm trying to do the same thing. I just want to keep playing my type of golf. Hopefully, I can hit it a little better and find a few more fairways."
Meanwhile, Frenchman Gregory Havret led from start to finish to capture the Johnnie Walker Championship on Sunday and win his third European Tour title in Gleneagles, Scotland.
Havret's closing three-under-par 70 for a 278 14-under total put him a stroke better than Briton Graeme Storm, who shot a 68.
The event was also the final one to count for Europe's Ryder Cup team but Havret, who was not in contention for a place, had set himself, instead, the goal of winning a Scottish double.
Havret's most prestigious victory had come in last year's Scottish Open at Loch Lomond and the La Rochelle player was keen to enter the winner's enclosure again.
"It's great to win leading all four rounds," Havret said. "And it's good to do that, playing all four rounds under par."
Storm came through the field to finish two strokes ahead of Swede Peter Hanson (69), winner of the Scandinavian Masters two weeks ago, and former Ryder Cup Briton David Howell (71).
(Agencies via Shanghai Daily September 2, 2008)
