American Harrison Frazar birdied the final three holes on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over South African Ernie Els after the third round of the Sony Open. Frazar, who has never won on the PGA Tour, carded a four-under-par 66 at Waialae Country Club, where there was less buzz and more business as usual after the departure of US schoolgirl Michelle Wie, who missed the cut by just one stroke on Friday in an impressive outing against the men.
Frazar reached 14-under 196 with one round left, a shot ahead of defending champion Els, who also carded a 66. Davis Love III posted a 63 and was tied for third with fellow American Frank Lickliter II (65), two shots off the pace. Halfway leader Stephen Allan of Australia fell three shots behind with Paul Azinger.
Frazar has never cracked the top 60 on the money list in six seasons on tour but has recorded two runner-up finishes and three third-place showings. He started the day a stroke behind Allan and totaled six birdies with two bogeys. With most of the gallery following the big names, Frazar and Allan played in relative anonymity in the final pairing.
While Frazar is still seeking his first win in six full seasons on the PGA Tour, he has come close, most recently at last year's Phoenix Open, where he hopes he learned a valuable lesson. He led into the final round and shot a 69 but still could only tie for third. He realized that, with rare exceptions, you have to go low on Sunday to win on the PGA Tour, even when starting the day in front.
"I learned that you can't sit back and watch what somebody is doing," the 32 year-old Texan said. "You've got to attack, not pay attention to what everyone around you is doing." But Frazar admitted he was little surprised to find himself in front. "I'm leading, but I still don't feel real sharp," he said. "I'm still rusty and I surprised myself with how solid I was hitting my irons."
Meanwhile, Els has found his game after a mediocre showing in last week's season-opening Mercedes Championship on the nearby island of Maui. "I wasn't quite ready last week, especially with my putter, and it showed," said Els, who was disappointed not to birdie the last.
"I felt things were coming around for me this week. I've put my head down and started grinding. I'm glad with the progress I've made. There's a lot of golf left and a lot of good players right there, but I've got a chance."
Love charged into contention with a round only slightly less impressive than the 12-under 60 he carded here in 1994. "I had some good things happen," he said. "It was one of those rounds that could have been a lot better or could have been a lot worse. I made some nice putts and holed a nice bunker shot (for eagle at the par-five ninth)."
Love still sounded as though he was far from firing on all cylinders. "I'm not hitting consistently good shots into the greens," he said. "Last week, it was distance control. This week, I'm missing a few left and a few right. For the most part I'm just a little erratic with my irons. I need to get more consistent."
Filed by Shane Murray
