Rookie Todd Hamilton took advantage of Carl Pettersson's collapse to open a four-shot lead after the third round of the Honda Classic in Florida. An Illinois native who is playing with his first PGA Tour card, Hamilton played the first 10 holes in four-under par to climb within two shots of US-base Swede Pettersson, the leader after the first two rounds.
"I wasn't overly nervous today," said Hamilton, who won four times on the Japanese Tour last year. "Although I'm a rookie on the tour, I'm 38 years old. I've played golf all over the world for probably 17, 18 years. I've been in this position before. Not on this stage, but in this position."
Hamilton played the final eight holes even for a four-under-par 68 that moved him to 14-under 202. That was enough to give him a comfortable lead as Pettersson fell apart on the back nine after cruising through the first two and a half rounds.
Pettersson, 26, played the final seven holes in six-over with three bogeys and a disastrous five-putt for a triple-bogey on the par-four 16th. In his second year on the tour, he dropped into a tie for third with Chris Riley, five strokes back.
Pettersson set a course record with a nine-under 63 on Thursday, then posted a four-under 68 on Friday. He seemed in control after birdying the ninth to get to 15-under, but bogeys followed at 12 and 14.
"I felt like on the back nine, I played fairly well," said Pettersson, who signed for a four-over 76 after making the turn at two-under. "If I could take away that five-putt, make that a two-putt, and it's not a bad score. I've still got a chance. I just go out there tomorrow and see if I can repair what happened today."
Another Swede, Fredrik Jacobson, moved into second after signing for a two-under 70 at the Country Club of Mirasol. Hamilton missed the cut in two of his first four starts this year but tied for 15th in last week's Ford Championship at Doral. He finished 16th at PGA Qualifying School last fall.
Following Hamilton's round, there was a brief controversy in the scorer's tent. An official informed Hamilton that a television viewer called in, claiming he illegally marked his ball on No. 11.
"I would, never, never do that," Hamilton said. "We went to the trailer, checked it out. We checked and (it was) not even close. I am glad they gave me an opportunity to check before I did sign my card, just in case something did go wrong."
Hamilton, who started the day three shots behind Pettersson, bogeyed the second but he birdied five of the next six holes, including four straight on three-six. Hamilton quickly cooled off, playing the final 11 holes in one-over, including a bogey on the par-three 11th.
However, Hamilton took an aggressive approach on the final hole, hitting an eight-iron 175 yards to the back of the green, then making a 15-footer for birdie to get back to 14-under.
"Nice to finish with a birdie on 18," he said. "Always nice to finish like that." Davis Love III carded a three-under-par 69 to move into a tie for fifth with Australian Aaron Baddeley and Tom Pernice.
Filed by Shane Murray
