Durant stays two clear in Mexico
PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico (AP) -Joe Durant remained in position for his first PGA Tour victory since 2006, birdieing the final two holes Saturday for a 2-under 69 and a two-stroke lead in the Mayakoba Golf Classic.
The 45-year-old Durant, a four-time tour winner, had a 14-under 199 total on the Mayakoba Resort's El Camaleon course. He opened with rounds of 64 and 66.
``It always helps just having been in this position a number of times and knowing the kind of round you need to play on Sunday to win a golf tournament,'' Durant said. ``At least you know in your mind what you need to do. Whether you do it or not, who knows. Experience always helps.''
Charles Warren (65) and J.P. Hayes (69) were tied for second, Chad Collins (67) and Cameron Beckman (69) followed at 11 under, and Kevin Stadler (67) was 10 under.
John Daly was tied for 17th at 7 under after a 69.
Durant birdied the first two holes, then dropped three strokes on the next two. He missed a 1 1/2-foot on No. 3 en route to a double bogey, and three-putted for a bogey on No. 4. ``Two holes of poor putting,'' he said.
He rebounded with birdies on 8 and 9, bogeyed No. 14 and closed with the two straight birdies.
``My speed was just off today,'' Durant said. ``I didn't have very good speed on the greens, and consequently I left myself a lot of 3- and 4-footers for par. You don't want to do that if you can help it.''
Warren, making his first start of the season, eagled No. 8, hitting driver and 7-iron to 6 feet.
``The key to the golf course is kind of playing the into-the-wind holes well and kind of just controlling your golf ball and making pars, and then taking advantage of your downwind holes, which I did,'' Warren said.
``I don't think you do anything differently. I mean, this golf course, you can't really get ahead of yourself. You got to stay in the present with the wind and all that.''
* Joe Durant, a 45-year-old native of Pensacola, FL, hung onto the lead for the third straight day at the Mayakoba Golf Classic, moving to 14-under 199 and two shots ahead of Charles Warren (65) and J.P. Hayes (69). Chad Collins (67) and Cameron Beckman (69) are three back. Durant is seeking his fifth Tour win in 366 starts (1998 Motorola Western Open, 2001 Bob Hope Classic, 2001 Genuity Championship, 2006 Children’s Miracle Network Classic).
* Durant carded a rollercoaster 2-under 69 on Saturday. He immediately built a four-stroke lead with birdies on the first two holes, but then had a double-bogey on the par-4 third hole and a bogey on the par-4 fourth to open the door for several of his closest competitors. He later added birdies on Nos. 8, 9, 17 and 18 and a bogey on No. 14 to end the day with a 69.
* This is the third time Joe Durant has entered the final round with at least a share of the lead: 2001 Bob Hope Classic (Won) and the 2001 Shell Houston Open (T2).
* John Daly (68-69-69) has strung together three sub-70 rounds on Tour for the first time since a first-round 69 at the 2006 Frys.com Open (withdrew before second round) and the opening rounds of the 2007 Sony Open in Hawaii (69-68).
* Daly, making his 432nd start on the PGA Tour, will enter the final round seeking just his fourth 72-hole Tour event with all four rounds in the 60s:
1991 Chattanooga Classic 65-66-67-66 T3
1992 B.C. Open 67-66-67-66 Won
2005 WGC-American Express 67-67-67-69 P2
* Joe Durant is seeking to become the first wire-to-wire winner this season and in the four-year history of the Mayakoba Golf Classic. Ryan Palmer (Sony Open in Hawaii) and Dustin Johnson (AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am) led after each round in their respective wins this year, but shared the lead at least one day en route to victory in those events.
* Durant is making just his second start of the season (T48 at Bob Hope Classic) and his third at the Mayakoba Golf Classic (T12 in 2008 and T28 in 2009).
* The round of the day was turned in by Charles Warren with a 6-under 65, jumping seven spots to T2. He is making his first start of the season after finishing No. 147 on the 2009 official money list. Warren’s only other appearance at the Mayakoba Golf Classic was a missed cut in 2009 after rounds of 72-72.
* The 54-hole leader/co-leader has gone on to win three of six events on Tour in 2010: Ryan Palmer (Sony Open), Steve Stricker (Northern Trust Open) and Dustin Johnson (AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am). The 54-hole leader/co-leader at the Mayakoba Golf Classic has won all three times (Fred Funk in 2007, Brian Gay in 2008 and Mark Wilson in 2009).
* Spanish leaderboard: Alejandro Canizares (69-69-73—211/T58), Santiago Luna (71-70-68—209/T40).
* The par-4 12th hole played the most difficult on Saturday at 4.333. The par-5 eighth hole played the easiest at 4.387.
* Scoring Averages at the par-71 El Camaleon Golf Club:
Front 9 Back 9 Total Cumulative
Thursday 35.331 35.315 70.646
Friday 35.539 35.172 70.711 70.678
Saturday 35.160 35.173 70.333 70.601
* Matt Every was disqualified on Saturday for signing an incorrect scorecard (Rule 6-6). He recorded rounds of 69-71-71 this week, but signed for a 70 on Saturday (signed for a birdie on the par-4 sixth hole, when his actual score was a par).
Return to Tournament Notebook archives