Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 21, 2013, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE B2 SPORTS GOLF B2 SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2013 HUGO LEON knows a thing or two about patience. A hip injury in 2011 sidelined him for six months and only now is he feeling like his golf game is falling back into place. " Six months for me is an eternity. I felt rusty, I felt uncomfortable and it took me a long time just to get comfortable and feel that I could swing the way I wanted to," Leon said. " And in the process I got a little lost and a little uncomfortable. It's been a long pathway and I'm feeling good so I'm really enjoying that. I'm so happy that every day when I get to the course I start to get a little better and a little better, and that's so encouraging for me." Leon shot a third- round best score of five- under 67at The Players Cup to climb from ninth to fourth place at 12 under. The Chilean is aiming for his best result on the PGA Tour Canada season. His best result was a tie for 11th at the Dakota Dunes Open. Leon started his round at Pine Ridge hot, dropping five birdies on the front nine along with a birdie and a bogey on the back. The strong effort has earned him a spot in the second- last pairing for today's final round and a better chance to claim the $ 27,000 first prize. " When I get things going I don't have any problem pressing on the gas," he said. " Obviously, it's been a little while since I've felt as good as I'm feeling right now and that's kind of a build- up process." Leon, 28, isn't too focused on winning, he's just happy to see his game improve with each and every round. The rest will come naturally. " I just want to play good. That's what I always want to do. I don't really care about what place I finish, I don't care about any of that stuff," Leon said. " I just want to play good golf and I know if I do that I'll have a shot. I'm thrilled to be playing good golf again, it's been a really long time since I've been feeling the way I feel right now." So far at The Players Cup Leon has improved with each round, shooting 69, 68 and 67, respectively. kyle. jahns@ freepress. mb. ca N ATHAN TYLER took control of the leaderboard during Saturday's third round at The Players Cup. A bogey- free, threeunder round of 69 at Pine Ridge Golf Course gave Tyler a 15- under total at the PGA Tour Canada event and a two- shot edge on Mackenzie Hughes and Carlos Sainz Jr. Tyler had birdies on the second, fifth and eighth holes on the front nine, but didn't improve his score on the back, making par on every hole. Unbelievable " I hit the ball absolutely unbelievable today and I got nothing out of it, just because there was some really gusty winds," Tyler said. " I had hit shots that I thought I'd put in the hole and they'd end up on the back of the bunker, like on 14 ( a parthree), with no chance. I got up and down out of that, which was probably one of the best bunker shots I hit in my life." The Tucson, Ariz., golfer keeps his game plan simple: aim between the trees and hope the ball falls on the green. " It's not taking a lot of risk and just keeping the ball in front of you. I'm trying to hit as many greens as possible, get some ( birdie) putts and hopefully some fall," Tyler said. " I'm just focusing on my own game and just plodding along, like I did today. Hopefully, I get a few more out of it." Hughes, of Dundas, Ont., rose to second with a 2- under 70 that ties him with Sainz at 13- under. " Today I felt some of the nerves I knew I would feel. Starting out on the front nine I got off to a good start. I hit a great drive on the first hole and I felt pretty good. And then midway through my front nine I hit a couple of weak shots and got a little bit uncomfortable," Hughes said. Ironically, once Hughes and his playing partner Cory Renfrew were put on the clock for slow play, his game started to improve. The time crunch kept him focused and ready for each shot. " I had a lot of good chances and made a couple of nice putts. I missed some really good opportunities, but overall I was pretty pleased with how I regrouped in the back nine and kept myself in it," Hughes said. The 2011 and 2012 Canadian Amateur Champion doesn't plan to change his mindset heading into the final round. " It's tougher for guys at the top of the leaderboard, it's going to be harder for them. It's not going to be easy for them to put their pedal down to the metal," Hughes said. " I don't think the guys on the top have won on this tour either, so they're in the same boat as I am. I'm going to have a great experience no matter what and I'm just looking forward to being in the mix on the back nine and giving myself a chance." Sainz, meanwhile, shot a 1- under 71 to keep himself in the mix. Even though he did drop from first to second on the day, Tyler's two- shot lead was nothing to be discouraged about. " It definitely started out good, but I didn't finish it the way I wanted to. But you know, I'm only two shots back and still in position to win," Sainz Jr. said. " You play for the final nine holes coming into the tournament and hopefully I'll be there." Sainz had four birdies on the front nine and had a one stroke lead on Tyler, but a bogey on the par- four 11th and double bogey on the parthree 16th nearly cancelled out any progress he made in the front. " I'm giving myself a lot of opportunities. You're going to have some bad swings but you've just got to recover from them as best as you can. I'm definitely playing some good golf and I'm looking forward to ( the final round)," Sainz said. Sainz and Hugo Leon will tee off at 1 p. m. today while Tyler and Hughes will be the last group out at 1: 10 p. m. kyle. jahns@ freepress. mb. ca Tyler plods into lead Steady 69 puts Arizonan in lead at Players Cup By Kyle Jahns Red- hot Chilean ready to stomp on gas By Kyle Jahns TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Carlos Sainz Jr. eyes a shot during the third round of the Players Cup. TREVOR HAGAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Nathan Tyler shot into the lead Saturday with a 69 in Round 3 of The Players Cup. GULLANE, Scotland - Martin Laird was at home in Scotland, closing in on the lead at the British Open when it all went wrong. His mess at Muirfield began with a 2- iron that strayed into nasty, yellow rough right of the fairway. After a couple of hacks - and a couple of penalty shots - he staggered off with a quintuple- bogey 9. And that wasn't even the worst of his forgettable Saturday. Walking up the 16th fairway, he was informed an additional shot was being added to his score for failing to alert all the right people when he moved his ball in the rough on the 10th hole to identify it. " To say that deflated me, I think would be an understatement," Laird said. He ended his long day with an 81 - 12 shots out of the lead. " Every time I hit a shot that could go one way, it went the other," Laird said. Even after chopping his way to a 9 on the third hole, Laird was only 3 over for the tournament. He bounced back with a beautiful 5- iron into the toughest hole, and then made birdie. What gnawed at him was the 10th hole. In deep rough, Laird marked his ball with a tee and told the marshal who found it that he was going to make sure it was his. One problem. The rules require him to tell playing partner Dustin Johnson or one of the walking officials. " If I had said, ' Dustin, just went down to find my ball.' Or, ' Rules Official, I'm going to identify my ball.' Even if I said it loud enough for one of them to hear, it would have been fine," Laird said. " It's the fact that none of them heard it, even though I said it. So it's one of those lovely rules of golf." Instead, he violated Rule 12- 2 that says, " Before lifting the ball, the player must announce his intention to his ... fellow competitor." David Rickman, the rules director for the Royal & Ancient, said letting the spotter know wasn't enough. " The rule is very specific," Rickman said. " It needs to be the fellow competitor. The fellow competitor is there to protect the interests of the rest of the field, and therefore, we are specific about who that needs to be." MECHANIC SPUTTERS : Miguel Angel Jimenez likes to relax with a good cigar and a glass of red wine. He might need something a little stronger after Saturday. " The Mechanic" played solidly over the first two rounds and went into Saturday with a onestroke lead. But he plummeted from contention with a 6- over 77. This one started bad - four bogeys in the first eight holes - and didn't improve much. Still within striking distance of the leaders, Jimenez played the final five holes at 4- over par. He took double- bogey at the 16th, needing two swings to escape a pot bunker. At the 17th, he lipped out a 3- footer to save par. He still has an outside shot, going to the final round six strokes behind leader Lee Westwood, but knows his chances are slim. Jimenez hoped to become the oldest major winner in golf history at age 49. Instead, he'll likely have to settle for a good smoke and a sip of vino from something besides the claret jug. - The Associated Press OPEN NOTEBOOK Laird hacks to 9 on par four By Doug Ferguson Hugo Leon Martin Laird B_ 02_ Jul- 21- 13_ FP_ 01. indd B2 7/ 20/ 13 9: 46: 48 PM ;