Van Pelt surges for lead at PGA Canadian Open

Associated Press

VANCOUVER, British Columbia

Bo Van Pelt held his finish after a perfect iron shot into the 18th green, lowering the club in time to acknowledge the generous applause after his ball stopped five feet below the hole.

Another great drive. Another great approach shot.

It had become ho-hum stuff for Van Pelt in the third round of the RBC Canadian Open on Saturday.

Van Pelt birdied four of his last five holes, including the final two, to finish with a 65 and a one-stroke lead.

“If you are hitting every fairway and green after nine holes there is no way you should be over par,” Van Pelt said of his 1 over front nine.

Canadian Adam Hadwin, playing on a sponsor’s exemption, missed a 12-foot birdie putt on 18 to finish with a 68, and sit alone in second at 4-under 206.

Andres Romero (67) and first-round leader Kris Blanks (69) are tied for third, two shots back, after another tough day in the thick rough along the tight, tree-lined Shaugnessy Golf and Country Club.

John Daly, who four-putted No. 18 for triple-bogey Friday, shot 67 and is in a group of four at 2 under with Sean O Hair (66), Aron Price (69), and Geoff Ogilvy (70) heading into today’s final round.

Van Pelt, who had five-straight top-15 finishes before tying for 57th at last week’s British Open, was 1-over at the turn and mad at himself for leaving strokes on the course with poor putting. He hit every green — no easy task this week — but had a couple of three-putts and missed three “short” birdie putts.

But with no one else going low, Van Pelt calmed himself on the walk to No. 10.

“I felt if I could get one hot nine, I could get in contention,” he said.

The 36-year-old from Indiana did just that, starting with a birdie on the par-4 10th, another on the par-3 12th, and four on the final five holes, ending with a 5-foot putt after another beautiful approach on the tough par-4 18th.

With only 11 players still under par after three days of thick rough and narrow fairways, few expected to see anyone setting the nine-hole record at the 7,010-yard, tree-lined Shaugnessy Golf and Country Club. Van Pelt did it by keeping his driver in the short grass, and hitting 17 of 18 of the small greens.

“You never know you are going to shoot 29,” said Van Pelt, who used his driver for all but one hole on Saturday. “You have to drive it in play.”