SATURDAY ON THE LINKS

SATURDAY ON THE LINKS

Professional golf results

PGA

SHELL HOUSTON OPEN

HOUSTON

Jordan Spieth’s pre-Masters run of extraordinary golf continued Saturday as the 21-year-old Texas native shot a 5-under-par 67 to take a one-shot lead over three players through 54 holes of the Houston Open. A victory today would be Spieth’s third on the PGA Tour and make him the second youngest after Tiger Woods with three titles since 1940. It would also allow him to wrest the lead in the point standings away from Jimmy Walker and further boost his confidence ahead of the season’s first major championship in Augusta, Georgia, next week. Spieth was the runner-up to Bubba Watson there last spring. Spieth sank a 41-foot birdie putt from just off the green on the par-3 16, to get to 14 under par, where he finished. His last two previous starts — winning a playoff in Tampa over Patrick Reed and placing second to Walker in San Antonio — lifted him to a career-best No. 4 in the World Golf Rankings. “Today was as comfortable as I’ve ever been with the lead on a weekend,” Spieth said. “I wanted to get into contention as much as I could prior to the Masters, to have as much experience as I could to limit those nerves. This feels really good. [Today] I’ll certainly have nerves, but hopefully I’ll give myself a chance to win. Then I’ll take even more confidence into next week. Anytime you can close out a tournament it’s going to be good for you the next time you tee up,” he said. Austin Cook, who gained entry into the field through the Monday qualifier, is tied for second at 203 with first-round leader Scott Piercy and Johnson Wagner, the Houston Open’s 2008 champion.

LPGA

ANA INSPIRATION

RANCHO MIRAGE, CALIF.

Sei Young Kim made two late birdies Saturday to take a three-stroke lead in the ANA Inspiration. The long-hitting South Korean player shot a 3-under 69 to reach 10 under at Mission Hills with a round left in the first major championship of the year. Kim holed a downhill 18-footer from the fringe on the par-4 16th and made a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th. She two-putted for par from the back fringe on the par-5 18th. Stacy Lewis was second after a 68. She bogeyed Nos. 15 and 17 and missed a 6-foot birdie putt on 18. Morgan Pressel, Brittany Lincicome and Ariya Jutanugarn were 6 under. Lincicome drove into the water on 18 and closed with a 70. Pressel had a 71, and Jutanugarn shot 66. Amateur qualifier Haley Moore shot a 1-over 73 on Saturday in the third round of the ANA Inspiration to move into a tie for 58th at 4 over. The 16-year-old Moore, from Escondido in the San Diego area, won the ANA Inspiration Champions Junior Challenge on Monday to earn the final spot in the 115-player field. Moore opened with rounds of 73 and 74 to make the cut on the number Friday. The long-hitting teen was the only one of the six amateurs in the field to advance to the weekend. “It was emotional yesterday knowing I was just on the cut line,” Moore said. On Saturday at Mission Hills, Moore had a double bogey on the par-5 ninth, rebounded with birdies on the next three holes, dropped strokes 15 and 16 and closed with two pars.

Associated Press