Laird rallies for 3-shot lead at Phoenix

Associated Press

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.

Martin Laird watched the ball disappear into the cup on the par-3 16th hole and put some elbow grease into his fist pump.

It certainly wasn’t the most exciting moment on golf’s most raucous hole. That belonged to Francesco Molinari, who made the first hole-in-one at the 16th on Saturday at the Phoenix Open since Tiger Woods in 1997.

But it was plenty important to Laird.

On the verge of dropping another shot and watching his lead dwindle, Laird followed that 10-foot par putt with a birdie on the 17th and another par save on the 18th to finish off a 3-under 68 and take a three-shot lead into the final round.

Next up is another round with a new pair from the next generation.

Laird, a 32-year-old Scot who has lived in Scottsdale since turning pro, played in the final group Saturday with two 21-year-old rookies, Justin Thomas and Daniel Berger. Chasing him today will by Hideki Matsuyama, the 22-year-old from Japan who is No. 18 in the world, and 24-year-old power hitter Brooks Koepka.

“This might just be the way it is,” Laird said of the increasingly evident youth movement. “When they come out, they’re ready to go. They don’t need three or four years to get used to the tour life or used to the golf courses. I don’t think they get intimidated at all anymore.”

Laird was at 13-under 200 as he goes for his fourth PGA Tour victory.

Matsuyama, already with seven wins worldwide, birdied his last four holes to surge into contention with a 63. Koepka finally managed to find the fairways, made birdie on both par 5s on the back nine and shot 64. They were at 203 with Zach Johnson, who shot a 67.

Laird at least has a cushion, which might not have been the case without those key par putts, especially on the 16th.

He pulled his tee shot into the water on the par-5 15th and made bogey, which can feel like losing two shots. And then he stepped into the arena at the 16th, hit wedge at the flag from 133 yards and pulled it enough to go in a bunker. He blasted out to about 10 feet, though the putt had plenty of break.

“That was a big one,” he said. ‘You don’t want to make two bogeys in a row at two holes you’re looking at maybe making birdies on.”

He followed with a perfect pitch to 3 feet for birdie on the 17th, and finished his round with a 10-foot par save.

Molinari’s ace wasn’t for show. It carried him to a 64, and at 8-under 205, he was among 15 players still within five shots of the lead.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of that group was Jon Rahm of Spain, a junior at Arizona State playing this week on a sponsor’s exemption. He got the gallery on his side early, especially by wearing a Sun Devils jersey when he teed off on the 16th, and shot 66. Rahm was at 9-under 204, along with Ryan Palmer (68) and Thomas, who had four birdies over his last six holes to salvage a 69.

“I’m not surprised, but I didn’t expect it. Something between there,” Rahm said.

Laird played in the final group with Thomas and Berger, two players who were still in high school three years ago. That’s the way golf is shifting, players getting younger and more fearless. And that’s what Laird faces again today.