Broadaway goes in reverse to lead

Nathan J. Smith, the first- and second-round leader, gets low to check the line for his putt on the 18th green. Despite the move, Smith missed the putt to fall a shot behind leader Josh Broadaway.
Nathan J. Smith, the first- and second-round leader, gets low to check the line for his putt on the 18th green. Despite the move, Smith missed the putt to fall a shot behind leader Josh Broadaway.

— Josh Broadaway is best known for his reverse grip. He’s 18 holes away from being known for his first Nationwide Tour victory.

Broadaway shot a 5-under-par 65 Saturday and is at 12 under to lead the Fort Smith Classic at Hardscrabble Country Club. He is one stroke ahead of first- and second-round leader Nathan J. Smith, Chris Kirk and David McKenzie.

“I’m playing really well. I’ve got a lot of confidence around this place,” Broadaway said. “I’m just going to go try, as my sports guy tells me, to play one shot at a time and see what happens.”

Saturday’s field had a scoring average of 68.851, the lowest since the final round in 2001. No one really went low - 5 under was the low round - but there were a lot of birdies being made.

It leaves 11 players within three strokes of the lead going into today’s final round.

“I putted well all week. Ithink I’ve made 20 birdies in three days,” Broadaway said. “If I can just hole some putts tomorrow, I’m going to have a chance.”

Broadaway, who shot a 6-under 64 in the final round last year to finish seventh, takes his stance right-handed when he addresses the ball, but he uses a left-handed grip as he swings through. He also putts left-handed.

He has the outright 54-hole lead for the first time in his career.

“I love this place,” Broadaway said of Hardscrabble Country Club. “I played good here in ’03, my rookie year. I was just lucky to get in the tournament, and starting on Sunday, I was right in the middle of the pack. I birdied the first six on Sunday and wound up choking it out. Last year, I had a chance here. There’s something about the place.”

Dardanelle’s John Daly (Arkansas Razorbacks) started the day three strokes back. But he shot 1-under 69 Saturday and is in a group of nine players tied for 13th at 7 under. That group also includes former Razorbacks Tag Ridings and Brenden Pappas.

“I just hit the ball a lot better than I scored,” Daly said. “I’m just hitting my wedges so far, and I don’t understand why. The greens are so good. The guys are putting the ball so good. I just want to go out and play a decent round of golf, try and shoot under par as many as I can and build on from there.”

Smith shot 9 under Thursday and even par Friday to hold the lead. He was one of several players to lead at different points Saturday. He reached 12 under with a birdie on 12, but gave it back with bogeys on 13 and 16.

“It could be a little better, but it could be a lot worse,” Smith said. “I had two three putts on the back nine.”

Smith had an opportunity to tie Broadaway on the final hole, but he missed a 6-foot birdie putt when it lipped out.

“That just kind of barely missed. I thought I made that,” Smith said. “I really wanted to get in that last group. But I’m still within striking distance; no one really ran away. I’ll have a good chance tomorrow to go and win.”

Kirk was paired with Daly and shot 4-under 66 Saturday. He maintained his position on the leaderboard by finishing with five consecutive pars.

McKenzie shot 3-under 67 Saturday. He holed out from the fairway for an eagle on the first hole and reached 12 under for the tournament with birdies on Nos. 6 and 7. But he bogeyed Nos. 8 and 10 and parred out to stay at 10 under.

“I got off to a flyer, then I missed the putt on 8, maybe a 6-footer,” McKenzie said. “And I lost all my momentum after that. If you said to me at the start of the day you can have 3 under, I probably would have sat inside and watched the World Cup. But after being5 under through 7, I’m disappointed.”

Matthew Borchert and Zack Miller are two strokes back at 9 under.

Miller also reached 12 under when he birdied the 11th and 12th. But he faltered down the stretch. He bogeyed Nos. 13, 14 and 18, missing from the fairway and on a chip shot as he struggled to finish.

“It’s sort of bittersweet,” Miller said. “I just finished poorly.”

Broadaway birdied Nos. 1, 6 and 9 on the front side to shoot 3-under 32, getting him to 9 under. He then birdied Nos. 11, 12 and 13 to move to 12 under. His only miscue of the day was a bogey on the 16th hole.

“Eleven was a real jump starter, really,” Broadaway said. “I hit it right, over there behind a tree. And I hit a low cut, unbelievable shot to 30 feet for eagle and two-putted. Then I birdied 12 and 13 behind it.”

Arkadelphia’s Ken Duke (Henderson State) shot 3-under 67 Saturday and is tied for 31st at 4 under.

Little Rock’s Ron Whittaker shot even-par 70 Saturday and is at 3 under.

Farmington’s Scott Gardiner shot 2-over 72 Saturday to finish at even par for the tournament.

Gardiner finished with double bogeys on the 17th and 18th holes.

Sports, Pages 25 on 06/20/2010

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