CHARLESTON, S.C. — There were only seven rounds under par Saturday at the Nationwide Tour Championship and Ken Duke was happy to have one of them.
“The first eight holes you’ve got to really make a few birdies if you can,” said Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State), who had birdies on No. 2 and No. 4. “The back nine, we need to just hang on.”
Despite bogeying No. 7 and No. 9, Duke rallied with birdies on the 13th and 17th to shoot a 2-under-par 70 and reach 6under through 54 holes, good enough to tie for second heading into today’s final round of the tour’s season finale.
Duke, who is 36th on the tour money list, is the only player projected to move into the top 25 to qualify for a 2012 PGA Tour card. This is Duke’s 24th event this season, with his best previous finish being a tie for second.
A tie for second here would move him to 19th.
“If it’s like this it’s probably in my favor because you don’t have to shoot the 7 or 8 under. You can come out and have a solid round and it’s probably enough,” he said.
“This was a really fun day. My caddie and I agreed to stay patient and it paid off. I have to admit, it has been hard for me to be patient, but for the last two to three weeks, it has really been fun. It’s been the way it’s supposed to be.”
Jason Kokrak shot 75 and leads the event at 7 under. Scott Brown shot 67 and is tied for second with Duke.
“It was a tough round with that wind,” Kokrak said of the gusty conditions. “If it was constant here, it wouldn’t have been that difficult, but it just kept switching directions.”
David Lingmerth (Fayetteville, Arkansas Razorbacks) shot a 70 and is tied for eighth at 4 under. Brenden Pappas (Razorbacks) shot a 71 and is tied for 37th at 3 over. Lingmerth is 50th on the money list, and Pappas 33rd.
EUROPEAN TOUR Garcia up by 2
SOTOGRANDE, Spain - Sergio Garcia put himself in position for a second consecutive European Tour victory Saturday, shooting a 4-under par 67 at the Andalucia Masters to take a two-stroke lead after the third round.
Garcia moved to 6-under 207, ahead of Miguel Angel Jimenez (68) and Sweden’s Christian Nilsson, who matched the lowest round of the event with a 65.
Overnight leader Richie Ramsay of Scotland bogeyed the last two holes for a 73 that left him three strokes behind. PGA/ASIAN TOUR Pelt leads
SELANGOR, Malaysia - Bo Van Pelt shot a 4-under-par 67 Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over Jeff Overton after the third round of the Asia Pacific Classic.
Van Pelt had a 16-under 197 total in the second-year event sanctioned by the PGA Tour and Asian Tour. He bogeyed the opening two holes, but countered with birdies on No. 3 and No. 5. He also birdied the 12th and made three more birdies on Nos. 15-17.
IMG McIlroy ahead
SHANGHAI - U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy shot a 7-under-par 65 Saturday to increase his lead to three strokes after the third round of the Shanghai Masters.
Sports, Pages 42 on 10/30/2011