Seemingly unstoppable, McLachlin stretches lead to seven  PGA TOUR Staff BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. -- Parker McLachlin continued his strangle-hold on the field Saturday at the National Mining Association Pete Dye Classic presented by Northrop Grumman, moving to a Nationwide Tour record-tying seven-stroke lead heading into the final round.  If he plays well Sunday, Parker McLachlin says, it'll be almost impossible for someone to catch him. (Stan Badz/PGA TOUR/WireImage)
McLachlin posted a stress-free 4-under 68 to move to 17-under-par 199, seven strokes in front of Kris Blanks (67), Jimmy Walker (68), Scott Parel (70) and Matthew Jones (71). The only other seven-stroke lead after any round in Tour history came at the 2005 Northeast Pennsylvania Classic, where Greg Kraft carried that 54-hole lead on to a two-stroke win over Tim O'Neal. "This is kind of nice," said McLachlin, a former standout for the UCLA Bruins who finished 29th in earnings on the 2006 Nationwide Tour. "It is always better to be seven shots up than seven shots back. I feel like I can maybe sit back now and enjoy the last three rounds and what I've been able to accomplish. If I perform well on Sunday, it will be almost impossible for someone to catch me." McLachlin, a 28-year-old native of Honolulu, struggled with his ball-striking on Saturday, but stayed away from disaster with a deft scrambling ability. He'll be attempting to become just the second player this season to win in wire-to-wire fashion, joining Martin Laird, who did so at the Athens Regional Foundation Classic. "I was a little sloppy today and missed a few fairways," said McLachlin, who hit nine of 14 fairways and 13 of 18 greens in regulation. "I've got to hit the ball better tomorrow. I've just got to get that tee ball in the fairway and if I do that it will be hard for anyone to catch me." Despite opening with a bogey on No. 1 -- just his third of the week -- McLachlin steadied the ship and played the remaining 17 holes solidly. His scorecard included birdies on Nos. 4, 8, 10, 15 and 17. "My motto this week has been pedal to the metal," said McLachlin. "I just want to keep making birdies. It has worked for me so far this week." Despite missing this week's PGA TOUR Playoffs by 14 spots -- and missing the cut in five of his last seven starts -- McLachlin entered last week's Wyndham Championship with a newfound confidence as a result of recent lessons with instructor Peter Kostis. That confidence has carried over to his excellent play this week at the Pete Dye Golf Club. "I've been putting in a lot of hard work and it is finally showing," said McLachlin. "It is nice to see it finally paying off because in this game you don't always see the results." Five players jumped into the top 20 by posting the round of the day with a 5-under 67, including Blanks (tied for second), Jason Schultz (tied for ninth), Bubba Dickerson (tied for 14th), Scott Gutschewski (tied for 14th) and Tommy Tolles (tied for 18th). Blanks benefited the most, moving all the way into the four-way tie for second. Based on the fact that he holds no membership status on Tour, the low round was music to his ears. "I played really well today, especially on the back nine," said Blanks, despite bogeying the closing 18th hole. "I think I am zero for seven on that hole. I don't think I've ever made par there. But despite that, I played a much-needed really good round of golf." Blanks has moved all the way to No. 60 on the money list, but he still needs a little over $5,000 to earn Special Temporary Membership for the remainder of the year. When he reaches that goal, he can concentrate strictly on tournament competition, instead of also dealing with the added pressure of either trying to Monday qualify or finish inside the top 25 to gain entry into the following week's tournament. "My goal each week is to finish inside the top 25 in order to get into the next week's event," said Blanks, who enjoyed a career-best third-place showing at the LaSalle Bank Open. "When I'm comfortably in (the top 25), then I can make a run at the leaders. That is what I have to do tomorrow. But Parker is a seasoned veteran ... so he may be tough to catch. I just have to go out and play as well as I can." Third-Round News & Notes: Basking in making the cut on the number with five straight birdies to end the second round, Tommy Tolles posted a 67 on Saturday to move to into a tie for 18th place. ... Parker McLachlin will enter the final round with the lead for the first time in his career. ... The 54-hole leader has gone on to win 13 of 23 events this season. At the NMA Pete Dye Classic, the 54-hole leader has won twice in three events (D.A. Points in 2004 and Jason Gore in 2005). Boo Weekley entered the final 18 holes with a two-stroke lead in 2006, but was caught by the hard-charging Jason Enloe on the final day. ... Jason Schultz (67) managed the only bogey-free round on Saturday, bringing the total for the week to eight. ... Sunday's winner will take home $108,000. |
