Confident Sabbatini relishes final-round pairing with Woods  PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- On a day of drama that he said had a "sense of Augusta," Rory Sabbatini rode a course record-tying 64 into a date with the master where the Wachovia Championship title will be on the line.  Rory Sabbatini sees Sunday as a chance to silence his critics. (Sam Greenwood/WireImage)
The confident young South African is 11 under par and owns a one-stroke advantage over Tiger Woods entering Sunday's final round of the $6.3 million PGA TOUR event at the stately, yet scary Quail Hollow Club. Sabbatini, who did not make a bogey on Saturday, and Woods will tee off at 1:25 p.m. ET. Asked whether he had ever played with Woods in the final group on the final day, Sabbatini's answer was decisive. "Nope," he said quickly and firmly, "and I'm looking forward to it." Sabbatini sees Sunday as the chance to silence what he feels are doubts that attended his 2006 Nissan Open win. The game's No. 1 player withdrew after making the cut on the number, and Sabbatini relishes the opportunity to win his fourth with Woods in the field. "There were some people that said when I won at Riviera, you know, Tiger had withdrawn because he was sick," he said. "And he's here this week; best opportunity I've had to put any of that criticism or doubt aside." Some might caution Sabbatini to be careful what he wishes for, though. In the last 16 of Woods' 56 PGA TOUR wins, he has averaged 68.25 to his playing partner's 72.13 in the final round. Only once, earlier this year at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship, has Woods shot over par playing in the final group on Sunday. That being said, the game's No. 1 player had to work for his date with Sabbatini. Woods hit his drive on the 18th hole into the right rough and his second shot splashed into the creek that runs down the left side of the fairway. A 7-footer for bogey finally secured his spot. Woods said he and Sabbatini have actually played together quite a bit, although never with the stakes as high. He allowed that the South African was playing well and smiled when someone asked him where Sabbatini would rank in terms of self-confidence. "Towards the top," said the man who knows a little about confidence himself. There's no doubt Sabbatini is at the top of his game right now, though. He tied for second at the Masters and shared third last week at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship in his two starts prior to coming to Charlotte. Saturday produced yet another fine round from Sabbatini, who began playing golf at the age of 4, left South Africa as a teenager to attend the University of Arizona and now lives on a Texas ranch.
Sabbatini got the day rolling when he holed a 60-degree wedge from the fairway for eagle at the first hole. He added birdies at Nos. 3, 5, 8, 10 and 12 before capping off the stellar round with a 24-footer at the 18th hole, one of just nine birdies made there all day. "Obviously, the first hole was a good way to get started today," Sabbatini said. "It was the first time I hit the fairway all week, and just had a good number. ... It landed, I think, right next to the hole, went past and spun back into it. That was just obviously a great way to get the round going. "I just managed to keep the ball in play, and the rain slowing the greens up just a touch made it a little easier to be a little aggressive with the putter out there. When you did have an opportunity to make birdie, you did need to. The greens were just a touch softer and just a little more receptive." Sabbatini actually had 12-footer for birdie at the second hole, but he missed the putt and called it "probably one of the best things that happened to me." Had he played his first two holes 3 under, Sabbatini said, "the adrenaline really would have got going. "But I was able to back it off and just kind of slow things down a little bit." Sabbatini made an adjustment in the position of his hands while he was standing in the 15th fairway Friday that he felt paved the way for his solid play in the third round. He hit 8 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens and used just 24 putts. "For the last three days it's just been one of those things where there's been something plaguing my golf swing," he said. "It just hasn't felt right. I haven't been able to work the ball the way I wanted to and I was just having a lot of trouble hitting the driver in the fairway. I was actually having trouble pretty much hitting anything in the fairway. "Suddenly for some reason, I stood in the fairway and I just looked at my posture and I realized that I had had my hands too high. So I dropped my hands down a little lower and got my arms to hang down more, and it just corrected everything. I went out there today, and it just felt so much better." Sabbatini has always been a streaky player, but he doesn't feel this stretch is one of those times. "This is different in the fact that I've been playing well and yet I still don't feel like I've been playing anywhere near up to my potential," Sabbatini said. One of the reasons Sabbatini feels such optimism is the work he's been doing with a physical therapist. Turns out his shoulders weren't working properly and his hips were out of alignment. "Since we've corrected that, we've managed to really get the body out of the way and just let the swing happen," Sabbatini said. " I've been able to be far more consistent, and my bad ball-striking days are as good as my good ones used to be needed to. ... " When you're hitting the ball consistently, it's easier to get around a tougher golf course. Copyright 2007 PGATOUR.com. All rights reserved. |
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