Daily Wrap-up: Round 3, CIMB Asia Pacific Classic
Staff and wire reports
SELANGOR, Malaysia -- Bo Van Pelt shot a 4-under 67 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over fellow Indianan Jeff Overton after the third round of the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic.
Van Pelt, the winner of the PGA TOUR's 2009 U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee, had a 16-under 197 total at The MINES Resort in the second-year event sanctioned by the PGA TOUR and Asian Tour.
"I just love to play to compete," said Van Pelt. "It's not about the money. That's what gets my juices flowing. Like my grandpa always told me, 'You can't take it with you.'
"Obviously, any time you're near the lead with 18 to go, you're excited. That's why we practice and why we enter tournaments. That's all you can ask for, to have a chance to win on Sunday. It's exciting, and I'm looking forward to it. It's been a while since I won a golf tournament, so it would be great."
Overton, tied for second-round lead with Sweden's Fredrik Jacobson after a course-record 62, had a 69.
"It wasn't my day on the greens," Overton said "Didn't make anything."
Overton noted the Hoosier connection at the top of the leaderboard.
"It's crazy," Overton said. "We're from the same state, Indiana, and probably the only two players in the field or on TOUR from Indiana. To actually come all the way here, a 12-hour time change, halfway around the world to play golf with each other, it'll be fun."
Jacobson (71) and Mark Wilson (67) were 13 under.
Shot of the Day: Danny Chia
Danny Chia finished his third round on a high note, making this 30-foot birdie putt.
Van Pelt bogeyed the opening two holes, but countered with birdies on Nos. 3 and 5. He also birdied the 12th and made three more on Nos. 15-17.
"I didn't make a big deal after bogeying the opening two holes," the former Oklahoma State star said. "I told myself it wasn't the end of the world and just concentrated on playing my shots.
"I think that's the biggest thing I've learned, experience-wise. As much as golf as I've played, in the times I've let a bad start lead to a bad round, it was probably when I made too big a deal out of it, got upset or got quicker (with my swing). I think today was just a good example of not making a big deal out of it and trying to hit good golf shots."
Three-time major winner Vijay Singh followed his second-round 64 with a 66 to join Jason Dufner (65) and Malaysia's Danny Chia (6) at 11 under.
"I guess the expectation is building up now," Chia said. "Every day when I begin my round, I don't really think about the result. I just want to play my golf. I only started looking at the leaderboard on the second last hole and told myself, 'Hey, I still got an outside chance.'"
Defending champion Ben Crane was 8 under after a 68.
The winner will receive $1.3 million from the $6.1 million purse.
Round 3 notebook:
Weather: Mostly cloudy and humid, with the high reaching 93. Winds variable at 5-10 mph.
Van Pelt rebounded nicely from a difficult 2-over start -- with bogeys at the first and second holes -- and holds a one-stroke lead over Jeff Overton following a 4-under 67. He is at 16-under 197. After his bogey-bogey start, Van Pelt had six birdies and 10 pars over his final 16 holes.
Four times in his career, Van Pelt has gone into the final round with either a share of the lead or the lead outright in PGA TOUR events. The last time he had the 54-hole lead was earlier this year in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, at the RBC Canadian Open. His final-round scoring average in the four events he has held the lead is 75.75. Here are his 54-hole leads and his ultimate result:
Van Pelt's lone PGA TOUR victory came at the 2009 U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee. His top 2011 performance was a third-place showing at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. His other top-10 finishes were at the RBC Canadian Open (tied for sixth), the Deutsche Bank Championship (seventh), the Masters Tournament (tied for eighth) and the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola (ninth).
Overton has never won a PGA TOUR event, and he's never held an outright or share of a 54-hole PGA TOUR lead. The 2010 U.S. Ryder Cup team member has four runner-up performances, the last two coming a year ago, when he was second at both the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and The Greenbrier Classic in West Virginia.
His best 2011 finish came at the AT&T National (outside Philadelphia), where he tied for third. He also had top-10s at The Honda Classic and the McGladrey Classic (tied for sixth at both) and the HP Byron Nelson Championship (tied for eighth).
Overton had a bogey-free 62 in the second round and kept that streak alive through his first 13 holes of the third round until he made bogey at the par-4 14th. Going back to the first round, Overton went 35 holes without a blemish on the scorecard. He has also birdied the par-5 third hole in each of the first three rounds.
Wilson is a two-time PGA TOUR winner in 2011. He captured the TOUR's second event of the season, the Sony Open in Hawaii in January. He then came back and won the Waste Management Phoenix Open three weeks later. His only top 10s since those two victories came at the Arnold Palmer Invitational (tied for ninth) and the Jack Nicklaus-hosted Memorial Tournament (tied for seventh).
Wilson finished 22nd in the FedExCup this season and was 19th on the PGA TOUR money list, with $3,158,477. He is currently the 57th-ranked player in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Jacobson is the only player among the top three to not shoot under par in each of the first three rounds. Jacobson shot an even-par 71 Saturday.
Jacobson has struggled on the first hole the last two days, making bogey there in both the second and third rounds.
Miscellaneous Player Notes
Ryan Moore struggled to an 8-over 79 Saturday and withdrew following the round with a left-shoulder injury.
Defending champion Ben Crane continued his sub-70 ways Saturday, with a 3-under 68. He opened with 69-68 and is tied for 14th. Last year, in his first appearance at the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic, he shot rounds of 67-64-66-69 on his way to victory.
Ryan Palmer was cruising through his round, 6-under through 16 holes, when he got to the par-5 17th, a hole he double bogeyed. He finished with a 4-under 67 and is tied for eighth.
Going into today's round, Ryan Palmer had played 26 consecutive bogey-free holes. He played eight more Saturday until he bogeyed the par-4 ninth.
Like Bo Van Pelt, Camilo Villegas began his day with bogeys on the first and second holes. Villegas came back to put together a 3-under 68 and is tied for eighth with Chris Kirk and Ryan Palmer.
With a 20-foot birdie on the 18th hole, Malaysian Danny Chia, playing this week on a sponsor's exemption, shot a 5-under 66 on the heels of his 6-under 65 Friday. He is the low Asian Tour player in the field, tied for fifth with Saturday playing partner, Vijay Singh, five strokes behind Bo Van Pelt.
First-round leader Robert Allenby fashioned a 1-under 70 Saturday and is tied for 14th, eight strokes behind Bo Van Pelt.
Besides Chia's performance, the other Malaysian in the field, Shaaban Hussin, is 47th.
Miscellaneous Stats
Again, the easiest hole on The Mines Resort and Golf Club was the par-5 third hole. The third-round stroke average there was 4.563. For the week, there have been 76 birdies.
Conversely, the very next hole, the par-4 fourth, was the most difficult hole Saturday. The field's stroke average at the 475-yard hole was 4.271, with only four birdies there. They came courtesy of Jbe Kruger, Ryan Palmer, D.A. Points and Brendan Steele.
The following players had eagles Saturday: Jason Dufner (No. 17) and Ryan Palmer (No. 3).
There have been 11 eagles through 54 holes, with no player making more than one and No. 17 giving up the most, with four.
Twenty-six players (out of 48) posted sub-par rounds Saturday compared to 33 in the second round and 32 in the first. There were 34 par-or-better rounds Saturday compared to 39 Friday and 40 Thursday.
Bogey-free rounds:
Third Round: Danny Chia (66), Jason Dufner (65) Second Round: Jerry Kelly (66), Chris Kirk (65), Jeff Overton (62), Ryan Palmer (65), Vijay Singh (63), Jimmy Walker (67) First Round: Robert Allenby (63), Fredrik Jacobson (65), Jimmy Walker (66), Brendon de Jonge (68) and Kyle Stanley (68).
