KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Gary Woodland birdied the 18th hole for a 5-under-par 67 Saturday to move into a three-way tie for the lead with Marc Leishman and Shubhankar Sharma entering the final round of the CIMB Classic.
Woodland, of the United States, just missed an eagle putt as Australia’s Leishman (67) and India’s Sharma (66) had to settle for pars on the par-five final hole. They were at 19-under 197 on the West Course at TPC Kuala Lumpur.
The leading trio had a two-stroke advantage over Louis Oosthuizen (65), who moved up the leaderboard, and first-round leader Bronson Burgoon (67) in the event co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour and the Asian Tour.
A day after matching the course record of 61 that Justin Thomas shot on his way to winning the event in 2015, Woodland was again consistent.
“Kind of got a little loose there a little bit on the back nine, maybe ran out of gas a little, but it was nice to finish up with a birdie and get some momentum going into tomorrow,” Woodland said.
Austin Cook (68) was alone in sixth at 16 under, with six golfers tied for seventh another stroke back. That group included Stewart Cink, whose 63 was the day’s low round.
Baylor School graduate Keith Mitchell (71) was tied for 27th at 10 under.
Langer surges
CARY, N.C. – Bernhard Langer birdied three of the final four holes and shared the lead with Gene Sauers at the PGA Tour Champions’ SAS Championship.
A day after nearly shooting his age with a 62 to match Sauers and Tom Lehman for the first-round lead, the 61-year-old Langer kept pace with Sauers at 15-under 129 after 36 holes. Each shot a 5-under 67 in the second round.
Langer and Sauers each had six birdies and a bogey at Prestonwood Country Club, the tree-lined layout softened by heavy rain Thursday from Hurricane Michael. Sauers birdied two of the last three holes.
Lehman had a 70 to drop three strokes behind his playing partners in the final event for the top 72 players to qualify for the Charles Schwab Cup playoffs. Jerry Kelly (67) was alone in fourth at 11 under.
Ooltewah’s Gibby Gilbert III (69) was tied for 21st at 4 under.
Masters bid
WALTON HEATH, England – Eddie Pepperell shot a 1-under 71 for a one-stroke lead entering the final round of the British Masters, with the 27-year-old Englishman in search of his second European Tour title.
Pepperell was at 9-under 207 on the Old Course at Walton Heath Golf Club, near London, with countryman Jordan Smith (70), Sweden’s Alexander Bjork (68), France’s Julien Guerrier (70) and American Julian Suri (69) tied for second.
A victory would take Pepperell into the top 35 of the World Golf Ranking and almost certainly secure his first trip to the Masters. The top 50 at the end of the year are guaranteed a place in the first major of the year at Augusta National Golf Club next April.
Andrea Pavan (67) and Matt Wallace (73) were tied for sixth at 4 under.
Hull, Kang lead
INCHEON, South Korea – England’s Charley Hull and Danielle Kang of the United States each shot a 4-under 68, and they shared the lead at 12-under 204 headed to the final round of the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship.
Second-ranked Ariya Jutanugarn (69) was one stroke behind after a 69. Tied for fourth at 10 under were In Gee Chun (66), Lydia Ko (68) and Minjee Lee (67).
Top-ranked Sung Hyun Park, who shared the overnight lead, shot a 71 that included three bogeys and a double bogey as she fell into a tie for seventh at 9 under with Seon Woo Bae (67).