KAPALUA (Hawaii), Jan 12: Despite a double bogey-par finish, Ernie Els shattered the 54-hole Mercedes Championships scoring record and tied a PGA Tour scoring record while moving ever closer to his first win on the Plantation Course on Saturday.
Els shot a second consecutive 65 to move to 25-under-par, four shots better than the tournament record set by David Duval in 1999. The South African’s score also ties the 54-hole Tour record set by Gay Brewer in 1967.
However it wasn’t only Els breaking records as South Korea’s K.J. Choi fired a course-best 11-under 62 to move within two shots of the world number three ahead of Sunday’s final round. South Africa’s Retief Goosen lies seven off the lead in third after shooting a seven-under-par 66.
Further back at 17-under-par are the trio of Jerry Kelly, Chris Riley and Bob Estes.
Els, a 10-time winner on the PGA Tour, played flawlessly for 16 holes, making eight birdies and one eagle to move to 27-under-par through 16 holes for a commanding five-stroke lead over Choi.
But an errant three-wood off the tee on the 17th hole was enough to give the chasing pack a slight glimmer of hope.
The ball found a hazard to the left of the fairway and led to Els’ second double bogey of the week.
When he followed that with his first par on a par-five in 15 attempts, his five-shot advantage had dwindled to just two.
Els’ finish, while not considered a collapse, will change his approach to Sunday’s final round in the PGA Tour’s opening event of 2003. With a five-stroke lead he may have had a tendency to protect, not play aggressively.
But with a slim advantage, Els will need to continue to be as aggressive as he has been in the first three rounds.
Going into the final round, Els has made just two bad swings, both coming off the tee and both ending up in double-bogey.
In the other 52 holes, Els recorded four eagles and 21 birdies.
Playing a course on which he has had success in the past — he has come close even though he has not won — is an advantage for the tall South African.
Choi, a winner at both New Orleans and Tampa last year, may just have overshadowed Els’ play with his 62.
Like Els, Choi is in mid-season form early in the year, having recorded one eagle and 22 birdies versus just one bogey in 54 holes and none over the last 45 holes.
In his previous two victories, Choi was the front-runner, with a one-shot lead in New Orleans and a five-shot lead in Tampa.
To win on Sunday, he will have to come from behind over a three-time major winner and a player known for being a front-runner.
Leading third round scores (U.S. unless stated):
194 Ernie Els (South Africa) 64 65 65
196 K.J. Choi (South Korea) 67 67 62
201 Retief Goosen (South Africa) 70 65 66
202 Jerry Kelly 65 70 67, Chris Riley 65 70 67, Bob Estes 66 66 70
203 Jim Furyk 64 72 67
205 Loren Roberts 68 70 67, Vijay Singh (Fiji) 68 70 67
206 Rocco Mediate 72 69 65, Charles Howell III 73 66 67, Gene Sauers 65 72 69, Kevin Sutherland 71 66 69
207 Craig Perks (New Zealand) 69 71 67, Phil Tataurangi (New Zealand) 68 70 69
208 Shigeki Maruyama (Japan) 66 72 70, Jonathan Byrd 68 69 71
209 Dan Forsman 69 71 69, Luke Donald (Britain) 68 72 69, Chris Smith 69 71 69, J.P. Hayes 72 67 70, Jeff Sluman 72 67 70
210 Sergio Garcia (Spain) 71 73 66, Justin Leonard 71 68 71
211 Craig Parry (Australia) 71 69 71
212 Len Mattiace 75 68 69
213 John Rollins 72 72 69, Matt Kuchar 70 70 73, Nick Price (Zimbabwe) 69 69 75
214 Chris DiMarco 70 75 69, Jose Maria Olazabal (Spain) 74 71 69
215 Rich Beem 74 71 70, Ian Leggatt (Canada) 69 67 79
216 Spike McRoy 72 71 73
217 Matt Gogel 69 75 73, Bob Burns 71 72 74.—Reuters