Zimbabwe’s Brendon de Jonge seized a one-stroke lead by posting his second consecutive two-under 69 on Saturday in the third round of the storm-hit AT&T National.
De Jonge birdied three holes, but hardly anyone witnessed it in person at the Congressional Country Club after spectators were told to stay away because of a severe storm that struck the area overnight.
De Jonge said playing without spectators seemed odd at the start, but then once they got going, it was all about managing your golf game.
Photo: AFP
“At first, it was definitely very strange,” he said. “Then we kind of got used to it. Just the no buzz. It was hard to get the adrenaline going, kind of felt like you were playing a Tuesday practice round or a qualifier.”
Tiger Woods carded a four-under 67 to climb into a share of second place at minus-six. He is tied with first-round leader Bo Van Pelt (67) and South Korea’s Noh Seung-yul (69).
Woods moved to within one shot of the lead with four birdies on his first 10 holes.
Photo: Reuters
“It was amazing we even got it in,” Woods said. “So that was good. Today, I just tried to make a run and fight back to get myself in the tournament.”
The storm snapped trees, tore temporary tents from their foundations and scattered debris across the course.
Officials delayed the start of the round for six hours, then the players went off the first and 10th tees in threesomes. Because of safety concerns, fans and volunteers were told to stay away so just players, their family members, security and media were allowed in.
The USPGA Tour issued a statement saying winds in the range of between 112 and 128kph were reported in the area near Washington.
Along with downed branches around the course, a 22m tree fell on the fairway of the 14th hole and many of the wooden signs identifying the holes were blown down.
Woods said he has played without galleries following him for a few holes before, but not an entire round.
“It was very similar to what we faced when we play overseas in practice rounds or when we have dangerous conditions, thunderstorms blow in in the summertime and all the spectators are taken off the golf course and then we go back out and finish in the evening and have a few holes to play,” Woods said. “I’ve played in front of people like this, but not generally for an 18-hole competitive round.”
De Jonge, who is chasing his first USPGA Tour title, finished 54 holes at seven-under 206.
“Winning here would be that much more special,” De Jonge said. “It’s obviously a great tournament with a great field, so that would be a good feather in your cap, but obviously, I’ve got a lot of work to do tomorrow.”
Second-round leader Hunter Mahan stumbled to a two-over 73. He finished three rounds tied with fellow American Billy Hurley (66) at five-under-par 208. Jhonattan Vegas (68) is one stroke back at four-under.
Tournament officials said they hope to have most of the downed trees removed by in time for yesterday’s final round.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
RSS