Dufner birdied the 10th to regain the lead.
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Four of his birdies came on the back nine, and he had seized a one-shot lead before Dufner made his fourth birdie of the day at the 16th to rejoin Lingmerth atop the leaderboard. The Abbotsford, B.C., native missed a chance to get closer, bogeying the par-5 15th after hitting into the water and closing with three pars.
“To be honest, I kind of thought it might have gone in, ” Dufner said. It will be important for him to get off to a good start alongside Dufner on Sunday. “I got a great break (on 17) but when I got up there I noticed I had a pretty great lie and nearly snuck (my chip) in there”. Lingmerth shot a 62 on Saturday on the Nicklaus Tournament Course to pull within five shots of Dufner.
Luckily for Dunfer, he was still able to play the shot, but it was going to be tricky.
Dufner won the CareerBuilder Challenge with a par on the second hole of a playoff Sunday, taking advantage of Lingmerth’s shot that bounced off the jagged rocks and into the water. “It wasn’t really a bad swing, just a mistake on my part – should have choked up a little more”.
The Stadium Course had a three-day average of 70.908. Injuries, a loss of form, and off the course personal struggles caused Dufner to fall to 135th. I’m excited to keep playing well.
“This is the way you want to play”, Dufner said. “I had some really good numbers with my wedges, which helps. I’m proud of myself for hanging in there and staying positive”.
It was a playoff that Dufner barely managed to make.
Rickie Fowler won the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship.
“I’m probably a week away, if I’m being honest”, Mickelson said.
“It was tough out there today and I didn’t play well on the front nine”. I need this right now.
“And then I was able to stand. Sometimes you get there and you don’t have a stance”.
“It has been a good three days”, Mickelson said. “It felt easier off the tee”.
Lovemark had a 65 on the Nicklaus Course. In the last two seasons he’s struggled, particularly with his putting and has been 90th and 88th in the FedEx Cup in 2014 and 2015 respectively. The problem, the 32 year old Na has been unable to cash in on any of those high finishes.
England’s Andy Sullivan, who has completed 36 holes, was the overnight leader on 10-under, with DeChambeau a stroke adrift after playing 27 holes.
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Fog again delayed the start of play at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, making it unlikely the third round would be completed yesterday.
