Atwal stays one clear in Panama
PANAMA CITY, Panama – Arjun Atwal didn’t know he’d made five birdies in the third round of the Panama Movistar Championship and Chris Smith didn’t know what he shot when he was done with his round. On another windy day in Central America, Atwal and Smith both shot 2-under-par 68s while ignoring difficult scoring conditions on a difficult golf course and put themselves at the top of the 54-hole leaderboard. Atwal’s three-day total of 6-under 204 is one better than Smith heading into Sunday’s final round at the Panama Golf Club. Second-round leader Scott Dunlap (73) recovered with a birdie putt on the final hole to get to 4-under, two back of the leader. Rookie Matt Every (67) is in fourth place, three behind in the season-opening event on the 2008 Nationwide Tour schedule. Only eight players are under-par after three rounds.
“It certainly didn’t feel like five birdies,” Atwal said. “You just get so into it. You’re trying to grind it out on every hole. I didn’t hit it all that great today but I tried to get it in the hole however I could.”
Atwal and Smith moved into contention early as Dunlap gave three shots back to the field midway through the front nine.
“I missed it in all the right places I guess,” said Atwal. “This golf course is all about angles. If you do miss a fairway you’ve got to miss it in the right spots. The places I missed it I could somehow get it around the green where I could make a good up-and-down.”
Atwal finds himself sleeping on a lead for the first time since 2003 on the Asian Tour. The 34-year old native of India isn’t totally new to the pressure though. Atwal has 98 career starts on the PGA TOUR the past three years and in 2006 missed a five-foot birdie putt to get into a playoff with Tiger Woods, Nathan Green and Jose Maria Olazabal at the Buick Invitational, where Woods is seeking his fourth consecutive Buick crown this week in San Diego.
“I don’t really know if it’s good or bad that I haven’t held the lead after 54 holes in a while and I don’t really care,” said Atwal. “As long as I’m in this position, I love it. I like where I’m at. Obviously I’m doing something well.”
So, too, is Smith, who has collected more than $4.64M over 284 career starts on the TOUR, along with a victory at the 2002 Buick Classic.
“I think conditions were very difficult today but I don’t know, to be honest. It’s not like I wasn’t paying attention but I just controlled it very well today,” said Smith. “I had the ball in the right spots. I hit it good. I made the putts I was supposed to make. I played really well so it seemed kind of easy.”
Golf has been anything but easy for the 38-year old Indiana resident the past three years. He has made only 30 cuts in 61 TOUR starts and has ranked No. 154, 195 and 228 on the money list over that span.
“The last couple of years I’ve struggled so much and I’ve put so much pressure on myself,” said Smith, “All I think about is where I’m at, what am I shooting, what’s the cut going to be, who’s winning and things like that.”
The Ohio State grad now finds himself almost back where he started; searching for the magic that carried him to five Nationwide Tour wins as well as 1997 Player of the Year honors.
“I feel like I’ve tried way too hard lately,” he said. “I’ve tried to force the issue when I get on the golf course. I’ve been too worried about the cut and top-25s and top-125. I’m not going to do that this year. I just going to play and try to let the rounds come to me and let the tournaments come to me like I used to do. I’m going to enjoy the fact that I’m here and try not to get hung up on what I’m shooting.”
Third-Round News & Notes: Saturday’s scoring average on the par-70 course was 71.629, nearly two strokes below Friday’s record-setting average of 73.405. The cumulative average is 72.846.
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