IVINS, Utah (AP) — Austin Smotherman responded with a string of birdies each time someone caught him Saturday in the Utah Championship, making one last birdie on the 18th hole for a 6-under 65 and a one-shot lead over Doug Ghim going into the final round.
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someone → respond → round
Smotherman is making his 100th career start, Ghim his 192nd.
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Ghim → make → start
“I think it’s good pressure,” Smotherman said.
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Smotherman → think → ?
“That’s what we work for.
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we → ’ → what
That’s the spot you want to be.
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you → ’ → ?
Coming down, you kind of hold all the cards.
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you → come → cards
I’m sure there’s going to be some energy.”
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I → ’m → ?
Smotherman three-putted from just outside 30 feet on the the par-4 10th, a bogey that enabled Kevin Streelman to tie him for the lead.
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that → putt → lead
Smotherman then birdied three of the next four holes.
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Smotherman → birdie → holes
He holed an 8-foot birdie on the par-3 17th and birdied the par-5 closing hole at Black Desert Resort with a nifty pitch to 3 feet.
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He → hole → feet
Both times the birdie gave him a share of the lead.
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birdie → give → lead
Both times, Smotherman in the final group behind him matched birdies.
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Smotherman → match → birdies
The last birdie was a 12-footer that put Smotherman at 23-under 190.
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that → put → under
His score to par already matches the 72-hole record at Black Desert, in its third year hosting the tournament.
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score → match → tournament
It was the third straight round for at least one player posting a 62, this time from Johnny Keefer, who had to settle for a par when he drove into the lava area left of the par-5 ninth and had to pitch out sideways.
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he → post → par-5
A.J. Ewart of Coquitlam, B.C., jumped nine spots with a 65 to be the leading Canadian and sit seven shots back of the lead.
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Ewart → jump → lead
Sudarshan Yellamaraju of Mississauga, Ont., had a 68, Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., had a 71 and Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., had a 70.
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Svensson → have → 70
So much of the focus on the FedEx Cup Fall Series is on the top 100 players who secure full PGA Tour cards for 2027.
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who → secure → 2027
But there’s a huge perk for the winners of the eight tournaments — they get a two-year exemption, and that includes starting 2028 on the top-tier Championship Series.
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that → ’ → Series
Streelman is the only player from the top five on the leaderboard to have won on the PGA Tour, and the stakes are high for him, too.
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stakes → win → him
Streelman had a major medical exemption expire and now is battling to regain his card.
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exemption → have → card
He was tied with Smotherman until a four-shot swing on the 13th hole.
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He → tie → hole
Smotherman made a birdie, while Streelman drove into the water off the tee and had to hit again, then found a bunker with his approach and failed to get up-and-down, making triple bogey.
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Streelman → make → bogey
Streelman birdied two of his last three holes and was five shots behind, along with Trace Crowe and Ben James, each with a 64.
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Streelman → birdie → 64
Ghim fell back with his first bogey of the tournament on the par-5 ninth.
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Ghim → fall → par-5
He hit a pedestrian drive that left him 279 yards away.
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that → hit → him
He went for the green and sailed right into lava rocks.
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He → go → rocks
He took the stroke-and-distance penalty, laid up, and holed a 13-foot putt for bogey to limit the damage.
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He → take → damage
“My first bogey of the week, but it didn’t feel like one,” Ghim said.
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Ghim → feel → one
He answered with six birdies on the back nine to get back in the game, giving him a good chance to finally get that first PGA Tour title.
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He → answer → title
“It’s what we come here to do — 191 times before I wanted to win, and I get another opportunity to do it tomorrow,” Ghim said.
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Ghim → ’ → it
“It would be a dream come true.
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It → come → ?
Just going to go out there and try to execute the best that I can and hopefully see where that puts me.”
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that → go → me
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