US golfer Steve Stricker leads a third round strong finish with a five shot lead in the tournament of champions in Hawaii.
The 44 year old American was 15 under par and five strokes clear of Webb Simpson at tournament’s midway stage following a stunning 10-under-par 63 on Saturday.
Stricker struggled to continue his momentum in the early part of his third round on Sunday and was level par through 14 holes.
His advantage had dwindled to just one shot, but four birdies on his final four holes propelled him back ahead of the pack as he carded a four-under-par 69 to move to 19 under overall.
Stricker admitted he took a while to get going but was delighted to have maintained his healthy cushion at the top of the leaderboard.
Defending champion Jonathan Byrd and Scotland’s Martin Laird both signed for 67s and were tied for second along with Simpson (69).
Laird too was pleased with his day’s work, and was not surprised by the quality of Stricker’s finish, while he admitted it would be difficult to claw back five shots on Stricker.
Hyundai Tournament of Champions
2012 Leaderboard Round 3
1 USA Steve Stricker -19 68 63 69 200
2 USA Jonathan Byrd -14 67 71 67 205
2 SCO Martin Laird -14 68 70 67 205
2 USA Webb Simpson -14 68 68 69 205
5 USA Bryce Molder -11 71 70 67 208
5 USA Kevin Na -11 73 64 71 208
7 USA Harrison Frazar -10 74 69 66 209
8 USA Ben Crane -8 72 71 68 211
8 RSA Rory Sabbatini -8 73 70 68 211
8 USA Chris Kirk -8 75 66 70 211
