Hearn maintains top spot in California
HAYWARD, Calif. – Canada’s David Hearn rolled in an 8-foot birdie putt on the final hole to move into sole possession of the 54-hole lead at the Fresh Express Classic. Hearn’s closing birdie gave him a 15-under 198 total, one better than Fresno’s Kevin Chappell and fellow Canadian Jon Mills.Australia’s Mark Hensby and Miguel Carballo of Argentina share fourth place at 13-under, two back. Adam Meyer, Chris Kirk and Doug LaBelle are three behind the leader heading into Sunday’s finale at TPC Stonebrae.
Hearn, 30, failed to continue the hot streak that produced opening rounds of 64-65 and a two-stroke lead after 36 holes.
“I really didn’t think anyone would run away from us Saturday,” said Hearn, who had four birdies and two bogeys for a 2-under 69. “I just wanted to keep hitting greens and give myself some opportunities. I drove the ball well Saturday but my irons weren’t as crisp as I’d like.”
Instead of staring at a bunch of birdie chances from inside 15 feet, Hearn was forced to repeatedly look at 30- and 40-footers, not exactly the ideal scoring range.
“I was proud of the way I was able to hang in,” he said. “I was able to make a lot of pars when I needed to and that’s what you have to do to compete. It’s as much about capitalizing on birdie opportunities as it is about keeping bogeys off your card.”
Hearn has been steady all week, with only four bogeys in 54 holes. He ranks among the top-10 in fairways hit (T6), greens in regulation (T7) and putts (8).
His final birdie putt broke a four-way tie for the lead at 14-under.
“I knew Millsy was 14 (under) and coming up 18 I didn’t hear a lot of cheers,” he said. “Whether it was for the lead or not, I wanted to make it.”
The net result was that he moved into the final pairing, bumping his good friend Mills out.
“I’ve played in the group behind every day this week, so we’re doing okay with that order,” said Hearn, who will play behind Mills again Sunday as they chase the $108,000 first-place check.
Hearn will be paired with Chappell, who posted a 4-under 67 and was finished an hour before the last group.
“I didn’t come out here with a number in mind,” said the former UCLA Bruin. “You know right away there are some scoring opportunities and if you can take advantage of them, then you can carry some momentum into the back side.”
Chappell birdied the second and eagled the third before eventually turning the front nine in 4-under 32. Another birdie at No. 10 got him to 14-under sharing the lead.
“It just started getting rocky from there,” he said. “The wind started blowing a little harder and some of the pins were a little tougher. There are some tighter tee shots and you get a little nervy, even though it’s only the third round. I hung in there pretty well.”
Chappell, in his first full season on Tour, may have saved his day with a bogey on the 479-yard, par-4, 13thhole. An errant tee shot left found heavy rough. He pitched into a fairway bunker on his second, came up short on his third and needed a 10-footer for a bogey-5.
“I made a good bogey,” he said. “That kept some momentum. Our theme for the week is make a bunch of good pars on some of these tough holes and that certainly felt like a good par.”
Chappell settled down and played the final five holes in 1-under, putting himself in a prime spot to earn his first career win. He is the only player in the top-5 without a victory on his resume.
Third-Round Notes:
* Kevin Chappell has played the four par-5’s in 12-under this week. He is 3-under on the par-4s and 1-over on the par-3s.
* Jon Mills birdied four of the five par-3s Saturday. He is 9-under on the par-3s, 1-under on the par-4s and 4-under on the par-5s.
* David Hearn’s only Nationwide Tour win came at the 2004 Alberta Classic.
* Jon Mills has two career titles – 2005 Canadian PGA Championship, 2007 Albertsons Boise Open.
* The third-round scoring average for the par-71 layout was 70.795.
* Sunday’s expected finish time is 6:30 p.m. PT.
Return to Other Tours archives