Guthrie, Thompson share lead at Honda Classic

From wire reports

PGA Tour rookie Luke Guthrie and Michael Thompson survived chilly, blustery conditions and shared the lead Saturday in the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

With wind making the course play longer and the water look even more daunting, Guthrie held on for a 1-over 71 in his first time playing in the last group on tour. The 22-year-old from Illinois closed with eight good pars. Thompson narrowly missed a 20-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th hole for a 70.

They were at 8-under 202 and had to buckle down for what figures to be a wide-open final round. Lee Westwood and Geoff Ogilvy are two shots back at 6-under 204. Westwood’s birdie chip at No. 17, his 20-foot birdie at 17 and par save at 18 after hitting 3-wood into the water gave him a 70. Ogilvy birdied No. 18 from 7 feet.

Ogilvy needs a big finish Sunday and has until the end of the month to crack the world’s top 50 and qualify for the Masters. Now at No. 79, he finished out of the top 50 at the end of last year by one shot, failing to qualify for the Masters early.

Eleven players were separated by four shots going into the final round, a group that included Rickie Fowler, Charles Howell III, Keegan Bradley and Justin Rose.

Tiger Woods had a 32 on the front nine but didn’t make a birdie the rest of the way. His 70 was good, but he’s still eight shots back. A year ago, Woods was nine back on Sunday, shot a 62 and finished second to Rory McIlroy.

Briefly

• LPGA Tour: Stacy Lewis shared the lead with Na Yeon Choi at the HSBC Women’s Champions after the South Korean birdied the 18th hole in a rain-delayed third round in Singapore. Choi’s 5-under 67 tied Lewis, a 28-year-old American, at 14-under 202. Paula Creamer, slowed by a shoulder injury after a car accident in Thailand last weekend, shot a 69 to trail by two shots.

• European Tour: Darren Fichardt stormed into a four-way share of the lead with an 8-under-par 64 in the third round of the Tshwane Open in Centurion, South Africa. Play resumed after a two-hour storm delay, and Fichardt birdied his closing three holes to finish a shot shy of the course record. He and Chile’s Mark Tullo and fellow South Africans Charl Coetzee and Dawie Van Der Walt are tied at 16 under.

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