Colorado Springs, Colo.
The comeback of the day came from the man who led by three, watched it all slip away, then steeled himself in time to climb back to the top.
Just another crazy afternoon at the hard-to-read Broadmoor, where Jerry Kelly shot 1-over 71 on Saturday to finish the third round of the U.S. Senior Open in the same spot he started — atop the leaderboard with a one-shot advantage.
“Did it unnerve me a little bit?” Kelly said about watching his lead disappear. “Yeah, absolutely.”
But he made a 6-foot slider to save par on No. 18, finish at 4-under 206 and preserve a one-shot lead over David Toms, who stayed far from the madness and shot a 66 to climb from a tie for 10th to second.
Behind Toms — nothing but chaos.
It began when Kelly took three putts to get down from inside of two feet on No. 12 — his first putt going airborne above the roughed-up poa annua turf and his second taking a 180-degree spin around the cup before bounding out.
Shortly after making double-bogey there, Kelly’s three-shot lead morphed into a one-shot deficit to his old college teammate, Tim Petrovic, who nearly holed out from the fairway on 14 for a birdie that briefly got him to 5-under.
But Petrovic’s lead didn’t last long. He bogeyed No. 15. Then, on No. 17, he blocked his tee shot right and it bounded down the cart path into the right rough where an amped-up kid couldn’t believe his luck — sprinting into the grass and going into a full baseball slide to grab the ball.
Chastened by the marshal, the kid gave the ball back. Petrovic took a drop and had to pitch out from behind the trees en route to another bogey.
“Next time, kick it that way,” he joked with the kid, pointing toward the fairway, and trying to lighten the mood.
Petrovic also bogeyed No. 18 and finished with a 71, tied with Kirk Triplett (68) two shots out of the lead.
LPGA: Ryu Up by 3
Kildeer, Ill.
The 28-year-old South Korean star birdied the 14th and 15th holes to jump ahead of Canadian Brooke Henderson and finished with a birdie on 18. She shot a 5-under 67 on another scorching afternoon to get to 11-under 205 and move a step closer to her third major victory.
Henderson was second. She bogeyed Nos. 14 and 16 in a 70.
PGA: Two LeadTiger Stalls
Potomac, Md.
Ancer matched the best round of the week with an 8-under 62 on the TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm, giving the 27-year-old Mexican his best shot at his first PGA Tour victory. Molinari birdied his last two holes for a 65 and joined him at 13-under 197.
Tiger Woods looked as though he would be right there with them. Woods finished the front nine with seven straight one-putt greens and was in range to go even lower until he was slowed by missed putts and one bad tee shot. He ended up with a 68.
That left Woods in a tie for 10th, six shots back.
