20110326

Laird: Early hat-trick of birdies
US unless stated
-11 M Laird (Sco)
-9 S Levin
-7 B Watson
-7 S Marino
-6 R Fowler
-6 D Toms
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Martin Laird will take a two-stroke lead into the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, Florida on Sunday.
The Scotsman led by one at halfway and doubled his advantage over playing partner Spencer Levin after returning a two-under-par 70.
Bubba Watson and Steve Marino are two shots further back as few players made inroads at the top of the leaderboard.
A hat-trick of birdies from the fourth gave Laird a four-shot cushion at one stage, and although he birdied the two other par fives on the back nine he also made three bogeys to leave the door still ajar.
Drew level
Levin whittled the advantage back through the middle part of the round, picking up birdies at the seventh, 10th and 12th to draw level again at 11-under.
But Levin, who had led by three after the opening round, bogeyed the 15th and 16th to hand back the initiative to his rival.
“This is a carry over from the end of last year and it gives you the confidence to go out and hold the lead and hopefully do the same tomorrow,” Laird said.
“If I can win tomorrow it will mean a lot.”
Watson holed a monster putt at the 18th to leave himself four shots back following a round of 68, while Rickie Fowler overcame a seven at the sixth to card a 70 and remain within hailing distance of the leader, alongside David Toms on six-under.
Disappointment
But there was disappointment for KJ Choi (76) and Hunter Mahan (75), who played themselves out of contention, as did Tiger Woods, who returned a messy 74 that included four bogeys and a double.
The former world number one got it to four under par for the tournament with an eagle at the long sixth but was once again swinging erratically, and will extend his winless streak by another week on Sunday.
“I made a few mistakes out there,” Woods said. “There was a point in the round I had to get more aggressive on 13 and paid the price for it. I figured I needed to shoot three or four under, and it backfired on me a little bit.”
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