Chase Is On With Baddeley in the Lead

Aaron Baddeley’s age and PGA Tour experience are a little misleading. The 21-year-old Aussie looked like a prime-time player Saturday in the Sony Open, and not many were surprised.

Especially not the man chasing him -- Ernie Els.

“Obviously, he’s a guy for big occasions,” Els said. “He’s definitely not scared. This is the big leagues, now, but he’s a big-league player.”

Baddeley showed that on a difficult, windy afternoon at Waialae Country Club, where he blitzed the field on the front nine to build a five-stroke lead, then hung on with pars as the Big Easy was making a run at him.

Baddeley, who has played his last 26 holes at par or better, finished with a five-under 65 to take a two-stroke lead over Els.

Els got his putter going on the back nine and made up four strokes in his round of 66, setting the stage for a compelling final round.

Els is coming off an eight-stroke victory last week at Kapalua. He is trying to become the first player since Steve Jones in 1989 to win the first two events of the PGA Tour season.

Blocking the path is Baddeley, who was at 15-under 195.

“I think it’s going to be exciting,” Baddeley said. “I’m leading in my first PGA Tour tournament and playing the second-best player in the world. I’m just going to go out there and enjoy the day.”Baddeley was at 15-under 195.

Robert Gamez had a 65 and joined Chris DiMarco (69) and Briny Baird (67) at 10-under 200.

Tied with Retief Goosen to start the third round, Baddeley put eight strokes between him and the former U.S. Open champion on the front nine. He capped it off by holing a 45-foot eagle putt that curled in the back of the cup.

That gave him a five-stroke lead over the field, and he appeared to be poised for a runaway.

Instead, Baddeley started missing greens ever so slightly, taking himself out of birdie opportunities.

He finished with nine pars, but some of them were just as brilliant as his birdies and eagle.

His lead down to two, Baddeley went from the trees into a bunker, a perilous shot because he had only about 12 feet of green, and the slope and grain ran away from him. It came out perfectly, and Baddeley holed an eight-footer for par.

Els finally found his putting touch and birdied six of his final 10 holes, most of them from the 10- to 18-foot range.

“At least I’ve got a chance,” Els said. “And I’m playing in the final group, which helps a little bit.”