SONY OPEN
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM
Chad Campbell needed only 25 putts yesterday, two-putting only twice on the back nine.
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Waialae course comes to Campbell
Although he hadn't managed to string together consecutive below-par rounds in four previous appearances in the Sony Open, Chad Campbell rated Waialae Country Club among his favorite 18 holes on tour.
So he's probably feeling particularly fond of the flat, seaside layout this week, having blistered it the past three days to take a share of the lead into today's final round at 14-under 196.
"I love this golf course, it's one of my favorites, but I hadn't really had much success here," Campbell said after rolling in eight birdies en route to an 8-under-par 62 yesterday.
"I just like the way the course sets up. Maybe in previous years I wasn't hitting as good or putting as well. It suits my eye pretty well."
Going into yesterday's late-afternoon hours, both Campbell and playing partner David Toms took aim at the Waialae course record of 60, set by Davis Love III in 1994.
Toms finished at 61 with a birdie on No. 18 to catch Campbell atop the leaderboard, seven strokes ahead of Shane Bertsch and Bubba Watson.
Despite his affection for Waialae, Campbell missed the Sony cut in 2004 and finished no higher than 47th in three other tournaments. His previous best round was a 65 on the second day of the 2002 tournament, but a 75 the following day took him out of contention.
Campbell began yesterday's play tied with Jim Furyk at 6-under following 67s on Thursday and Friday. As Furyk faded with three bogeys in the first four holes yesterday, Campbell plundered a defenseless Waialae for four straight birdies from Nos. 7 to 10.
"It's nice to see the wind calm down a little bit so you can make a few birdies out there," said Campbell, who hails from Lewisville, Texas, and played his college golf at UNLV. "It was a little bit easier today to hit the fairways and get it closer to the hole.
"I did get in the fairway quite a bit today, which was nice. You really can attack this golf course when you do that."
Campbell's accuracy with his irons and wedges contributed to his needing only 25 putts. He stuck shots to within 7 feet of the pin to set up five of his birdies, and two-putted only twice on the back nine.
Campbell, who ranked 85th on the tour in putting average in 2005, also rolled in a 25-footer for birdie on No. 8.
But he couldn't shake Toms, who matched him birdie for birdie to set up today's showdown.
"Me and David just kind of fed off each other all day," Campbell said. "He played great and I was able to kind of follow in his footsteps."
Funny, Toms, who preceded Campbell in the interview room, had it the other way around.
"I felt like he was in control," Toms said. "I was surprised when he missed a fairway. I was surprised when he didn't get a ball close to the hole."
Campbell went to 10 under on No. 9 and continued his birdie-spree early on the back side.
He nearly holed his approach on the 417-yard, par-4 16th and tapped in for a birdie to match Toms, who had just snaked in a 75-foot putt from the front of the green.
Both flew their first shots on the par-3 17th over the green. Campbell went into the bunker behind the green, but made a 10-foot putt to save par.
His drive off the 18th tee went into a thick patch of rough and he was able to save par to cap his round.
Though shooting 59 came into view late in the round, Campbell said thoughts of reaching that mark didn't enter his mind.
"It really didn't, I was just playing," he said. "We were both playing so well, just kind of tried to keep making birdies. I never really thought about how many under I was."
It wasn't the first time Campbell went low in the third round of an event. He fired a tournament-record 10-under 61 in the third round of the 2003 Tour Championship on his way to his first career win.
Since winning the Bay Hill Invitational in 2004, the closest he's come to victory were runner-up finishes at the Nissan Open and Chrysler Championship last year.
He took a two-month break and entered the first full-field event of 2006 refreshed.
"Any time if you don't win in a year, it's a little bit disappointing," he said. "I was able to play pretty decent at the end of the year and have a little bit better attitude about the whole year."