Steve Elkington knows he's in control in the Buick Southern Open.
"I felt very comfortable out there," he said Saturday after a 4-under-par 68 increased his lead to five shots going into Sunday's rain-threatened final round."It was like I hadn't missed a beat today," he said. "I like that feeling. I like that challenge. The best medicine for me would be to shoot 68 tomorrow."
He knows another 68 would make it awfully difficult for the rest of the field, including his friend and fellow Australian Steve Rintoul, who rallied from a triple-bogey start to post a 70 that gave him second alone.
"If I shoot a good score, then it's history for everyone," Elkington said. "One guy in particular would have to shoot 10 under probably to beat me."
At the turn, Elkington appeared to be headed to a record-setting lead after 54 holes in a PGA Tour event. He had a nine-shot lead at the turn, in position to break the mark of eight set by Spain's Jose Maria Olazabal in the 1990 World Series of Golf. He had five birdies on the front side, but a rally by Rintoul and Elkington's first bogey of the tournament on his 52nd hole knocked four shots off the lead.
Elkington's 16-under 200 broke the three-round record on the 7,057-yard Callaway Gardens Mountain View course set by Gary Hallberg in 1992 and tied by Bob Estes last year.
"I was playing awesome," he said. "I felt like I left a lot of shots out there."