Billy Mayfair looked like he was ready to succumb to par at the Tour Championship, just like so many others had before him on a Southern Hills course that punishes the slightest of errors.
He stood over his 25-foot par putt on the par-5 13th hole, looking at it from above and below the hole, until he decided that getting it close would be good enough.It turned out to be better than that.
Mayfair made the putt to save par, one of five straight one-putts that staked him to a three-stroke lead Saturday heading into the final round of the season-ending, $3 million tournament.
Mayfair, the only player who has shot par or better through three rounds, shot a 1-under 69 for a three-round total of 3-under 207, three strokes better than Brad Bryant, Steve Elkington and Corey Pavin.
On another day of survival, Mayfair saved himself with nifty work around the greens.
"When you have a major championship like this on such a hard golf course, you've got to get it up and down," he said. "You've got to save yourself a few times if you want to win. And that's what I did."
Bryant, the second-round leader who started the day at three under, needed a 6-footer to save bogey on No. 1 and bogeyed No. 2, but still was tied for the lead at two under coming to No. 18.
He pushed his drive into the rough on the right, his approach trickled back down to the fairway, and then he three-putted for a double-dogey.
"I started like a dufus, finished like a dummy and I putted horrible in between," Bryant said.
Elkington shot a 67, the best score of the tournament, while Pavin's short game helped him to a 68. There have been only 13 rounds under par by the field of top 30 PGA Tour money-winners.
"I've tried to stay as patient as I can," Mayfair said. "The weather has been tough, the wind has been blowing. You knew the scores weren't going to be low."
An earlier starting time and the lightest winds of the tournament kept scores reasonable Saturday - no one shot worse than 75.
Even so, player after player kept dropping above par.
Woody Austin, who started the day one under, bogeyed Nos. 1 and 9 and took double-bogey at the par-3 14th in a 73. He was at 212, along with Vijay Singh and Justin Leonard, who each shot 72.
Greg Norman bogeyed the first two holes and took bogeys at Nos. 12 and 13 in shooting a 74, putting him at 216. Scott Simpson got to par at the turn before three straight bogeys starting at No. 13 did him in. He shot 40 on the back nine and fell to 215 for the tournament.
Mayfair appeared headed in that direction when he hit a terrible wedge that plugged into the greenside bunker at 13, a 537-yard par-5. He played out the best he could, leaving it 25 feet above the cup.
"I walked around, walked around, tried to regroup myself," Mayfair said. "I wanted to get it close and get my bogey, and fortunately the ball stayed on line. That probably turned around my whole round."
Pavin hit only three greens on the front nine but still managed to shoot par by taking only 12 putts. He got to par for the tournament with birdies at 12 and 13.
Elkington made the most stirring rally of the tournament after he bogeyed 9 to go 4-over. Four birdies on the back nine, none of the putts longer than 10 feet, gave him a 31. He'll play with Mayfair in the final round.
"I'd made two birdies for the whole week, so it's been a funny week," Elkington said.
Mayfair's three-stroke lead is the largest of the tournament. Bryant had a two-stroke lead for three holes on Saturday, and no one else has led by more than one at any given time.
"If Billy plays well tomorrow, we're not going to catch him," Bryant said. "There just aren't enough birdies out there."