SANDY — Bradley Iles, a 27-year New Zealander in his third year on the Nationwide Tour, has had Willow Creek Country Club in his sights for several weeks.
The preparation seems to be paying off, with Iles firing a third-round 8-under 63 on Saturday to grab a one-shot lead at the Utah Championship heading into today's final round.
Iles' 63 is his lowest career round on the Nationwide Tour and the low round of the week — which puts Iles at 15-under par through three rounds and one shot up on second-round leader Michael Putnam and four up on Jeff Gove and Jhonattan Vegas.
"I've been getting my game ready for this course the past couple of weeks," Iles said. "This course is similar to Boise (next week's Nationwide stop) and you've got to be able to hit a lot of good wedges and a lot of good irons off the tee, and be able to putt on fast greens. I've been getting ready big time and it's just all synced up."
Iles, 63rd on the money list, is still searching for his first Nationwide win. His best finish was second place last year after losing in a playoff at the Knoxville Open.
In tearing through Willow Creek on Saturday, Iles looked like a golfer quite familiar with the slick and firm greens. He birdied five of the first seven holes, and with only one bogey on the day, he closed with birdies on the final four holes.
"I made everything. I've never putted that well. Everything dropped," Iles said.
He's not kidding. He rolled in putts on holes four and six from off the green. After sinking a long birdie putt on No. 15, he then caught Putnam at 13-under with a 12-footer uphill on No. 16. A two-putt birdie from 30 feet on the par-5 17th temporarily put Iles a shot ahead of Putnam, and he added a final birdie on the final hole by draining a slick downhill 10-footer.
"I holed 100 feet of putts in the first six holes and it made things a lot easier from there. I probably made 80 feet of putts on the last four holes. It's all putting here," he said.
The biggest putt, Iles said, was the 25-foot par putt he sank on the par-5 10th after he bladed a wedge over the green.
"If I had missed that it might have been a different story, a totally different back nine," Iles said.
Putnam lost ground on Saturday despite shooting a 3-under 68. He can look to the par-4 eighth as the reason, when he hit a five iron off the tee into the creek and made double bogey.
"I knew it right in my back swing that it was too much club and just pulled it," Putnam said. "It was a bad shot, but really my only bad shot of the day."
He came back with a birdie on No. 13 by holing a bunker shot, and then kept pace with Iles by two-putting No. 17 from 40 feet for birdie. He failed to catch Iles, however, after his 10-foot side-hill birdie putt on No. 18 curled above the cup.
"I thought I made it. But the greens are so fast that you just hit and hope," he said.
Regardless, Putnam, also seeking his first Nationwide victory in four years on the tour, likes his position heading into today's final 18.
"I haven't had that really low round yet. It would be fun to have it on Sunday," he said.
Sandy native Steve Schneiter, who was a member of Willow Creek for 10 years, shot a 3-under 68 on Saturday and is tied for seventh at 8-under through 54 holes. Schneiter is in line for a nice paycheck and a possible exemption into the event next week in Boise, but has a higher goal than those two targets.
"I'm playing to win. That's why we play the game. I'm looking to shoot as low as I can and see if that gives me a shot to win," Schneiter said.
The other Utahn remaining in the field, Farmington's Daniel Summerhays, shot a 2-over 73 on Saturday and sits at 2-under for the tournament, tied for 48th.
Among those hoping to catch the leading two is Gove, a regular PGA Tour player who is finally reaping the rewards of some swing changes. Gove shot a 65 on Saturday, and feels he has another low round in him today.
"Last year I was in position and didn't come through, so maybe this year I can do it," Gove said.
Utah Championship
Leaderboard
Bradley Iles -15
Michael Putnam -14
Jeff Gove -11
Jhonattan Vegas -11
Chris Nallen -10
Andrew Svoboda -10
Bob May -8
Steve Schneiter -8
Ryan Armour -8
Others
Daniel Summerhays -2
e-mail: jimr@desnews.com