By Jim Bebbington
The course had had enough.
Saturday several players flirted with the course record at TPC Colorado during day 3 of the Korn Ferry Tour Blue Championship. Several rounds saw players go on birdie and eagle binges on the front nine, then continue going low on the back.
Finally the course took it personally, and the greens firmed up after three days of heat and wind and putts stopped falling for the front runners.
“No. 17 and 18 kind of have my number,” said Kyle Westmoreland, the former Air Force Academy player who lost a share of the lead by finishing bogey-bogey.
“(The greens) are getting firmer, they’re getting faster,” he said. “It’s definitely getting tougher out there, which is good,” he said.
Westmoreland was 10-under for the round heading to the 17th tee box, including making an eagle on the very difficult No. 15.
Ross Steelman finished at the top of the leaderboard Saturday, the second year in a row he has held the Saturday night lead.
“If you had told me five years ago that this would be what I’d do two years in a row I would have signed up and said absolutely,” he said.
He said last year he faced the Sunday round with “Almost a sense of terror,” and has learned from that and intends to hit the first tee on Sunday with excitement. Last year Neal Shipley came from seven shots back to win the tournament.
“It’s funny how golf kind of mirrors life in the sense that you oftentimes have a chance to correct your mistakes,” Steelman said.
Steelman is leading the tournament at 18-under par, followed by four players at 16-under.
Among the is Joseph Bramlett from California, who was 10-under at one point Saturday before also bogeying No. 17 and 18.
“The greens are great,” he said. “They’re fast and they get firm and dicey.”
Bramlett bogeyed the first hole – one that most players count on par at worst – then reeled off two eagles among an onslaught on par.
“My games’ felt really good lately,” he said. “The opening stretch on this course you definitely want to get after.”
Chris Korte, one of several players with Colorado ties still in the field, shot 4-under Saturday to get to 9-under par and tied in the middle of the field.
“There’s nothing to lose tomorrow,” he said. “On this tour there’s not a whole lot of difference between 30ht and 50th. So just get it going early tomorrow and keep that pedal down.”
Several of the players are attacking the course with that same gusto. For the second straight day Steelman teed off on the 650-yard first hole by driving intentionally onto the neighboring 15th fairway to give himself a better shot at the green.
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Temperatures soared and scores plummeted at TPC Colorado Saturday By Jim Bebbington The course had had enough. Saturday several players flirted with the course record at TPC Colorado during day 3 of the Korn Ferry Tour Blue Championship. Several rounds saw players go on birdie and eagle binges on the front nine, then continue going
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