HILTON HEAD-T&T's Stephen Ames had a now rare good day at the office on Saturday, firing an exciting five-under 66 in the third round of the RBC Heritage in South Carolina to move into contention for a strong finish at the US$5.7 million tournament. Just a day after squeezing into the weekend rounds by narrowly surviving the cut line, Ames unveiled some excellent form that saw him pick up six birdies and drop just one shot at the Harbour Town Golf Links. He is now well poised at 24th on the leaderboard at two-over but is 10 strokes adrift of leader, Swede Carl Pettersson who was five-under for yesterday's third round. Following an early morning tee time, Ames made a quiet start to his round before coming to life on the short par-3 seventh, finding the green off the fairway before sinking a three-footer for birdie.
He quickly followed up with another birdie on the ninth, a par-4, hitting the middle of the fairway off the tee before knocking down a five-foot putt for birdie, as he made the turn at two-under. A combination of excellent driving and putting saw him birdie the 430-yard, par-4 12th but he then missed a six-footer for par to drop his first shot of the day. Ames was back in stride quickly, however, sinking a six-footer for birdie on the 15th before closing out strongly with back-to-back birdies on the 17th and 18th. He sank a monster 23-footer on the 185-yard par-13 17th to move to four-under and climaxed his round with excellent driving that set up a two-foot birdie putt. Ames will take to the greens for a midday tee time on Sunday and play alongside American Charley Hoffman.
Pettersson held a three-stroke lead through 10 holes, yet was tied with Knost after the 15th. Pettersson moved in front with the round's final putt, an 8-foot birdie on Harbour Town Golf Links' signature closing hole. Knost's roller coaster of a round included an eagle on No 2 and several missed fairways on the course's tight holes. Still, he kept close enough with a 69. He'll be paired with Pettersson again today in the chase for his first PGA Tour win. Zach Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, shot a 66 to move to third at 8 under, three behind the leaders. Two-time RBC Heritage champion Boo Weekley had a 70 and was in fourth another shot behind. Defending champion Brandt Snedeker (69), Kevin Na (70) and Robert Garrigus (70) were next at 6 under. World No 1 Luke Donald failed to make a move toward keeping the top spot, his even-par 71 leaving him at 2 over and tied for 52nd. Donald needs to finish eighth or better to fend off No 2 Rory McIlroy, who like Masters champion Bubba Watson and most other top golfers, is taking the week off.