Broadaway takes Classic lead; Daly falls back

story submitted by the PGA Tour

Josh Broadaway fired a 5-under 65 Saturday to take the 54-hole lead at the Nationwide Tour’s Fort Smith Classic, with John Daly falling back to 13th.

Broadaway stands at 11-under 199 after three trips around the Hardscrabble Country Club course, one better than Chris Kirk (66), David McKenzie (67) and 36-hole leader Nathan Smith (69).

Matthew Borchert (67) and rookie Zack Miller (69) share fifth place at 9-under 201, two back. Another six players are three off the pace, including defending champion Jason Enloe (66).

Two-time major champion John Daly, playing his first Nationwide Tour event since 1991, fired a 1-under 69 and is tied for 13th place, four shots behind the leader.

Broadaway moved to the top of the list with six birdies in the sweltering heat, giving him a tournament-leading 20 thus far.

“I’ve been struggling with my putting all year and I have started to hole some putts,” said the Albany, Ga., resident. “I have putted well all week and if I can go make some putts tomorrow I’m going to have a chance.”

Broadaway holds the outright 54-hole lead for the first time in his career and is in search of his first career win.

“There’s something about this place. It’s good for me,” said Broadaway, who fired a 64 on the final day last year and finished seventh. “I am playing really well and I’ve got a lot of confidence around this place.”

Broadaway is in his comfort zone when he’s hitting a draw off the tee and the tree-lined holes are bending perfectly to fit his eye.

“I don’t have to hit a lot of drivers, which can get me in trouble sometimes,” he said. “I hit hybrids and 5-wood it around here.”

The man known for his cross-handed baseball grip birdied the first hole and then missed makeable birdie putts on the next three. At 7-under par and four off the pace, Broadaway then hit a tee shot into the trees on the par-4, 5th hole. The ball kicked “dead in the middle of the fairway” and he eventually walked away with par. Broadaway’s tree-bouncing break kept him on pace and he followed it up with five birdies in his next eight holes. When he reached 12-under par, he was part of a four-way tie with McKenzie, Smith and Miller.

McKenzie got off to a flying start by holing an 85-yard wedge on the first hole for eagle and was 5-under through seven holes. He then missed a 6-foot par putt on No. 8.

“I lost my momentum and didn’t make anything after that,” he said. “I hit it scrappy from there on in. I just didn’t hit it close and I didn’t have a lot of chances.”

The Melbourne native three-putted the 10th hole for bogey and added eight pars to close his day with a 3-under 67.

“If you said to me at the start of the day ‘you can have 3-under’ I would have sat inside and watched the World Cup. I’m disappointed I got it to 5-under and I didn’t finish but then 3-under’s not a horrendous score.”

Kirk shot a 4-under 66 and moved into contention while playing with local favorite Daly.

“It was fun. I love playing in front of crowds,” said Kirk, who has been a runner-up twice this year. “They were great. Very respectful. I hit it better today than I have the last two days. It was a little more of a stress-free day and that made it a lot of fun.”

Daly, meantime, never got untracked in front of the home crowd.

“I love the way I’m hitting the ball. I’m not catching too many breaks,” he said. “I hit the ball a lot better than I scored today. It felt like it was the worst I could have shot.”

THIRD ROUND NOTES
• With an odd number (67) of players making the 36-hole cut, Steven Bowditch played as a single today. The Aussie teed off at 7 a.m. and shot a 2-over 72. He completed his round in 2:34.

• Josh Broadaway’s 54-hole total of 199 is his career low, three strokes better than his previous best score (202).

• Josh Broadaway shared the 54-hole lead at last year’s Miccosukee Championship in Miami, the only other time in his career he has led after three rounds. He was tied with three others, shot 74 and tied for 7th, three back of winner Chad Collins.

• Saturday’s scoring average was 68.851, the lowest single-round average since the final round in 2001 (68.240).