By Tom Zulewski, Iron County Today
IVINS – At times, Austin Smotherman may have felt like he was in a car chase that wouldn’t end. Even Dominic Torretto would have been impressed by Smotherman’s skill at hitting good shots, staying patient, and making the birdie putts where he could.
The end result found Smotherman ahead at the line and at the top of the leaderboard through three rounds at the Bank of Utah Championship. Smotherman overcame an early bogey, closed with birdies at 17 and 18, and finished with a 6-under 65 to push his 54-hole total to 23-under 190. He finished one shot in front of Doug Ghim and five ahead of three others, including Kevin Streelman.
Streelman matched Smotherman shot for shot until his tee shot landed in the water at the par-4 13th hole. He took a triple-bogey 7, but managed to come back with birdies at 16 and 18 to finish with a 69, good for 18-under par.
“It encourages me to stay in my bubble realizing there’s some separation at the top. Good, boring golf does a lot for you,” Smotherman said. “There’s enough gettable holes where if you’re patient and ready for the opportunities, I feel like you can go ahead and pick them apart, which I’ve been doing.”
Ghim was at 1-under on his round after a bogey at the 9th, but came through with six birdies and a 29 on the back nine to move into the final pairing with Smotherman for Sunday. Making his 192nd career start, the Illinois resident knows what a win would mean.
“191 times before, I wanted to win, and I get another opportunity to do it tomorrow,” Ghim said, “It would be a dream come true, but there are a lot of other really good players with a lot to play for. Just understand if I execute the best I can and hopefully see where that puts me.”
Among the players with Utah ties, BYU junior Kihel Akina carded a 6-under 65 and is in a group tied for 16th at 14-under 199. Zac Blair also shot a 65 on Saturday and is tied for 26th at 12-under. Blair will be paired with defending tournament champion Michael Brennan, who carded an even-par 71.
Three players weren’t able to finish the second round Friday, and with the cut to make the weekend at 6-under, two of the three – Alejandro Tosti of Argentina and Jesper Svensson – needed at least a birdie on 17 or 18 to break through and make the weekend.
The pair birdied both holes and successfully advanced.