NAPA, Calif. –  Sang-Moon Bae ran off five straight birdies early in the third round Saturday at the Frys.com Open, and that was a lot of fun.

His big finish was more important.

Right when it looked as though Bae would be lucky to keep the lead, he closed with three big putts – one for par, another for eagle, the last one for birdie – to finished off a 7-under 65 and turn a tight battle into a four-shot lead going into the final round at Silverado.

“It’s a good score,” Bae said. “Four-shot lead makes me a little comfortable for Sunday, but I don’t think about a win.”

He was at 16-under 200 for his first 54-hole lead on tour. Bae will play in the final round with PGA Tour rookie Zach Blair, who had a 69.

The way the third round ended, anything can happen.

The final three holes feature a pair of par 5s that can be reached in two by only the big hitters, sandwiched around a par 4 that played only 292 yards with the tees moved forward, with trees on left and an elevated green.

They changed the entire dynamic of the final round.

That stretch enabled Matt Kuchar and Brooks Koepka to get back into the hunter, but only briefly because of the great finish by Bae.

The 28-year-old South Korean was on the verge of making a sloppy bogey on the par-5 16th hole when he pulled his second shot into a hazard, played out of the ditch and then muffed the chip with his fourth shot. The ball barely got onto the fringe. Bae made that 15-footer for par, and then hit the perfect drive on the 17th to just inside 6 feet for an eagle putt that gave him some breathing room.

He capped it off with another 15-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th to seize control.

Kuchar shot 31 on the back nine and played the last three holes in 3 under, just like Bae, only he got there differently. Kuchar birdied the 16th, and then hit driver to about 5 feet on the 17th for eagle and missed a short birdie attempt on the 18th.

“To be in contention on Sunday, golf gets fun. Golf gets exciting,” Kuchar said after a 66. “The first tournament of the year and having a chance on a golf course that I think is a lot of fun … I’m excited for tomorrow.”

He was tied at 11-under 205 with Koepka (67), Scott Langley (69) and Martin Laird (71).

Koepka had a birdie-birdie-birdie finish – with his power, he only needed a 3-wood on the 17th to get on the green to 20 feet.

“Today was kind of boring until the last three holes,” Koepka said. “Just stayed patient and it worked out.”

As much as the final few holes provide opportunity, they also can take away.

Hideki Matsuyama of Japan was one shot out of the lead when he pulled his tee shot on the 17th into the trees, and had to play a running chip through the trees and to the back of the green into gnarly rough. He wound up with a bogey, and then dropped another critical shot on the 18th when he drove into a tough spot in the fairway bunker. Instead of staying close to Bae, his bogey-bogey finish dropped him to a 69 and he was six shots behind.

The final stretch for Bae might not have meant as much if not for his hot start.

“Five birdies in a row was a lot of fun,” he said. “I read every break on the green. It was a really easy game.”

Starting with his tee shot into 3 feet on the par-3 second hole, Bae ran off five straight bogeys to build a three-shot lead. The streak ended with a three-putt bogey, and he didn’t make another birdie until a 12-foot putt on the par-3 15th.

But the final three holes gave him a cushion.

Bae’s only victory on the PGA Tour was last year at the Byron Nelson Championship, and it meant so much to him that he got an apartment in the Dallas area so he could practice at the TPC Four Seasons.

While he has control of the tournament, he wasn’t sure how he would approach the final round.

“So many good players behind me,” he said. “PGA Tour is always competitive every day, so I don’t play just safe sometimes and aggressive sometimes. I need a really, really good combination. I putted really good this week, so it will be good tomorrow, too.”

Hunter Mahan had a 68 and was with Matsuyama at 206, along with Retief Goosen (66) and David Lingmerth (70). Mahan is among four players in the field who were in the Ryder Cup in Scotland two weeks ago. Kuchar and Mahan had the best chance to win.

The Frys.com Open is the opening event in the new PGA Tour season, though it sure doesn’t feel that way to Mahan. Including the Ryder Cup, he has competed 10 times in the last 13 weeks and is looking forward to break.

“I feel like I’m trying to finish this last one off and start the offseason and get some rest,” he said. “It feels weird. But I’m here and I’m committed to this week.”

Canada’s Adam Hadwin, who is making his debut as a member of the PGA Tour, carded an even-par 72 Saturday and is tied for 29th at 5-under. A shot back at 4-under is Graham DeLaet, who carded 1-under par 71 on the day. David Hearn struggled to a 78 for the day, he’s 75th at 5-over 221.

CARY, N.C. – Kirk Triplett holed out from 143 yards for eagle on the par-4 18th hole Saturday to take a two-stroke lead in the Champions Tour’s SAS Championship.

Triplett, the ACE Group Classic winner in February for his third victory on the 50-and-over tour, finished with a bogey-free 9-under 63 to reach 11-under 133 at rain-softened Prestonwood.

“I think the conditions were a little different from yesterday, a little softer, so personally, I felt you could be a little more aggressive,” Triplett said. “Some of the holes played pretty short yesterday, a little bit longer today. I think the course was similar to how it played the last two years, so I think in some ways, it was more familiar to me.”

Paul Goydos and Tom Lehman were tied for second. Goydos, the Hawaii Championship winner last month for his first senior title, had a 67. Lehman shot 68.

Goydos flew his tee shot in the water and bogeyed the first hole of the day. He called his opening shot a “bit of a wake-up call.”

“I just kind of hung in there and made a couple of nice birdies on 6 and 7,” Goydos said. “But I’ve got a feeling tomorrow you’re going to have to go low and make a lot of birdies.”

First-round leader Guy Boros was tied for fourth at 11 under, following a 66 with a 70. Boros is making his second tour start after turning 50 last month. Fred Funk also was 11 under after a 64. Boros faltered with bogeys on 14 and 15, while Funk birdied five of the last eight holes.

Funk said he was having issues with his calf Friday, but he felt better for the second round.

“I was struggling to even hit the golf ball (Friday),” Funk said. “Today, I was feeling a lot better and was able to swing at it, so I picked up about 30 yards on my drive.”

Bernhard Langer, the 2012 winner, was tied for ninth at 6 under after a 65. Langer has a tour-high five victories – two of them majors – and leads the money list and Charles Schwab Cup points race.

Montgomerie, second in the Schwab Cup standings, was another stroke back after a 66. He has two major victories this year.

Defending champion Russ Cochran was 4 under after a 69.

On the Canadian watch, Stephen Ames and Rod Spittle have a share of 49th place at even-par 144. Jim Rutledge is tied for 65th at 2-over 146.

VILAMOURA, Portugal – Alexander Levy will start the final day of the Portugal Masters with a three-shot lead after the rest of the field failed to catch the Frenchman while finishing a rain-hit second round on Saturday.

Levy was one of a small group to finish the second round on Friday as scheduled, taking the lead with a round of 10-under 61 before rain forced play to be suspended and the event was reduced to 54 holes.

More thundershowers, which included a threat of lightning, and a water-logged course delayed play again on Saturday at the Oceanico Victoria Golf Club.

Belgium’s Nicolas Colsaerts, whose opening round of 60 came one shot shy of a European Tour record, is in second place after hitting 4-under 67 to finally finish the second round.

“It’s always difficult to follow a really low score, but I’m quite happy with the way I played on the back nine coming in,” said Colsaerts.

“As I showed yesterday and today, if you get off rhythm a little bit and you don’t fully take advantage of the course, others will make up ground.”

Felipe Aguilar of Chile is five strokes back in third after carding a second round of 7-under 64 on the strength of eight birdies to go with one bogey.

Romain Wattel, Richard Bland and Morten Orum Madsen are joint fourth at seven shots off the pace.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum made six birdies on the front nine on her way to a 6-under 65 Saturday that gave her a three-shot lead after the third round of the LPGA Malaysia tournament.

Pornanong moved to 14-under 199 at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club, ahead of Japan’s Ayako Uehara, who had three consecutive birdies from the 12th hole in a round of 69.

Four players were tied for third a stroke further back, including second-round leader So Yeon Ryu, who had double bogeys at both the 17th and 18th to give up her lead.

Her South Korean compatriot Chella Choi was also at 10 under after a 68, along with China’s Shanshan Feng (69) and New Zealand’s Lydia Ko (70).

NAPA, Calif. – Martin Laird wasn’t sure what to expect out of his game after a seven-week break. He hasn’t found too much wrong after two rounds of the Frys.com Open.

Laird bounced back from his first bogey of the new PGA Tour season by running off four straight birdies around the turn. One last birdie on the par-5 18th at Silverado gave him a second straight 5-under 67 and a one-shot lead over Bae Sang-moon and Zach Blair going into the weekend.

Blair was among 11 rookies to make the cut in their debut as PGA Tour members. Among those rookies was Canada’s Adam Hadwin, who is tied for 12th at at 5-under 139.

The other two Canadians to make the cut were Graham DeLaet (71-70–141, -3) and David Hearn (72-71–143, -1).

Silverado hadn’t hosted a PGA Tour event since 1980, and it appeared the players were starting to figure out how to navigate the tight, winding fairways and small greens that are all about being on the right side of the hole.

There were 13 rounds at 67 or better, compared with only three in the opening round.

One of them belonged to Jimmy Walker, one of four players fresh off the Ryder Cup who came to the Frys.com Open. Walker opened with a 75, and then he followed that with eight birdies in a round of 66 that got him to the weekend with room to spare.

Hunter Mahan and Matt Kuchar each had a 68 and were at least in range of Laird. Lee Westwood played in the morning through a marine layer that made conditions more difficult. He shot a 69 to make the cut by one shot.

Laird was at 10-under 134.

“You never know how you’re going to play after seven weeks off like I had,” Laird said. “Just to come out and put back-to-back 67s up and play very solid – very solid 67s – I’m extremely happy.”

He made a sloppy bogey on the sixth hole with a poor tee shot into the bunker, hitting into another bunker some 80 feet from the flag and missing an 8-foot putt. He had to scramble for par on the next hole, and then he took off.

After a pair of short birdie putts, Laird rolled in a birdie from 20 feet on No. 10, and then made another birdie putt from the same range up the ridge toward a tucked pin on the par-3 11th.

Bae made all three of his birdies on the par 5s and was at 135.

Blair finished second in the final Web.com Tour Finals event to get his card, and kept right on rolling at Silverado. He had six birdies against no bogeys, picking up four shots on his final nine holes to get within one shot of the lead.

Scott Langley, in his first event since his wife gave birth to their first child, had a 66 and was at 8-under 136, along with David Lingmerth and Mark Hubbard, who had a hole-in-one on the seventh hole on his way to a 65.

Laird had more time off than he wanted. A three-time winner on the PGA Tour, he felt his game slipping away when he went back to swing coach Mark McCann and started putting the pieces back together. It was too late to salvage his season. Laird wound up at No. 127 in the FedEx Cup standings – missing by 13 points – and had a month off.

There also were two open weeks around the Ryder Cup in his native Scotland.

When he met with McCann during his break to keep working on his game, the swing was in such good shape that they spent the majority of time working on his short game. That much was evident when he missed the green on the par-3 seventh hole and hit a tricky pitch to 6 feet for par, and on the 18th with a wedge from the first cut that spun back a few feet from the cup.

“I’ve definitely seen it this week,” Laird said of the short-game work. “I’m putting good. My wedge game was pretty bad last year, and we really worked on that. My shot on the last … it’s nice when you do the hard work and then you hit a wedge shot on the last hole to tap-in range almost. It makes it worthwhile.”

Jarrod Lyle, who earned a spot through Monday qualifying, had a 70 to make the cut in his first PGA Tour event since he had a recurrence of leukemia nearly two years ago.

VILAMOURA, Portugal – Alexander Levy of France surged into the clubhouse lead on Friday with a 10-under 61 in the rain-affected second round at the Portugal Masters.

A downpour interrupted play for most of the afternoon and darkness fell on the course before most players could complete their rounds. The second round will resume early Saturday, with the event reduced to 54 holes.

The rain did not appear to hinder Levy, who made 10 birdies in a flawless round to move to 18-under 124.

Only six players completed their rounds, with Rafa Cabrera-Bello of Spain (69) and Thomas Aiken of South Africa (67) tied for second, nine shots behind.

Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium, who narrowly missed out on a 59 on Thursday, was second on the leaderboard at 15 under through 16 holes.

CARY, N.C. – Guy Boros birdied the final hole Friday for a 6-under 66 and a one-stroke lead over Tom Lehman and Marco Dawson after the first round of the Champions Tour’s SAS Championship.

Boros, the son of late Hall of Famer Julius Boros, turned 50 on Sept. 4 and is playing in his second event on the tour. He won the PGA Tour’s 1996 Greater Vancouver Open.

“The most important thing my dad taught me was to have a good time,” Boros said. “If you’re not enjoying something it’s tough. But he absolutely loved the game. I wish it would have rubbed off on me a little more, but I do enjoy playing. I like it very much.

“I putted good in the qualifier on Monday, and I switch putters every other week it seems like. Hopefully, I’ll keep putting well and I’ll stick with this one quite a while.”

Lehman said the course was set up well for aggressive golf.

“I think hitting it in the fairway is a really important part of the equation here and I drove it in the fairway a lot,” Lehman said. “Once you drive it in the fairway, you can get aggressive and start attacking the pins. The pins were actually in pretty good spots today.”

Dawson also was optimistic after his start.

“I actually managed my game well around the course,” Dawson said. “I hit the right shots when I needed to. I think I pulled the right clubs. I didn’t hit any foul balls, and I didn’t hit any that were way long or way short. And I didn’t really hit any bad putts.”

Hale Irwin, the 69-year-old star who won the 2005 tournament at Prestonwood, opened with a 68 – the seventh time he has bettered his age this year. He had six birdies and a double bogey on No. 8.

“I played OK,” Irwin said. “When you look at my score today and when you look at (playing partner) Tom (Lehman’s) score and how he’s playing and there’s got to be more than one-stroke difference – he played very well and could have scored lower than that. I’m not happy with the way it ended, but all in all I played well today.”

Hawaii Championship winner Paul Goydos and Larry Mize also shot 68.

Defending champion Russ Cochran had a 72.

Bernhard Langer, the 2012 winner, and Colin Montgomerie, shot 73. Playing partner Nick Faldo had a 70.

Langer has a tour-high five victories – two of them majors – and leads the money list and Charles Schwab Cup points race. Montgomerie has two major victories this year and is second in the Schwab Cup standings.

Tom Byrum had a hole-in-one on the island-green eighth in a 76.

Stephen Ames is the top Canauck thru 18 holes. He opened with a 1-over 73. Rod Spittle carded a 75 Friday, while Jim Rutledge had a 78.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – So Yeon Ryu of South Korea shot a 6-under 65 on Friday to take a two-stroke lead halfway through the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia, the second event of the tour’s six-tournament Asian swing.

Ryu, the reigning Canadian Pacific Women’s Open champion, had seven birdies and a bogey to move to an 11-under total of 131, leading a group of four players including Japan’s Akayo Uehara, whose second-round 63 contained eight birdies.

Also at 9 under were Lydia Ko of New Zealand and Jodi Ewart Shadoff of England, who both carded 64s in the second round, and Eun Hee Ji, who shot 67.

Top-ranked Stacy Lewis, who shot 65 to take the first-round lead, slipped to a share of 11th place with a 71.

South Korean golfers have won six of the past seven LPGA tournaments.

NAPA, Calif. – The new PGA Tour season felt like an old one to a trio of Ryder Cup players Thursday at the Frys.com Open.

Hunter Mahan, Matt Kuchar and Jimmy Walker met on the 10th tee at Silverado. With a morning chill in the air and beautiful scenery of Napa Valley, it was vaguely similar to the rolling hills of Gleneagles just two weeks ago at the Ryder Cup.

Except that no one was singing. There was hardly anyone in the grandstand, or on the golf course.

“It’s a little strange off the tee when no one is really here at 7:45,” Mahan said after opening with a 2-under 70, leaving him four shots out of the lead. “And out there at 7, everyone is singing along and the party is already started.”

It was back to normal for those three Americans, along with Lee Westwood of England, who made two late birdies to salvage a 73.

And it was another chance for Andres Gonzalez, who made it back to the PGA Tour for the third time. He has yet to keep his card, and while this was only the first round of the new wraparound season, he was plenty happy with no bogeys on his card and a 6-under 66.

Sang-Moon Bae made seven birdies in the afternoon and joined Gonzalez at 66. They were a shot ahead of Martin Laird. Brooks Koepka was in a large group at 68.

The star attraction at the Frys.com Open was the Ryder Cup trio, and there were about 500 people tagging along by the end of their round. The par-5 ninth summed up the round for each of them.

Mahan lagged perfectly from 75 feet for a two-putt birdie. Kuchar showed off a sharp short game, and his pitch from short of the green struck the pin and settled about a foot away. He shot 71. Walker thought his full wedge was perfect until it took a hard hop and landed in a gnarly spot in the rough, leading to a bogey and a 75.

Most of them would have preferred at least another week off.

Walker is defending a title for the first time in his career. Mahan and Kuchar are at the Frys.com Open as part of a deal with the PGA Tour for letting them play an exhibition in Turkey two years ago. Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy also were supposed to play this year until they deferred, McIlroy because he was wiped out from a busy summer of winning back-to-back majors, Woods while he tries to regain his explosiveness from back surgery earlier in the year.

The tour is in its second year of a wraparound season that starts in October and ends with the Tour Championship in September, and it’s still hard to digest that everyone is starting over at Silverado.

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C. and Ottawa’s Brad Fritsch lead the Canadians after opening with matching 2-under 70s. They duo has a share of 25th spot.

Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask. was a shot back, carding a 71, while Brantford, Ont. native David Hearn is at even-par thanks to a 72.

Brights Grove, Ont.’s Mike Weir opened with a 73 and Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C. shot 74.

Thursday’s round marked Hadwin and Taylor’s first as full-time members of the PGA Tour.

One of the hot topics in golf at the moment is pace of play.

Pace of play is affected by many factors, including player ability and behaviour, management practices and course difficulty and set-up. Many commentators argue that golf nowadays takes too long, that slow round times are driving people away from the game and that something needs to be done. Conversely, others would say that golf is not a race, that not everyone wants to play in a hurry and that some courses are just not capable of being played in under four hours.

The R&A is interested to hear the views from golfers around the world on this issue and has compiled a survey with this in mind.

Please take a few moments to fill out their survey by clicking here.