Cink sets another scoring mark, keeps lead at RBC Heritage

<p>HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. &mdash; Stewart Cink maintained his five-stroke lead and set another scoring mark at the RBC Heritage with a 2-under 69 on Saturday, moving closer to his third victory at Harbour Town Golf Links. </p>
<p>Cink, 47, cooled off from his pace in the first two rounds, when he shot a pair of 63s for his lowest career 36-hole score and shattered the event’s halfway scoring mark shared by Jack Nicklaus and Phil Mickelson. </p>
<p>This time, Cink scrambled his way to 18-under 195, also a tournament mark for lowest 54-hole score. The record had been held by Justin Leonard at 16-under 197 in 2002. </p>
<p>PGA Championship winner Collin Morikawa was at 13 under after a 67. Emiliano Grillo of Argentina had a 69 and was another shot behind in third. </p>
<p>Matt Wallace of England and Sung-jae Im of South Korea were tied at 11 under. Wallace shot 65 and Im 69. </p>
<p>While Cink slowed down, no one else could dent his large lead amid Harbour Town’s narrow fairways and smallish greens. That left Cink in prime position for a third plaid winner’s jacket for his collection after finishing first in 2000 and 2004. </p>
<p>Cink rallied from behind in both of his previous wins here. His challenge 17 years later will be maintaining his poise on a course where front-runners are often upended. Only once in the past eight tournaments here as the third-round leader come out on top — and that was Webb Simpson last year. </p>
<p>Corey Conners began the day five shots behind Cink and finished with a 72. He was in a group of four at 10 under that included defending champ Simpson. </p>
<p>Simpson, who set the scoring mark of 22 under last June, had the round’s lowest score at 64. </p>
<p>While the first two rounds showed off Cink’s accuracy, this one called on his scrambling ability to stay out front. He was right off the tee on No. 1 and left of the fairway on No. 3, the latter miscue leading to his first bogey since Thursday’s opening hole. </p>
<p>Cink slammed the door on any hope he might falter with back-to-back birdies on the fourth and fifth holes to restore the big lead. </p>
<p>On the back nine, Cink saved par after driving onto the pine straw on No. 11 and again on the next hole after his tee shot stopped against a small, loose branch left of the fairway. </p>
<p>When Cink rolled an 8-footer for birdie on the 14th — his first in 40 rounds on that tricky par 3 — he had a six-shot lead. </p>
<p>Any hope of the world’s top-ranked golfer, Dustin Johnson, making a third-round charge ended with a double-bogey 5 on the par-3 seventh. He shot a 71 and remained at 5 under. </p>
<p>Divots: Si Woo Kim’s birdie putt at No. 3 hung on <a href="https://twitter.com/PGATOUR/status/1383461508772814850">the lip for a minute (actually, more than a minute)</a> before falling in to the smiles of Kim and playing partner, Matt Kuchar. Alas, officials told Kim it was not a birdie since it took much longer than PGA Tour’s 10-second limit. A stroke was added and Kim left with par. … A Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner made a flyover, without incident, at Harbour Town Golf Links on Saturday to the cheers of spectators lining the 18th hole. Boeing, which has a manufacturing plant in North Charleston, is a presenting sponsor of the RBC Heritage.</p>
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