Beljan Continues to Amaze at Disney


Despite having spent the previous night in the hospital and getting only an hour of sleep before the start of the third round, Charlie Beljan carded a 1-under 71 to maintain the lead in the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic.

The $4.7 million event, the final full-field tournament of the year on the PGA Tour, began Thursday on the Magnolia and Palm courses in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The last two rounds are taking place solely on the tougher Magnolia course.

In Friday's round Beljan experienced an elevated heart rate, shortness of breath and heart palpitations that nearly caused him to withdraw. On numerous occasions he wobbled while walking, teetered as he stood, and sat - or laid - down on the turf between shots.

Yet the 28-year-old from Arizona somehow shot an 8-under 64 on the Palm course, one of the most heart-rending performances in recent memory.

On Saturday, the Tour rookie had two bogeys in his first three holes, but birdied the par-5 fourth and par-4 seventh to make the turn in even-par 36. He then birdied the 10th and 11th and a bogey on the par-3 12th before carding pars the rest of the way for a 1-under 35 on the home half.

At stake for Beljan - ranked 139th on the money list before the tournament - is a chance for a big payday and a victory, the first in his short career that would guarantee him a spot inside the top-125 on the money list and a Tour card for 2013. He needs a top-10 finish this week to move into the top 125.

Before starting play Saturday, Beljan, who suffered from what was described as a bad panic attack Friday, said he was going to give it his best in the third round. "I look forward to having some fun today," he said during a Q&A with reporters Saturday morning. "And we'll see what happens. It's a dream come true."

What happened is that through 54 holes he stands at 13-under 203, two shots ahead of Brian Gay (67), Josh Teater (67) and Charlie Wi (70).

Sharing fifth at 206 are Vaughn Taylor (68), Robert Garrigus (70), Camilo Villegas (70), Matt Every (70), Tommy Gainey (70), Daniel Chopra (70) and Henrick Stenson (71).

Four strokes behind Beljan are Ryan Palmer (67), Cameron Beckman (69), Brendon de Jonge (70) and Scott Stallings (71).

For all the scores, visit http://www.pgatour.com/r/leaderboard.