Woodland Takes Charge at Reno-Tahoe Open


Gary Woodland tallied 16 points in Saturday's third round to take over the leaderboard's top spot in the Reno-Tahoe Open. The $3 million PGA Tour stop is being played in a modified Stableford scoring system at Montreux Golf Club.

Woodland, a 29-year-old Kansan with one win on the PGA Tour, carded six birdies, an eagle on the par-5 second hole and a lone bogey to reach 37 points through 54 holes, seven ahead of Brendon Steele, who tallied the most points Saturday with 17.

American David Mathis starts the final round with 29 points, while second-round leader Andres Romero of Argentina has 27.

"Today was an interesting day," said Woodland, who started the third round with 21 points, one behind Romero. "I felt like I hit it really well, I just didn't hit many greens, especially early in the round. All in all, my short game saved me today."

Woodland knows what he needs to do Sunday to secure his second Tour title, following his win in the 2011 Transitions Championship. "Obviously, if you make birdies, you can move up quickly," he said. "Somebody can hole out on a par-5 and all the sudden a seven-point lead vanishes."

Steele had an amazing back nine Saturday to rise into contention. The 30-year-old Californian carded six birdies in the first eight holes and capped it off with an eagle on the par-5 18th for an 8-under 28.

His 17 points on the back nine matched the best one-day record in the format, equaling the mark J.B. Holmes set last year and tied by Rod in Friday's second round.

"It doesn't happen that often," Steele said of his explosive home half. "You really have to enjoy it when it does. I mean, I didn't know what the score even was, but as far as the score goes, it's probably the best I've ever had."

For updated scores, visit http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/reno-tahoe-open/leaderboard.html.