Jerry Kelly posted a 1-over par 71 on Saturday and will take a one-shot lead into the finale of the 2018 U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor.
Kelly entered the day one up on the field and after turning in 34 his lead had swelled to three. But after a bogey on No. 10, and a three-putt (from 2 feet) double bogey on No. 12, the lead had vanished.
Kelly (-4) suddenly found himself down one to college teammate Tim Petrovic (-5).
“I mean, I told you guys yesterday, I’m a jumpy putter. I’m a very good putter, but those types of things happen to me. I understood what I did, I know what I do in those situations, pick the putter up, bang it down on the ball and it squirts a different direction. So I know it and then I could just move on after that,” said Kelly describing his incredible three-putt from 2 feet.
“Now did it unnerve me a little bit? Yeah, absolutely.
“So hanging in there after that, that next up-and-down was fantastic. That ball was not sitting pretty and I took a pretty large swing from a short distance.
“So I was very happy to get that within about, within a foot, after the hole before. So, but then I was a little tentative coming in. I struck the ball well all week and I know I can get the putter going at any moment and I’ll just keep striking it well.”
Kelly regained the lead after Petrovic bogeyed three of his final four holes to sign for a 71, and drop back to 2-under par, one behind David Toms, who carded a bogey-free 66 to move up to second place.
“When you’re playing in a major, and when you have the course setup like it is, pars are gold, but sometimes a bogey can be as good as a par,” said said a surprisingly upbeat Petrovic.
“It sounds silly, but just got to take your medicine and live to fight another day.
“I think my caddie felt worse than I did on 18. But I told him, hey, we took the club and it didn’t carry the bunker. And it is what it is. And we didn’t want it to go down the rabbit hole down there, down the bottom of the bunker, but that’s what happened. But we made our bogey. And we’ll move on.
“And it’s going to be fun tomorrow. It’s going to be a little dogfight. We got four, five, six, somebody gets hot that’s five back, they could win it.”
Kirk Triplett (68) was T3 alongside Petrovic.
Another shot back were Brandt Jobe (66), Paul Goydos (70) and Miguel Angel Jimenez (73).
THE TOP 10
1. Jerry Kelly -4
2. David Toms -3
3. Kirk Triplett -2
3. Tim Petrovic -2
5. Brandt Jobe -1
5. Paul Goydos -1
5. Miguel Angel Jimenez -1
8. Kevin Sutherland E
8. Paul Broadhurst E
8. Davis Love III E
NOTABLES
11. Colin Montgomerie +1
15. Lee Janzen +3
17. Bernhard Langer +4
17. Gene Sauers +4
17. Rocco Mediate +4
26. Vijay Singh +5
29. Fred Couples +6
34. Jeff Maggert +7
49. Scott McCarron +10
STAT LEADERS
DRIVING
1. Jeff Wilson (a) – 318.92 (T34)
2. Davis Love III – 315.90 (T8)
3. Grant Waite – 315.02 (T54)
41. Jerry Kelly – 289.03 (1)
FAIRWAYS
1. Jerry Kelly – 36/42, 90.5% (1)
2. John Cook – 35/42, 83.3% (T45)
3. Rocco Mediate – 34/42, 81.0% (T17)
3. Gene Sauers – 34/42, 81.0% (T17)
GREENS
1. Kevin Sutherland – 47/54, 87.0% (1)
2. Davis Love III – 43/54, 79.6% (T8)
2. Jerry Kelly – 43/54, 79.6% (1)
VIDEO: SHOT OF THE DAY
Miguel Angel Jimenez finished the day with a 3-over par 73, which included just one birdie. But the flamboyant Spaniard made that one gain a memorable one – chipping in from off the green and out of the USGA’s infamous long stuff.
QUOTABLE
“I just knew that I was doing everything fine. You just have to trust that. Like I said, I told my caddie, I knew, don’t worry, I know exactly what I did, it’s something that I do. I’ve gone entire rounds and entire tournaments doing that. Now it only takes me one quick 3-putt.”
– Jerry Kelly
