Frazar's birdie barrage leaves rivals flailing

Harrison Frazar birdied the last three holes to take a one-stroke lead after the third round of the Sony Open here on Saturday.

Frazar, who has never won on the PGA Tour, carded a four-under-par 66. He reached 14-under-par 196 with one round left, a shot ahead of the defending champion, Ernie Els, who also shot 66.

Frazar has never cracked the top 60 on the money list in six seasons on the Tour but has recorded two runner-up finishes and three third places. With most of the gallery following the big names, the pair were able to play in relative anonymity in the final pairing.

The 14-year-old, Michelle Wie, was disappointed when she learned late on Friday that she had missed the cut by one stroke, despite carding a two-day 140 to tie with the US Open champion, Jim Furyk, and the Open champion, Ben Curtis.

HAWAIIAN OPEN (Honolulu) Leading third-round scores (US unless stated): 196 H Frazar 67 63 66. 197 E Els (SA) 67 64 66. 198 D Love III 70 65 63; F Lickliter II 71 62 65. 199 P Azinger 67 66 66; S Allan (Aus) 67 62 70. 200 B Baird 68 66 66. 201 R Goosen (SA) 67 69 65; S Ames (Trin) 66 70 65; C Barlow 66 69 66; C Pavin 68 67 66; J Riegger 68 66 67. 202 M Allen 68 69 65; J Byrd 67 69 66; J Kelly 68 65 69. 203 B Van Pelt 71 65 67; C Franco (Par) 63 72 68; J Kaye 67 68 68; C Bowden 70 64 69; J Huston 67 67 69; J Parnevik (Swe) 65 68 70; L Donald (GB) 66 66 71. Selected: 204 V Singh (Fiji) 69 68 67. 205 Aaron Baddeley (Aus) 66 72 67.