RICO HOEY of the Philippines failed to sustain the charge and carded an even-par 70 in the third round to fall to a share of 29th in the Sony Open in Hawaii on Saturday.
After a red-hot 64 featuring an eagle and six birdies that put him just three shots off the pace, Mr. Hoey cooled down and managed only two birdies alongside a double bogey to settle for a 35-35 on moving day.
As rivals turned in sub-par scores in the penultimate round, Mr. Hoey found himself down 58 places from his previous standing of joint 11th at seven-under 203 and trails by six strokes JJ Spaun, who surged to the top with a fiery 65 and a 197 total.
Mr. Spaun holds a one-stroke advantage against Stephan Jaeger, Eric Cole and Patrick Fishburn, who are tied at second at 198 after submitting 62, 67, and 68, respectively.
Mr. Hoey entered Round 3 with the intention of picking up from where he left off in the previous round, which he capped with an amazing eagle putt from 56 feet on the par-5 No. 9 of the Waialae Country Club.
The 29-year-old, however, missed birdie opportunities on the front nine and wound up with pars in the first 13.
He finally gained a stroke on the 14th but stumbled with a 5 on the par-3 17th before closing with a birdie on the 18th to salvage an even score for the day. — Olmin Leyba
