Levin, five strokes ahead after the completion of the second round Saturday morning, had four birdies and a bogey in the third round to reach 17 under. The bogey on the par-5 15th was his first since the opening hole
BY JOHN NICHOLSON | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Spencer Levin passed on Phoenix Open title sponsor Waste Management’s green-out, wearing a simple black-and-white outfit.
He didn’t exactly soften his carbon footprint, either, leaving a trail of cigarette smoke and butts in his wake as he increased his big lead at TPC Scottsdale.
“You mean guys in the crowd?” he asked when questioned about fans giving him grief for smoking on the course. “Oh, yeah, (they get on me) every time, but I enjoy it (smoking),” Levin said. “They were asking to bum them from me, too.”
He has lit up the Stadium Course so far, too, stringing together rounds of 65, 63 and 68 to open a six-stroke lead in pursuit of a breakthrough PGA Tour victory.
He wasn’t quite as sharp with his belly putter as he was the first two days, but remained firmly in control in front of the largest crowd in tournament history, a noisy gathering of 173,210 in perfect conditions.
“It was fun for sure, but I was trying to focus, too,” Levin said about the huge crowd and party atmosphere. “You don’t get that too often, all those people cheering.”
Levin, five strokes ahead after the completion of the second round Saturday morning, had four birdies and a bogey in the third round to reach 17 under. The bogey on the par-5 15th was his first since the opening hole of the tournament.
