Woodland leads McIlroy in Tournament of Champions

Los Angeles: Gary Woodland eagled the 15th hole in a five-under par 68 on Saturday that kept him three strokes in front of Rory McIlroy atop the US PGA Tour Tournament of Champions leaderboard.

Woodland led McIlroy and two other players going into Saturday’s third round on the Plantation Course at Kapalua, Hawaii. Northern Ireland star McIlroy, a four-time major champion, had pulled level after his fifth birdie of the day at the 14th -- coupled with Woodland’s lone bogey of the day at 12. But Woodland regained control at the par-five 15th, where he rolled in a 64-foot eagle putt to stretch his lead to two, and he birdied the par-five 18th to finish with a 17-under par total of 202. McIlroy, opening his year at Kapalua for the first time, couldn’t take advantage of the two par-fives on the back nine. He gained ground with three birdies in a row at the fourth, fifth and sixth and picked up another stroke at the ninth. He got up and down for birdie from the left rough at the 14th, but wouldn’t find another birdie the rest of the way in his second straight 68 for 205.