Johnson, Goydos duel looms

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February 14, 2010

Dustin Johnson and Paul Goydos look set for a final round duel at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Dustin Johnson’s defence of his AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am title on the cliffs of Carmel on the Monterey Peninsula remained on track as he entered the final round tied for the lead and four strokes clear of the field alongside Paul Goydos.
Johnson and Goydos, who both posted sparkling eight-under-par 64s, were in a share of the lead alongside four others at the halfway point, but moved to 18 under on ‘moving Saturday’ and will tee up along side each other in a final-round shootout at Pebble Beach on Sunday.
Bryce Molder, JB Holmes and Matt Jones were leading the chase on 14 under, while Alex Cejka was alone in sixth place, five strokes off the pace, and three players were on 12 under and three more on 11 under.
The duo, both seeking their third PGA Tour titles, had low-scoring rounds on the penultimate day.
Johnson carded two eagles and six birdies against two bogeys at Spyglass Hill during his second 64 of the week, while Goydos was blemish free as he made six birdies and an eagle at Pebble Beach.
Johnson opened with a three on the par-five first and was six under through seven holes after birdies at the third, fourth, sixth and seventh before completing his outbound nine in 30 strokes.
The 25-year-old made a bogey five on the par-four 10th, only to immediately make amends with his second eagle and then birdies at the 14th and 17th before a closing bogey prevented him from taking the sole lead going into the final round.
“Getting off to a good start, that’s the key for me,” admitted Johnson, who won this event last year when it was shortened to three rounds by bad weather.
“I hit two great shots just right past the flag and eagled the first hole. I’m very pleased with my round. Hit the ball great and putted good. Feeling very confident and looking forward to tomorrow.”
Goydos, beginning on the 10th at Pebble Beach, was three under after six holes but his return nine – the front nine – featured an eagle at the second and birdies on holes four, seven and nine. There were no bogies in his 64.
Molder and Holmes, who were playing at Spyglass Hill, and Jones – on Monterey Peninsula – carded four under rounds, while Cejka, who had also shared the halfway lead, made three under at Pebble Beach and was the leading European heading into the final 18 holes.
JP Hayes signed for a seven under 63 to join David Duval and Steve Marino on 12 under, while KJ Choi, DJ Trahan and Tom Pernice Jr were one shot further back.
England’s Greg Owen was level with Phil Mickelson on 10 under, with Padraig Harrington of Ireland on nine under alongside four others.

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