(Reuters) – Overnight co-leader Martin Laird holed out from the bunker for a sensational eagle on the ninth to take a three-stroke lead over Austin Cook and Matthew Wolff midway through his final round at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas on Sunday.
Laird was cruising along with two birdies and a bogey through eight holes before running into trouble on the par-five ninth, when his second shot found the greenside bunker and the ball buried itself deep into the sand.
The 37-year-old former champion kept his composure and as a cloud of sand flew into the air, he rolled the ball into the hole to move to 23-under for the tournament with nine holes to play.
The Scot is gunning for his first win on the PGA Tour since 2013 as he works his way back from knee surgery five months ago.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles, editing by Ed Osmond)
