(From left to right) Monday's final group: Bobby Wyatt, Jordan Spieth and Corey Whitsett.
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Bobby Wyatt has company at the AJGA’s HP Boys Championship.
A day after carding eight birdies in a 7-under 65 to build a three-shot lead, the 17-year-old high school senior from Mobile, Ala., shot 72 and saw his lead drop to two shots with 18 holes to play at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas.
Wyatt, No. 4 in the Golfweek Junior Rankings, is at 7-under 137.
“I really just couldn’t get comfortable over the ball all day,” Wyatt said. “It wasn’t nearly as pretty as yesterday. You got to slow it down a little bit and take it shot-by-shot like always and keep fighting.”
Chasing him is former U.S. Junior Amateur champions Jordan Spieth (2009) and Cory Whitsett (2007). Spieth, Golfweek’s top-ranked junior, recovered from a bogey at No. 3 and a triple bogey at No. 4 to card six birdies over his next 14 holes. He shot 71 and was in second place at 5-under 139.
“The course played more difficult today with the wind and the pin placements and I don’t think it’s going to get any easier,” Spieth said. “I think Bobby is disappointed after today so I guarantee he’s going to shoot an under-par round tomorrow. It’s going to take a really good round to beat him.”
Whitsett (70) made 10 consecutive pars to close his round and moved from T-6 to solo third at 3-under 141.
“I made all my par putts that I needed to, and they were pretty significant,” Whitsett said. “I could have been six or seven back just as easily if those putts don’t go in.”
Dallas native Spieth, 16, will play for Texas in the fall of 2011. Houston native Whitsett, 18, and Wyatt will play for Alabama in the fall of 2010.
All three will be paired together in the final round Monday.
“I’m a little disappointed. I’ll be tag-teamed by a couple Alabama kids,” Spieth said with a smile. “It will be a lot of fun and we know that.”
Wyatt, who won the 2009 Junior Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, was in danger of seeing his lead drop to just a shot, but birdied the par-4 18th.
Despite a bogey on his final hole, Anthony Paolucci carded the round of the day – a 4-under 68 – and moved from T-38 to a tie for sixth.
Ian McConnell (73) and Motin Yeung (73) were tied for fourth at 1-under 143.
– Information from the AJGA was used in this report.
