Golf is indeed a fickle game as anyone who watched Vijay Singh’s back nine during Saturday’s third round of the Canadian Open.  Mr. Singh was openly disgusted after his drive on the 11th hole appeared headed into the water.  Instead the ball skipped along the bank allowing him to walk off with an easy two putt birdie.  On the 16th hole the man whose practice habits are legendary, hit the worst shot I can remember seeing from him,  an approach shot twenty five yards right of the green, leading to a bogey.  Weird shot.  Weird game.

Despite the shakiness at the end of the round Mr. Singh finds himself with a single shot lead heading into Sunday’s final round. "I’m kind of disappointed with the way I finished," Singh said. "I thought I played better than a 68. I made a lot of mistakes that I normally wouldn’t, but that’s the way golf is. You know, you get good breaks out there as well. I got up and down a few times … and got away with a bad tee shot on 11."  Of the twenty seven times Mr. Singh has held or shared the 54 hole lead he’s finished on top 17 times.  "Hopefully, I can limit those mistakes tomorrow and finish the job," Singh said.

Second round leaders Steve Allan and John Mallinger finished the day in second place at 10 under par, while first round leader Hunter Mahan rebounded nicely from Friday’s 74 with a 67 to claim third place alone at 10 under par. Another stroke back was last years champion Jim Furyk after a round of 69 along with Pat Perez who shot 66.

Mr. Allan had a share of the lead on the 18th tee but a bogey dropped him into a tie for second.  The 33-year-old Australian is seeking his first PGA Tour victory after winning the 1998 German Open and 2002 Australian Open.  "Overall, I played well, but didn’t hole enough putts," Allan said. "You know, I made a couple nice little par putts, but that’s about it. That’s my deal for tomorrow. Hopefully, I can keep hitting the ball well and hole some more putts."

Steven Ames, who is at 5 under par, criticized the greens as being to soft and slow for a national championship.  "They are just exceptionally slow, very soft," said Ames, a naturalized citizen from Trinidad and Tobago. "I think they’re trying to protect the golf course from something. But for a national open, I don’t think it’s the right spot." 

Mike Weir also commented on the greens.  "The greens are very difficult, there’s no question," Weir said. "There’s not many pin placements out here, so many little rolls and bumps for a public-play golf course. No. 6 was unbelievable, and 12 and 14 were incredible pins today."

But it was Mr. Singh who summed up the whys of the setup.  "I’ve never seen pins on those slopey parts. Normally it’s pretty flat," Singh said. "But this week they have managed to find some really difficult ones. … They need to do that, otherwise scoring would be really, really low." 

I am a fan of protecting a course that has rolling, humpy greens by slowing them down from tour standard speeds and putting the pins in locations on or around the slopes rather than the typical flat areas.  Makes putting a little more interesting.  Sunday should be fun as usual, quirky greens and all.