Brendan Steele birdies last 3 holes to take three-shot Sony Open lead

Saturday was no time to panic, especially at a Sony Open with so many players in the mix that one shot could lead to a good run and change the landscape in a hurry.

That’s what happened to Brendan Steele.

He went from a share of the lead to three shots behind through four holes. He had one birdie on his card. And then he hit his best shot of the day and seized control of the Sony Open in Honolulu.

Steele hit a 4-iron from 210 yards into a left-to-right wind that he had to turn over to get to a flag on the left side of the green. He hit it to 8 feet for eagle, and he was on his way.

“I needed to really hit it solid, and hit it well, and turn it over,” Steele said. “Did all those things and it ended up being the right number.”

He played the final 10 holes in 7 under, and the number that mattered was 12-under 198, and a three-shot lead over Cameron Smith of Australia going into the final round.

Steele had a share of the lead to start the day, with 23 players separated by three shots. Now only Smith is within three of the lead, and he had to work hard to stay that close. Smith birdied four of his last five holes for a 66.

“It wasn’t looking too pretty at the start there — didn’t start with my best golf,” Smith said. “Got into the swing of things on the back nine. Started to feel a little bit more comfortable with my swing rather than worrying about what I was doing with my swing. Just went ahead and tried to hit some golf shots. It was good to get in that frame of mind before tomorrow.”

Briefly: Louis Oosthuizen is on course to defend his title at the South African Open and takes a one-shot lead into the final round in Johannesburg. ... Wade Ormsby continued his impressive run at the Hong Kong Open with a 4-under 66 to take a two-shot lead.