David Toms put the pedal down Saturday, carding a bogey-free 9-under 63 to take control of the Chubb Classic at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Fla.

Toms heads into the final round at 14-under 130, three clear of Australia’s Michael Wright, who stayed in the mix with a 4-under 68 to reach 11 under for the tournament.

“Any time you make nine birdies, you obviously rolled the ball well,” Toms said after the round. “That was the key today. Speed was good on the greens. Once you don’t really have to think about the speed, if you can just think about the line and the speed come natural, that’s the way I putted today and it worked really well.”

Despite the three-stroke lead, Toms knows a win on Sunday will need another strong round, as another golfer could make a push up the leaderboard just like he did on Saturday.

“I’ll have to go out and play really good golf again,” Toms said. “I’m sure there is somebody that’s four, five shots back that will play a similar round like I did today, so you got to go out there and make it happen when you can.”

Wright could have been closer to the lead but double-bogeyed the par-4 17th before finishing his round with a birdie on 18.

“We had a little bit of an issue with Darren’s (Clarke) tee shot and I was a little bit rattled,” Wright said of his adventure on the 17th hole. “My emotions were running a little bit high standing over that shot. I unfortunately got — had a 6-iron and cut it a bit too much. I didn’t think it was as bad as it ended up being, but it ended up being just terrible. I had like a stick right behind the ball that I couldn’t move because it would’ve moved the ball.

“… Next thing you know, (I) had a 6 on the card. Really good chip to get it up and down for a 6. Could have made more. Fortunately got that up and down. Then did a good job on the last to make birdie.”

Justin Leonard and Ricardo Gonzalez of Argentina share third at 10 under after matching 68s, giving Sunday plenty of depth behind the leader.

A shot further back, Argentine Angel Cabrera and Steve Flesch are tied for fifth at 9 under, with Flesch’s round punctuated by an eagle on the closing par-5.

Not everyone held their ground. Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland, who shared the first-round lead with Wright after eagling two of his last four holes, slid back to a tie for 26th at 3 under after a 76.

–Field Level Media

MILAN, Italy — Dutchman Jens van ‘t Wout struck gold in the men’s 1500 meters short track on Saturday, his second individual title, as the Netherlands continued their strong showing at the Milan Cortina Games.

South Korean reigning champion Hwang Dae-heon came second, while Latvia’s Roberts Kruzbergs won the bronze.

“This race with nine people was like a table of roulette in the casino. And the fact that I can win like this, really fight well. It’s insane,” Van ‘t Wout said.

There were extra skaters in the finals because of reinstatements after crashes in the semi-finals.

Van ‘t Wout said that he had been shown a video of the 2022 final in Beijing, which featured 10 skaters, just before the race to get his tactics right.

“I thought, let’s see what the winner did then. And that was to sit at the front of the race. So that’s what I tried to do,” he added.

The victories are a vindication for the 24-year-old who has a visible scar on his cheek after a skating accident in 2019 that almost caused him to quit the sport.

In the women’s events, Arianna Fontana maintained her quest for an Italian record 14th Olympic medal when she qualified for the quarterfinals of the 1000 meters and made it to the final of the 3000 meters relay with her national team.

“Today it was mission accomplished,” she told reporters.

THIRD GOLD FOR THE NETHERLANDS IN SHORT TRACK

Van ‘t Wout and compatriot Xandra Velzeboer had doubled up on Thursday as she took the women’s 500 meters gold, while he won the men’s 1000 meters crown.

The Dutch skater took the lead with four laps to go on Saturday in the Milan Ice Skating Arena and never gave it up. He skated around the ice draped in the red, white and blue Dutch flag to celebrate after his victory.

After the medal ceremony, he greeted his parents in the crowd.

“Every time I look at my dad, he’s like: how are you doing this? And I’m like: I have no idea,” he said.

The victory by the Dutch skater ended South Korea’s winning streak in Beijing and Pyeongchang.

KRUZBERGS HOPES BRONZE MAKES SHORT TRACK POPULAR IN LATVIA

Latvia’s Kruzbergs, who had not been considered among the favorites, said he was very happy with his bronze medal.

“Hopefully this brings some recognition to the sport itself in Latvia. And this is an incredible achievement. I’m just super happy that the medal is here, you know. I’m extremely, extremely happy that with a knee injury I’m able to get it,” he said.

China’s Sun Long, who won silver in the 1000 meters on Thursday, suffered an injury just below the knee following a collision during the final, and members of his delegation had to help him exit the rink.

–Reuters, special to Field Level Media

The Arizona Diamondbacks signed veteran right-hander Paul Sewald to a one-year, $1.5 million deal on Saturday.

Sewald, who turns 36 in May, was part of the Diamondbacks’ 2023 squad that lost to the Texas Rangers in the World Series.

Sewald was acquired from the Seattle Mariners at the trade deadline in 2023 and recorded 13 saves in 20 appearances to help Arizona snag the sixth and final National League wild-card spot. He was 1-0 with six saves in eight scoreless innings over the first three rounds of the playoffs before giving up six runs in two innings in the World Series when the Diamondbacks lost to the Texas Rangers in five games.

Sewald had 16 saves while going 1-2 with a 4.31 ERA in 42 appearances for Arizona in 2024. He split last season with the Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers and went 1-1 with a 4.58 ERA in 22 appearances.

Sewald first reached the majors with the New York Mets in 2017 and he lost his first 14 career decisions before getting his first win on Sept. 24, 2019. He spent four seasons with the Mets before joining the Mariners prior to the 2021 season.

He had had 52 saves with Seattle and had a career-best 34 saves in the 2023 campaign that he split with the Mariners (21 saves) and Arizona. Overall, Sewald is 21-26 with a 4.11 ERA and 86 saves in 381 career relief appearances over nine seasons.

Sewald was a 10th-round pick in 2012 out of the University of San Diego.

Arizona opened a 40-man roster spot by placing right-hander Justin Martinez (elbow) on the 60-day injured list. Martinez is 6-8 with 14 saves and a 3.77 ERA in 91 career relief appearances.

The Diamondbacks also announced that right-hander Merrill Kelly will be the Opening Day starter against the host Los Angeles Dodgers on March 26.

Kelly rejoined Arizona on a two-year, $40 million deal. The Diamondbacks traded him to the Rangers at the 2025 trading Deadline. He joined Arizona for his first run in 2019. Kelly has a 65-53 record and 3.77 ERA in 172 career starts.

–Field Level Media