Sunday, October 21, 2001
Coceres shoots to the top at
Disney
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Jose
Coceres must feel like he's in Fantasyland, and not just because
the National Car Rental Classic is across the street from the
Magic Kingdom.
He grew up in a two-room house in Argentina,
sharing three beds with 10 brothers and sisters. He learned to
play golf with branches and rocks, and worked as a caddie until
he could find support for his professional career.
With an 8-under-par 64 on Saturday, matching
the best score of the day, Coceres built a three-stroke lead over
Davis Love III and was in prime position to win for the second
time this year on the PGA Tour.
He also won in Hilton Head after a playoff
that lasted until Monday.
“I'm very happy for playing very good
today,” said Coceres, who mixes Spanish with the few English
words he knows. “Now, I start in the front. But tomorrow
is a new day. My confidence is very good.”.
Despite the language barrier, Love said
he and Coceres occasionally talked. The conversation on a blustery
afternoon went something like this:
“Good shot, Jose.”
“Good putt, Jose.”
While 61 players in the field shot par or
better, none was as efficient as Coceres. He missed only three
greens and took 25 putts, a combination that works anywhere.
“He has a real good attitude,”
Love said. “And obviously, he's comfortable with the putter.”
That anyone had a lead as large as three
strokes was surprising, especially since six players claimed a
share of the lead at one point on the Magnolia Course. But the
Argentine took control with a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-5
10th hole, and never gave it back.
He finished with a birdie on the 18th, pointing
to the cup with glee as it fell to put him at 19-under 197. Coceres
will try to become the first foreign player to win at Disney World.
But he has plenty of work left.
Love had a poor round striking the ball
and still managed a 67. Another stroke back was Vijay Singh, who
birdied the first four holes on the back nine to get back into
the picture.
Eleven players are within five strokes of
the lead, including Tiger Woods.
The scoring was so low, and the names were
so bunched, that Woods got to within three shots of the lead at
one point and couldn't be found on the first two pages of the
electronic leaderboard.
He finished with a birdie for a 67 that
put him at 203.
“I've never seen a leaderboard like
this where there is this many guys bunched together with a chance
to win,” Woods said.
He certainly won't rule himself out. A year
ago, Woods cautioned people not to pay sole attention to the top
of the leaderboard because someone from back in the pack was capable
of a 62. That's just what Duffy Waldorf posted to win the tournament.
“Hopefully, I can do the same tomorrow,”
Woods said.
Love, who took advantage just about every
time he managed to hit close, lost ground to Coceres with a three-putt
bogey on No. 14, ending a streak of 71 holes at par or better
dating to the 14th hole of the fourth round at Las Vegas.
“I played good enough to stay right
there,” Love said. “If I get off to a hot start, maybe
that will slow him down.”
Stuart Appleby and Scott McCarron each had
65 to join Singh at 201, while the group at 202 included two-time
U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen (65) and Kaname Yokoo of Japan,
whose second-round lead was gone by the time he got to the first
tee. He had a 71.
Joining Woods at 203 were Jesper Parnevik
and PGA champion David Toms, who was poised to make a move until
a four-putt for double bogey on No. 16.
Coceres had no such concerns.
Asked to sum up his round, the Argentine
used the few English words he knows: “Ten pars, eight birdies.”
It was about that simple.
Love was OK with the flat stick, but simply
didn't give himself enough opportunities. One was on the par-5
fourth, when he hit a 3-iron into 15 feet and holed it for eagle
to join the leaders for the first time.
He had only three birdie putts inside 10
feet the rest of the way, and converted only one of them. Still,
a 4-footer to save par was important.
“I'm in good position,” Love said.
“I'm playing with the guy I'm chasing, and that makes it
a little easier.”
Divots: The final round will start four
hours earlier, with the leaders going off at 10 a.m. because tournament
officials anticipate thunderstorms forcing delays. ... On the
bag for Tom Lehman this week is Sports Illustrated columnist Rick
Reilly, who is trying to caddie for 15 people for a book he is
writing. Of seven loops, this is his first on the PGA Tour. Lehman
had a 66 and was at 204. “I only cost him three shots,”
Reilly said. ... Only 10 of the 71 players failed to break par
on Saturday. One of those 10 was Jerry Smith, who had a 73 to
fall from second place to a tie for 19th.
Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
Send the URL (Address)
of This Story to A Friend:
|
