Sunday, January 6,
2002
Perry
strong in the wind to take lead at Mercedes
By Doug Ferguson
Associated Press
KAPALUA, Hawaii —
Scott Verplank eagled the final hole to catch Kenny Perry after
three rounds of the Mercedes Championships, the season-opening
tournament that is looking more like a tuneup for the British
Open.
In gusts up to 40
mph, so strong that tournament officials moved up four tees once
the third round started, Verpank still managed a 3-under-par 70
and was at 206. Perry three-putted the 18th for a 71 and was also
at 13 under.
Chris DiMarco had
a 5-under 68, despite a double bogey on the par-5 fifth that summed
up the tough conditions. His 8-foot par putt stopped a foot from
the hole, and as he got ready to tap it in, the wind carried it
7 feet by.
DiMarco was at 207,
tied with PGA champion David Toms (72).
“This is no
fun,” said Mark Calcavecchia, three strokes back after a
71. He holed out from the fourth fairway for eagle and closed
with four straight birdies.
“It’s about
a 20 on the Stimpmeter on some holes,” he said. “You
get the ball going and you can’t stop it. A little wind is
not bad, like 25 mph. But not 40. This is brutal.”
Sergio Garcia also
had a 68 and was at 210, along with David Duval (72).
Tiger Woods got to the 18th hole and
saw another set of tees that had been moved some 40 yards farther
up.
“Maybe they
want us to break 80,” he deadpanned. He just missed an eagle
putt, but the damage already had been done.
Woods suffered another
dubious start, flaring his iron out to the right on the first
hole and landing under a tree. He wound with a double bogey, then
missed the next green by 30 yards to take a bogey.
Just like on Friday,
when he started with a triple bogey, he never quite recovered.
Woods finished with another 74 and was 10 strokes behind.
It was the first
time he has had consecutive rounds over par since the U.S. Open
at Southern Hills (74-71), and the first time it has happened
in a regular tour event since going 75-75 in the final two rounds
of the 1999 Players Championship.
“Not a good
start, but I fought back,” Woods said. “It was a heck
of a fight.”
It was hardly a walk
in the park for anyone.
Woods saw how much
worse it could have been after spending four hours with Robert
Damron, who hit two consecutive balls into the tall weeds and
didn’t bother looking for the second one until he was told
someone found it.
“Great,”
he said. “Last thing I want to do is hit that shot again.”
He rallied for an 85.
Steve Stricker avoided
an 80 by making birdie on the final hole. Davis Love III had a
41 on the back nine and shot 78.
Even the guys who
were playing well had an interesting time in the big Kona wind.
Garcia hit a driver
on the opening hole and a 7-iron into the green during his practice
round. On Saturday, he had to muscle a 3-wood to reach the green,
from 243 yards. Of course, he also hit 8-iron from 205 yards to
about a foot from the hole.
Verplank has been
in this spot before with mixed results. He had at least a share
of the lead through 54 holes last year in Dallas, the Canadian
Open and the Tour Championship, and won only in Montreal.
But these conditions
are perfect for a guy who lives in Oklahoma, and Verplank showed
plenty of patience along the way.
He started with bogeys
on the first two holes, then took double bogey when he lost a
ball on the 14th after moving into a tie for the lead. He got
it back with his 7-iron in the 18th for eagle, putting him in
the final group Sunday.
Perry was rock-solid
in the fierce wind, making only one bogey, three birdies and 14
pars. He had a chance to take the outright lead, but his 50-foot
eagle putt stopped 6 feet short on the final hole, and the second
putt caught the lip.
The forecast was
for the typical Trade winds to return for Sunday, which would
make the Plantation Course at Kapalua play differently. But perhaps
not any easier.
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