Sunday, October 29, 2000
Flesch holds his own against
Tiger
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — It didn't
take Steve Flesch long to get an idea of what it's like to play
golf against Tiger Woods.
On the first hole, he stood to the side
with his arms crossed as Woods rolled in a 12-foot birdie putt
to trim the deficit to one stroke. After they both hit driver
on No. 2, Flesch found himself standing 63 yards behind Woods
in the fairway.
At the end of the day, however, Flesch was
ahead where it mattered.
He held his own against the No. 1 player
in the world Saturday, making four big putts in the middle of
his round for a 6-under-par 66 that enabled him to maintain a
two-stroke lead over Woods in the National Car Rental Classic
at Disney World.
“I hung in there today,” Flesch
said. “It was a blast playing with Tiger. It was everything
I anticipated, and I look forward to doing it tomorrow.”
Flesch, who has never won in 93 previous
starts on the PGA Tour, was at 194 and will take at least a share
of the lead into the final round for only the second time in his
career. He finished second last year in New Orleans, and tied
for fifth in the Western Open in July.
Jeff Sluman had a 67 and was five strokes
back, but he will be in the final grouping Sunday with Flesch
and Woods.
“Obviously, he didn't get run over,”
Sluman said of Flesch. “But this is a 72-hole tournament,
not a 54-hole tournament.”
Still, a two-stroke lead over Woods beats
the alternative. Woods has won 24 times on tour in his career,
and he has come from behind in only five of them.
On a warm and breezy afternoon at Disney,
Woods managed to keep a couple of impressive streaks going —
105 straight holes without a bogey, and his 42nd straight round
at par or better. But it wasn't easy, especially with the pace
of the greens and his fighting some loose swings throughout the
day.
He was still in good position to successfully
defend a title for the fourth time this year.
“It's imperative that I get off to
a good start — as well as Steve,” said Woods, who birdied
the last hole for a 66. “And we can't forget the guys behind
us.”
In the group behind will be three at 200
— Duffy Waldorf, who had a 69, and Glen Day and Bob May,
who each had a 66.
Flesch fits the recent profile for giving
Woods all he can handle — no majors, not many PGA Tour victories
and nothing to lose.
May was that guy in the PGA Championship,
matching Woods with a 31 on the back nine at Valhalla before losing
in a three-hole playoff. Grant Waite stepped in at the Canadian
Open, pushing Woods the entire final round before falling one
incredible shot short.
Next up is Flesch, a left-hander from Kentucky
who managed to not get too caught up in his first pairing with
Woods.
“It's easy to get sucked into what
he's doing,” Flesch said. “I watched every shot he hit.
It's impressive how far and straight a guy can hit it. But I did
well on my shots, sticking to my routine and staying focused on
what I was doing.”
All he did was answer Woods early, and then
ride four great putts into a cushion that he never gave up.
Woods, taking an unusual amount of time
to line up his putts, made a 12-foot birdie on the first hole
to close within one stroke. He had a 15-foot birdie putt on the
next hole, but Flesch stepped up and made a 25-footer. Woods missed
his putt and they traded birdies over the next two holes.
“My putting saved me,” Flesch
said.
Woods pulled even for the first time with
a driver off the fairway into the greenside bunker on the par-5
eighth, and blasting out to 4 feet.
That's as close as he got.
Flesch made 20-foot birdie putts on Nos.
9 and 10 to rebuild his lead, kept it with an 8-foot par putt
on 11, then birdied 13 from about 25 feet.
Just as importantly, he matched Woods' birdie
putts the rest of the way until the final hole.
Flesch says he has learned from his past
opportunities not to put too much pressure on himself, no small
task on Sunday considering the opposition.
Woods is going for his fourth straight victory
and 10th of the year, which would be the most by anyone since
Sam Snead had 11 in 1950. Flesch is still trying to win, but he
can't think of a better time.
“If I could get my first win playing
in the same group with Tiger, I don't think there's anything more
I could ask for,” he said.
Divots:
Chris Perry is one round away from sneaking into the Tour Championship.
Perry was 32nd on the money list to start the week, but Rocco
Mediate (No. 30) missed the cut and Scott Hoch (No. 31) bogeyed
the last two holes to fall to the bottom of the pack. Perry, who
played with Woods in the final round of the Tour Championship
last year, had a 67 and was at 203. He needs to finish at least
25th to surpass Mediate. If Perry doesn't make it, he won't blame
it on anything Sunday. “I've given away so many shots this
year ... it'll be because of those ones throughout the year,”
he said. ... Davis Love III said he definitely will go to Australia
for the Match Play Championship, but is waffling on whether to
go to Spain in two weeks. For one reason, he doesn't like Valderrama.
And even if he wins the next three weeks, the extra money won't
help him win the money title. ... Glen Hnatiuk of Canada had a
hole-in-one on 15, a 6-iron from 179 yards.
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