Small army trails Tiger
By DENNE H. FREEMAN / AP Sports Writer
IRVING, Texas (AP) - On Saturday, what is known as "moving
day" in a golf tournament, a dozen players surged within
three shots of Tiger Woods heading into the final round of the
GTE Byron Nelson Classic.
But only young Dave Berganio professed no anxiety going into
the final round.
"I've played with Tiger before and it's no big deal,"
Berganio said, bravely. He was in a group of five at 13-under
par 197, just two shots behind the sensational 21-year-old Masters
champion.
Others were approaching the final round more cautiously.
"Tiger is so overwhelming you just have to block it out
that you are playing against him," said Dan Forsman, also
at 197. "You just have to fantasize about that kind of game.
You just try to play your own game. You just try to block it out."
Forsman, who finished 13th in last year's U.S. Open, missed
the cut at the Masters but stayed to follow Woods the last two
days of his historic 12-shot victory. Woods started the final
round at the Masters with a nine-shot lead.
"I watched this young prodigy tear apart Augusta National
and it was an eye-opening experience," Forsman said. "What
I saw was extremely impressive. I have a chance but I haven't
been in this situation in quite a while"
Mike Standly, Jim Furyk and Lee Rinker were the others at 13-under
going into the final round on the TPC course at the Four Seasons
resort.
"It looks like an exciting finish," Furyk said. "A
lot of guys have a chance to win."
Three shots behind Woods were a group of seven: Brad Faxon,
Chris Perry, John Morse, Brad Bryant, Kirk Triplett, Paul Stankowski
and Phil Blackmar. Another shot back was Hal Sutton.
Six players were within five strokes including four-time Nelson
champion Tom Watson, who bogeyed the last two holes with missed
back-to-back 4-footers.
Rinker and Standly were paired with Woods on Saturday and got
an indication of how it was to play with a noisy, swarming pro-Woods
gallery.
"It was like running the gauntlet from every green to
every tee," Rinker said. "The people were nice, though."
However, Rinker said he knew who the crowd was pulling for.
"On No. 9, I hit a 7-iron just 8 feet from the hole and
didn't get a clap," Rinker said. "Then Tiger hit one
2 feet inside my ball and everyone went nuts. Normally, you can
use the crowd to gauge whether you hit a good shot. I thought
I must be 20 feet away or something."
The short-hitting Rinker and the long-hitting Woods even found
time during Saturday's round to exchange a few quips on the tee
at No. 16, a 554-yard, par-5.
"I told Tiger we were playing the same ball but I had
switched to a No. 2 Titleist which was the same number he was
using, " Rinker said.
"We won't have any problem," Woods smiled.
"Then he nuked his drive that flew 50 yards past my ball,"
Rinker said.
As Woods walked off the tee, Rinker joked "Now make sure
you don't hit my ball."
Woods laughed.
It was another happy day in Tiger's golf world. And he didn't
seem too worried about the posse chasing him.
"I'll still have to shoot a good number," Woods said.
"Someone could get hot with the putter and shoot 61 or 62."
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