Maggert leads Lehman by one, Woods' game collapses
By RON SIRAK / AP Golf Writer
BETHESDA, Md. (AP) - Tom Lehman sloshed through the second
half of a rain-delayed third round with a bit less than his usual
Saturday sizzle at the U.S. Open. Yet, once again, he had a chance
to win the championship.
Lehman made two consecutive bogeys in the five holes he played
after the two-hour delay and trailed leader Jeff Maggert by one
stroke going into Sunday.
"I made a good par on the ninth and thought that might
jump-start me," Lehman said about going back out after the
rain. "But it didn't. It was definitely grinding out there.
I didn't see a ball land from the time we started until now."
Perhaps Congressional Country Club will be kinder to Lehman
than Oakland Hills was last year and Shinnecock was in 1995. Both
times he had the lead going to the final round of the U.S. Open
and both times he came up short - finishing second and third.
Maggert, who made a series of solid, scrambling par saves after
the rain delay, was at 4 under par through 14 holes, while Lehman
was 3 under after 13 holes.
"I was playing pretty well on the front," Maggert
said. "But the rain made it tough to keep a rhythm. It's
going to be a long day tomorrow. It's going to be a battle of
patience."
Maggert shot his way back into the tournament with a 31 on
the front nine, finishing that side with consecutive birdies.
He returned after the delay to make solid par saves on Nos. 11
and 12, both times scrambling from off the green.
"It's always kind of a mind game at this tournament,"
Maggert said. "I have four holes left. I want to make sure
I'm ready for those four holes and come back and play well. This
is what you play for. Hopefully, I can come back tomorrow and
take care of business.
Maggert, who has won only once on tour - the 1993 Disney Classic
- made his lone bogey for the day came on the 13th hole when he
missed a 5-footer.
Colin Montgomerie, rallying from his 76 on Friday, was 2 under
par with two holes to play in the third round. Tommy Tolles, Hal
Sutton and Stewart Cink were 1 under par. Tolles had two holes
to play, Sutton four and Cink five.
Tiger Woods completely collapsed after the rain delay, making
four bogeys in six holes and was at 4 over par - eight strokes
off the lead - with two holes left to play in the third round.
Seven groups totaling 21 players would finish the third round
Sunday morning before beginning the final round.
"Anybody within seven shots of the lead has a chance,
but it would take some serious golf and something happening up
front," Paul Stankowski said Saturday after finishing 54
holes at 3-over-par 213.
But Stankowski didn't sound like he expected Lehman to be one
of those at the top of the leaderboard who would falter.
"I see no back up in him at all," Stankowski said.
Playing well in the third round of major championships is nothing
new to Lehman and he continued the pattern at Congressional before
a thunderstorm rumbled through the area and stopped play. He turned
the front nine in 2-under-par 33.
Lehman shot a 65 in the third round of the U.S. Open last year
- the best score of the day by two strokes - and went into the
final round with a one-stroke lead. But he finished second by
a stroke to Steve Jones despite a gutsy 71.
In 1995, Lehman shot a 67 on Saturday at Shinnecock and was
tied for the lead with Greg Norman going to Sunday. Again Lehman
played solidly but not well enough, posting a 74 under very difficult
conditions to finish third behind Corey Pavin.
Lehman has learned from all the setbacks in a career during
which he lost his PGA Tour card for six years.
"It helps to feel the pressure, to deal with sleeping
on those leads on Saturday," Lehman said earlier in the week.
"Those things all mean a lot down the road. And I've been
through that a few times in majors and I know what it's like."
He proved what he learned last year in the British Open, when
he followed his disappointment in the U.S. Open with a victory
in his very next major championship.
That was another great third-round display by Lehman as he
shot a 64 to take a six-stroke lead into the final round. Overall,
Lehman averaged 68.42 in his third rounds last year, the best
on the PGA Tour.
Woods, showing flashes of the frustration and impatience that
plagued his opening-round 74, could have been in better position.
But he was too ambitious with his second shot when he drove into
the rough on No. 4.
Instead of pitching back to the fairway, he lashed the ball
across the fairway into the left rough. From there he ended up
making a double-bogey 6.
He also made a bogey on No. 8 when he drove into the left rough
and again tried for the green from the thick grass, dumping the
shot into the bunker short of the green.
When his explosion from the sand rolled 12 feet past the hole,
he banged his club in anger.
Three birdies - all after great iron shots - kept him at par
for the day. He hit a 7-iron 168 yards to 2-1/2 feet on No. 5,
an 8-iron 165 yards to 2 feet on No. 7 and spun a ball back 15
feet to 4 feet from the hole on No. 10.
His collapse after the rain delay was mostly because of his
putting as he three-putted three times in four holes, the final
time from a mere 10 feet.
Start or Join A Discussion about This Item
Send the URL (Address) of This Item
to A Friend:
|
