Log Cabin Democrat Sports: Singh clings to lead; Tiger makes move 8/22/98

Published Saturday, August 22, 1998

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Saturday, August 22, 1998Singh clings to lead; Tiger makes move

Last modified at 11:53 p.m. on Saturday, August 22, 1998

CASTLE ROCK, Colo. (AP) -- Vijay Singh, withstanding two eagles including a hole-in-one from onrushing Tiger Woods, clung to a narrow lead Saturday after three rounds of the Sprint International.

Singh, who began the day with a 4-point lead under the modified Stableford scoring system used in this event, saw his margin trimmed to 1 point.

Singh, the recently crowned PGA champion, had four birdies and two bogeys in a steady if unspectacular round at Castle Pines Golf Club, which for the first time in three days was spared delays from lightning and rain. He added 6 points to his total for 33, one ahead of Willie Wood and 2 ahead of Woods.

Another point back on a tightly bunched leaderboard was Rocco Mediate. Defending champion Phil Mickelson also surged, finishing at 29. The top 12 players were separated by only 8 points.

The International's scoring format awards 5 points for an eagle, 2 for birdie, zero for par, minus-1 for bogey and minus-3 for double-bogey or worse.

Points accumulate over all four rounds. The field will be cut to the top 36 scorers and ties for Sunday's final round.

Wood had eight birdies, including five of the last six holes. He sank long-range birdie putts of 30, 20, 20, 18, 15 and 12 feet, and lipped out a 50-foot eagle attempt at the par-5 17th.

It was a Tiger who made the most noise. Woods, whose second-round struggles left him 10 points behind Singh, wasted no time making a move in the third round. He eagled the par-5 first hole, then knocked an 8-iron into the cup on the fly at the 185-yard seventh hole for the third hole-in-one of his pro career.

Woods also had two eagles on Thursday, and his four eagles broke the tournament record of three by Lee Janzen in 1995 and Mark Brooks last year.

Mediate also had eight birdies, five on his back nine. Fully recovered from back surgery and trimmed down, Mediate called his round ''very exciting. It was an easy day, if there is such a thing.''

Mickelson shot himself into contention with six birdies and an eagle in a 16-point round that vaulted him to 29 points.

Steve Flesch was at 28 points, Brandt Jobe at 27 and Mark Brooks at 26.

Nike Classic

FORT SMITH (AP) -- Mark Hensby of Chicago waited out a two-hour rain delay to tie a course-record 8-under par 62 and jump into the lead Saturday in the third round of the $255,000 Nike Fort Smith Classic.

Hensby's record-setting round moved him to 15-under par 195 after 54 holes, good for a one-shot advantage over David Berganio of Sylmar, Calif., and Woody Austin of Orlando, Fla. They each shot 64 Saturday.

John Kernohan of Bowling Green, Ky., with a 62, and Bruce Vaughn of Monroe, La., with a 63, shared fourth place, two strokes off the lead.

Brian Bateman of Monroe, La., with a 66, and third-round leader David McCampbell of St. Cloud, Fla., with a 70, were tied for sixth-place at 10 under par.

Jimmy Green of Daphne, Ala., was also at 10-under par after a 4-under par 66, but was disqualified after the round for failing to sign his scorecard.

Hensby, whose longest birdie putt for the day was eight feet, needed only 26 putts as he played bogey-free golf and tied his all-time low round as a professional.

MAPLE GROVE, Minn. (AP) -- It took a late afternoon rainstorm Saturday to keep Michelle Estill from building a commanding lead in the LPGA Rainbow Classic.

Estill was at 9-under par through three holes of the second round, and was lining up a birdie putt attempt on the fourth hole of the Rush Creek Golf Course when the heavy rain chased nearly half of the field to cover.

Sixty-six of the 138 golfers will return early Sunday morning to finish the second round, then come back for the final 18 holes of the $600,000 event.

Should further delays occur Sunday, the tournament would be extended to Monday.

The weather forecast for Sunday was for partly cloudy skies with a 20 percent chance of showers and thundershowers, mainly in the morning hours. The predicted high temperature was in the mid-80's.

Wendy Ward, Nancy Harvey and Tracy Hanson were at 6-under par. Ward finished seven holes and Harvey and Hanson four when play was stopped.

SENIOR PGA

JERICHO, N.Y. (AP) -- Walter Hall shot a 3-under-par 69 Saturday to hold a share of the lead of the $1 million Northville Long Island Classic for the second straight year, this time with Tom Shaw, who had a 66.

Hall, in his second year on the Senior PGA Tour, held a three-stroke lead after an opening 65 and his 10-under 134 total matches what he had last year after two rounds at the 6,842-yard Meadow Brook Club. He had a final-round 74 last year and finished 11th.

That would be tied with Shaw and two strokes ahead of Jose Maria Canizares and Gary Player, who both matched their opening-round 68s. John Schroeder, who had a 65, and Lee Trevino, who had a 69, were at 7-under 137.

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