FLOYD ON STEADY COURSE; HE SHOOTS 2-OVER 73 BUT LENGTHENS HIS LEAD.Byline: Eric Noland Daily News Staff Writer After the first day of the U.S. Senior Open, 23 players were within three strokes of one another at the top of the leaderboard lead·er·board n. A board that displays the leaders in a competition. leaderboard Noun a board displaying the current scores of the leading competitors, esp in a golf tournament , and only one golfer was on the friendly side of par. Against this backdrop, it seemed unlikely that anyone would be able to open a significant lead entering the last day of play. But Raymond Floyd Raymond "Ray" Loran Floyd (born September 4, 1942) is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments at both PGA Tour and Champions Tour level. Floyd was born at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He attended the University of North Carolina. - yes, he was the lone par-buster on Thursday - stubbornly refused to be dragged down from behind. Despite a sluggish Saturday afternoon in which he shot a 2-over-par round of 73, he will hold a three-stroke advantage over Hale Irwin Hale S. Irwin (born June 3, 1945) is an American golfer. He is the uncle of Heath Irwin. Irwin was born in Joplin, Missouri. He graduated from the University of Colorado in 1967, where he was a two-time All-Big Eight defensive back, as well as an academic All-American in , Isao Aoki Isao Aoki (青木功 Aoki Isao and Dave Stockton David Knapp Stockton (born November 2, 1941) is an American professional golfer who has won numerous tournaments on both the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour. Stockton was born in San Bernardino, California. entering today's final round at Riviera Country Club The Riviera Country Club is a country club with a championship golf course. It is located in Pacific Palisades, California, within the city limits of Los Angeles, California. The country club opened in 1926, with George C. Thomas, Jr. as the course architect. in Pacific Palisades Palisades, cliffs along the west bank of the Hudson River, NE N.J. and SE N.Y., extending from N of Jersey City, N.J., to the vicinity of Piermont, N.Y., with a general altitude of from 350 ft to 550 ft (107–168 m). . Merciless Riviera separated the chaff chaff 1. chaffed hay; called also chop. 2. the winnowings from a threshing, consisting of awns, husks, glumes and other relatively indigestible materials. on Saturday - and threw it in every conceivable direction. ``I wouldn't expect to have a three-shot lead after shooting a 73,'' Floyd said a few minutes after three-putting No. 18 to sit at even par for the tournament (70-70-73-213). But over the last three days, there have been a lot of strange occurrences on this course, which has exacted a heavy cost from anyone who has tried to make up strokes quickly with risky shots. That should work in Floyd's favor today as he attempts to be only the third wire-to-wire winner in the 19-year history of the U.S. Senior Open. ``Raymond is playing very, very consistent. I played with him the first two days, and he doesn't have too many things he's doing wrong,'' said Stockton, a Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, native and former USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. player who estimates he's played Riviera 300 times. ``(The gap) is not too much to overcome. . . . But, obviously, there haven't been too many rounds in the 60s. We're going to have to rely on him not playing quite as sharp and at least getting him back to par.'' Floyd insists he did not play conservatively Saturday in an effort to protect the two-stroke lead he held after two rounds, and he vowed that nothing would change in the patient, persistent approach he has employed since the first day of the competition. ``It doesn't matter if I get passed on the third hole (today),'' said Floyd, who won four majors on the PGA Tour The PGA Tour is an organization that operates the USA's main professional golf tours. It is headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, USA. Its name is officially rendered in all caps as “PGA TOUR". (the last, the U.S. Open The term U.S. Open is applied to "open" United States national championships in a particular sport, in which anybody, amateur or professional, American or non-American may compete. These include:
``This golf course will not allow it.'' His challengers - including Tom Jenkins, Hugh Baiocchi and Roy Vucinich, who are four strokes back - might be wise to mull over the point. And to heed its manifestation Saturday in a player named Jack Nicklaus. The tournament's sentimental favorite was six strokes back when the day began, but after he faltered early, he admitted that he tried to make up strokes quickly. The result was disaster. It began when Nicklaus missed the fairway on No. 3. ``I've never had that bad a lie in the rough before,'' he said. After he took a full swing with a pitching wedge and knocked the ball only 10 feet, the trouble began to compound. Nicklaus went on to bogey the next three holes and wound up with a 79 for the day - 8 over for the tournament and well back in the pack. ``I started trying to do some things I probably shouldn't have done to try to make it up, and I made more mistakes,'' he said, adding, ``Obviously, I shot myself out of the tournament the first six holes.'' Irwin, the senior tour's most prolific winner over the last two years, appeared destined des·tine tr.v. des·tined, des·tin·ing, des·tines 1. To determine beforehand; preordain: a foolish scheme destined to fail; a film destined to become a classic. 2. to do the same when he staggered to three bogeys over his first five holes of the day. But he recovered nicely on the back nine, collecting three birdies for an even-par round of 71. And there he sits, a menacing specter in Floyd's immediate wake. ``I'm just trying to keep my nose above water. Fortunately, I'm still floating,'' said Irwin, who says he feels his game has gotten badly out of sync in the last two weeks. He said he would spend the remainder of Saturday afternoon ``playing tourist,'' perhaps taking his wife for a walk on a beach in hopes of getting his mind off this game. And, presumably pre·sum·a·ble adj. That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. , this course. Floyd, with Irwin as a playing partner, will resume his determined trudge toward a title today, just a few minutes after noon. He'll bring up the rear of the field, of course. Three purposeful strides in front. JACK & ARNIE WATCH Jack Nicklaus shot 8-over-par 79 for his highest score ever in a Senior PGA Tour event, while Palmer finished with a 75.Nicklaus sits at 225, losing six strokes to par from holes 3-6 but rallying to shoot 1-over on his final 12 holes. Palmer (229) totaled three more birdies to give him eight in his last two rounds and nine for the event, compared to five by Nicklaus. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos, 2 Boxes PHOTO (1--Color) THIRD-ROUND LEADER Riviera Country Club has played havoc with other players' games during the U.S. Senior Open, but Raymond Floyd has been consistent. Through three rounds, he has 38 pars and exactly as many birdies as bogeys - eight. Saturday he shot a 73, giving him a three-day total of 213 and a three-stroke lead. (2) Isao Aoki winces as a putt fails to fall. He's three strokes behind leader Raymond Floyd. Evan Yee/Daily News BOX: (1) JACK & ARNIE WATCH (see text) (2) THIRD-ROUND SCORES |
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