FROM THE FRINGE HOLE OF THE DAY.

Two-time Nissan Open champion Corey Pavin calls the 18th at Riviera one of the great holes in golf, and it produced its share of mood swings Saturday. The uphill, 451-yard par 4 yielded a rare birdie to Peter Jacobsen but zapped Brent Geiberger with a closing double bogey that cost the ex-Pepperdine golfer a share of the clubhouse lead with Pavin, who pulled off a 12-foot par-saving putt on 18 to secure a temporary lead.

HACKER OF THE DAY

Russ Cochran had an 8 a.m. tee time and struggled progressively in the cold and rain, falling from 3-under par after his lone birdie (on No. 11, his second hole) to a finish of 8-over 79, dropping him to last place. His woes included double bogeys on Nos. 12 and 17 and a triple bogey at No. 2.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

``It got a little more difficult because of the weather, but not as difficult as I made it look.

- Scott Dunlap, on his 3-over-par back nine, after going 6-under 30 on his front nine (holes 10-18)

INSIDE THE ROPES

Davis Love III is leading the Nissan Open and seemingly is well on his way to a second victory and third top-three finish in his last three starts. But Love, who has a three-stroke lead on his closest pursuers, said reaching the greens was far from easy in the wintry weather Saturday at Riviera Country Club.

``It seemed like we couldn't ever get it to the hole,'' Love said after a round of 68 left him 10-under-par 203. ``It was cold and there was a little bit of wind and it was very damp and the ball wouldn't go very far and it was hard to see that on TV. It was a long, long golf course today. . . .

``You couldn't make the ball go far enough. Like (the seventh hole, where he had one of his two bogeys), I'm hitting a 7-iron from a 9-iron distance but it still didn't even come close to getting there. And when you did hit it hard enough to get it there, you had so much spin on it, it's coming back.''

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo: (color) no caption (Davis Love III)

Box: LEADERBOARD