SHUFFLING THE DECK : LEHMAN DISPLACES STEWART.Byline: Joe Juliano Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia Inquirer Morning newspaper, long one of the most influential dailies in the eastern U.S. Founded in 1847 as the Pennsylvania Inquirer, it took its present name c. 1860. It was a strong supporter of the Union in the American Civil War. For two days, Payne Stewart William Payne Stewart (January 30, 1957 – October 25, 1999), was an American golfer who won three majors in his career, the last of which occurred only months before he died in an airplane accident at the age of 42. smiled and laughed and looked for all the world as if he were enjoying the 96th 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:
But the mood changed for the knickered one during Saturday's third round at the user-unfriendly Oakland Hills Country Club Oakland Hills Country Club, a private golf club in Bloomfield Hills, Oakland County, Michigan, has hosted many prestigious professional golf tournaments throughout its history. The Oakland Hills grounds crew maintains two superb courses, designated the North and South Course. . Stewart grimaced grim·ace n. A sharp contortion of the face expressive of pain, contempt, or disgust. intr.v. grim·aced, grim·ac·ing, grim·ac·es To make a sharp contortion of the face. and groaned and wondered what happened as he went into a free fall and the scoreboard underwent a major reshuffling. When the shuffling ended, Tom Lehman Thomas Edward Lehman (born March 7, 1959) is an American professional golfer. Lehman was born in Austin, Minnesota but Alexandria, Minnesota is credited as his official Minnesota hometown. found himself the unlikely leader. Having teed off two hours before the final twosome of the day, Lehman tied the course record with a 5-under-par 65 and landed in first place with a 54-hole score of 2-under 208. ``It is almost beyond your wildest dreams to shoot 65 at Oakland Hills Oakland Hills is a common informal name for that section of the Berkeley Hills which extends along the eastern side of Oakland, California. In recent decades, it has become the more common popular term although it remains "officially" incorrect among geographers and gazetteers. ,'' said Lehman, who was tied for 27th at the start of the day, five strokes behind Stewart. ``But it was one of those days for me that I hit a lot of really good shots.'' Lehman held a one-shot lead over Steve Jones Steve or Steven Jones is the name of: In Music:
tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. finger injury, fired a 69 to hold down second at 209. A threesome at 210 included Davis Love III Davis Milton Love III (born April 13, 1964) is an American professional golfer. Love was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. He attended the University of North Carolina before turning professional in 1985. , who carded a 70 to join Frank Nobilo Frank Ivan Joseph Nobilo (born on May 14, 1960) is a professional golfer and current analyst for The Golf Channel's Champions Tour coverage. He is of Croat origin. Nobilo was born in Auckland, New Zealand. and John Morse, a Michigan-born player who seemed to know almost everyone in the gallery. Nobilo shot a 70 and Morse a 68. Position in the standings does not seem to matter. There are 27 players within six shots of the lead. Two months ago, Greg Norman led the Masters by six strokes and lost. The way things were going on Saturday, expect the unexpected today. Ernie Els held a two-shot lead for most of the back nine but played the final four holes in 4 over par to find himself in a five-player group at 211. Jim Furyk of Manheim, Pa., was in that group, along with the always dangerous Colin Montgomerie. Tom Watson went back to breaking his fans' hearts by missing a number of three-foot putts, but was still in the hunt at 212. Norman, despite a 74, still had a chance at 213, while Stewart, who had a 76, was near enough at 214 to regroup re·group v. re·grouped, re·group·ing, re·groups v.tr. To arrange in a new grouping. v.intr. 1. To come back together in a tactical formation, as after a dispersal in a retreat. . Lehman identified himself as a force to be reckoned with right away. He birdied four holes on the front side and turned in a 3-under 32, getting to even par for the tournament. He didn't lose momentum on the back nine, a brutally tough stretch that has claimed dozens of contestants this week, and claimed quite a few on Saturday. Lehman made a six-foot putt for birdie at the 11th hole to get to 1 under. At the 16th, he nailed an 8-iron about 150 yards, over the water guarding the green, to 30 feet, and deposited that snake of a birdie putt dead center. On the 18th, he deposited his second shot into a bunker but dropped an eight-foot par putt to save his share of the course record. Lehman is accustomed to contending in major tournaments. He finished second to Jose Maria Olazabal at the 1994 Masters. At last year's U.S. Open, at Shinnecock Hills on Long Island, Lehman shared the 54-hole lead with Norman, but had a 74 in the final round to finish third. Someone far less accustomed to being in this position is Jones, whose career looked to be over in late 1991 after he was involved in a dirt-bike accident. It left him with ligament damage in the ring finger of his left hand, making it impossible for him to swing a club. ``I was out for two and half years,'' he recalled on Saturday. ``A couple of times I'd try to come back and I'd reinjure it. I slowly got my game back. ``I struggled a bit last year, especially on the Sunday rounds. This year, I always seem to have a bad 18. It's just a matter of trusting my new grip and feeling comfortable with it in pressure situations.'' The new grip, a reverse overlapping grip that relieves stress on the finger, failed Jones quite a bit Saturday, but he always picked himself up. After birdies at the second and third holes, Jones started driving the ball all over the lush green lot. By his count, he missed eight fairways, but he managed to limit himself to two bogeys. 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 Tom Lehman: 71-72-65-208, -2 Steve Jones: 74-66-69-209, -1 John Morse: 68-74-68-210, E Frank Nobilo: 69-71-70-210, E Davis Love III: 71-69-70-210, E Others Tom Watson: 70-71-71-212, +2 David Berganio: 69-72-72-213, +3 Greg Norman: 73-66-74-213, +3 Payne Stewart: 67-71-76-214, +4 Corey Pavin: 73-70-72-215, +5 Jack Nicklaus: 72-74-69-215 +5 Tiger Woods: 76-69-77-222, +12 CAPTION(S): 2 Photos, Chart PHOTO (1--color) U.S. Open leader Tom Lehman pars No. 18 to tie the course record at 65. (2) Greg Norman swings his putter in disgust after leaving a birdie putt short on the seventh hole during the third round of the U.S. Open. Associated Press Chart: Leaderboard (see text) |
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