Saturday, January 5, 2002
[MERCEDES CHAMPIONSHIPS]
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Perry, Verplank KAPALUA, Maui >> If you couldn't hit in the wind, you were voted off the island in yesterday's third round of the $4 million Mercedes Championships that proved to be a survival of the fittest for the 32 golfers in the winners-only event.
survive
Windy conditions make life
difficult for golf's best in the
third round of the MercedesBy Paul Arnett
parnett@starbulletin.comBy the time Kenny Perry tapped in for par on the famed 18th green, ESPN-TV had gone more than a half-hour over its allotted time slot, forcing SportsCenter fans to turn to "the Deuce."
Perry missed a six-footer for birdie that would have given him the outright lead after 54 holes, but he didn't seem too disappointed. He will begin today's final round tied with Scott Verplank at 13-under. Chris DiMarco, whose 68 shared the best round with Sergio Garcia, and David Toms are tied for third a shot back at 207.
"I played great," Perry said. "I hit 17 greens. I was very happy with my round, very happy with my performance. I'm excited with the way I'm hitting the golf ball. I had a lot of opportunities. I couldn't get them in. I don't know how anyone made any putts."
Perry's 71 was tame compared to the 70 Verplank fired on this blustery afternoon. He opened his round with two bogeys and survived a controversial ruling on the 14th that resulted in a double bogey, by landing an eagle from 15 feet on the final hole.
"Obviously, that's a great way to finish, make a three on the last hole," Verplank said. "They were thinking about me.; they moved the tees way up that even I could get there. I don't know what was going on there. Moved the tee so far up, I hit a 7-iron to the green. That was my kind of par-5."
It wasn't Verplank's kind of par-4 on the 14th. He hit his drive out of bounds, then hit his provisional just in case he couldn't find his ball. It landed in the bunker, but the officials ruled he had to hit another provisional, which proved to be incorrect. But in the end, it didn't seem to bother Verplank.
"I just thought, 'OK let's go back and hit another one,' " Verplank said. "I went on from there. Actually, the second provisional landed in the fairway, so it may have turned out better. I just tried not to let it bother me."
Those who blocked out all the distractions produced the best rounds. Mark Calcavecchia fired an up-and-down 71 and sits in fifth at 209. Garcia and 1999 Mercedes Championships winner David Duval are tied for sixth at 210.
The field was 81-under after the first round in mild conditions. Yesterday, the 32 golfers finished 18-over to give fans a good idea just how difficult things were out there.
"I played nearly flawless on the back nine," DiMarco said. "I made five birdies, including four in a row at one point. Who knows what could have happened for me because I missed several opportunities on the front side. A couple of putts fall, could have been really low. But on the other hand, I was fortunate some putts went in."
Garcia matched DiMarco's 5-under 68 because several putts fell for him. He and Duval are within shouting distance of the leaders. If they get hot, look out.
"Each day I've gotten a little bit better," Garcia said, who had rounds of 73 on Thursday and 69 on Friday. "I feel great. I actually was enjoying myself out there. It's been awhile since I played with these kind of winds. It was a good test."
Toms hopes he survived his quiz. Tied for third with DiMarco, the PGA Championship winner is only one back and in a great position to win. Only Woods with five tournament victories in 2001 had more than Toms, who managed three tour victories.
"My short game wasn't very good and you need that on a day like today," Toms said. "One-under is not bad at all in these conditions. Hopefully, I can get off to a better start than two bogeys on the first two holes like I did today and maybe have a chance to win this thing."
MERCEDES CHAMPIONSHIPS SCORES
At The Plantation Course
Kapalua, Hawaii
Purse: $4 million
Yardage: 7,263; Par 73
After three rounds
Scott Verplank 67-69-70 -- 206 Kenny Perry 68-67-71 -- 206 Chris DiMarco 67-72-68 -- 207 David Toms 69-66-72 -- 207 Mark Calcavecchia 72-66-71 -- 209 Sergio Garcia 73-69-68 -- 210 David Duval 67-71-72 -- 210 Brad Faxon 71-71-69 -- 211 Joel Edwards 69-71-71 -- 211 Bob Estes 70-70-71 -- 211 Mike Weir 63-74-74 -- 211 Scott McCarron 71-72-69 -- 212 Jim Furyk 67-72-73 -- 212 Cameron Beckman 67-73-75 -- 215 Tom Pernice, Jr. 70-70-75 -- 215 Tiger Woods 68-74-74 -- 216 Robert Allenby 74-72-71 -- 217 Justin Leonard 70-72-75 -- 217 Frank Lickliter II 66-74-77 -- 217 Retief Goosen 69-71-77 -- 217 Shigeki Maruyama 72-75-72 -- 219 Davis Love III 69-72-78 -- 219 John Cook 72-69-78 -- 219 Joe Durant 73-73-74 -- 220 Scott Hoch 72-75-73 -- 220 Steve Stricker 71-70-79 -- 220 Jesper Parnevik 74-75-72 -- 221 David Gossett 74-78-72 -- 224 Hal Sutton 75-73-76 -- 224 Robert Damron 69-73-85 -- 227 Jeff Sluman 74-76-78 -- 228 Garrett Willis 77-80-74 -- 231