Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 17, 1990 TAG: 9006170094
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The New York Times
DATELINE: MEDINAH, ILL. LENGTH: Medium
The 54-hole leaders are Mike Donald and Billy Ray Brown at 7-under-par 209. Donald shot a par 72, and Brown, a 27-year-old Texan in his third year on the tour, shot a 3-under 69.
They inherited the lead from Scott Simpson, Tim Simpson and Mark Brooks, all of whom played the last three holes in at least 2-over.
Of the three, Scott Simpson had the biggest wreck. Leading at 9-under through 15 holes, he bogeyed the par-4 16th after driving in the trees.
Simpson, the 1987 champion, met disaster on the 168-yard, par-3 17th. He bunkered his 7-iron tee shot, failed to get out on his first swing, exploded over the green and took three more to get down for a triple-bogey six. He then bogeyed the final hole after bunkering his drive to shoot a 73, which dropped him to 4-under-par 212.
Brooks and Tim Simpson were at 8-under after 15 holes. Each then bogeyed the 16th and the 17th before parring the 18th.
The leaders' collapse brought a host of prominent players back into the tournament, most notably the defending champion, Curtis Strange, who now has a strong chance to win his third-straight Open. Strange shot a 4-under-par 68 on Saturday for a three-round total of 5-under-par 211, two shots behind Donald and Brown.
"I'm sure Curtis wasn't shedding any tears for me at the end there," said Scott Simpson. "He's right back in it. Obviously, he's got some good memories in the Open to draw on."
Between Strange and the leaders at 6-under-par 210 are Brooks, Tim Simpson, Jeff Sluman, and the 1983 champion, Larry Nelson.
Jack Nicklaus shot a 68, which put him at 3-under 213, tying him with a group of players that includes Seve Ballesteros and Paul Azinger.
The 90th Open has so far been distinguished by the biggest barrage of birdies in the history of the championship. By the end of the second round, there already had been more under-par rounds (86) at Medinah than in any other Open.
Two major factors have caused the assault on par. The first is Medinah's 18-hole par of 72, which includes four par-5s. Most Opens are held on courses with a par of 70 that have only two par-5s. Since 1950, only three other U.S. Open courses have carried a par of 72: Oakmont in 1953, Hazeltine in 1970 and Pebble Beach in 1972 and 1982.
The biggest factor, though, is that despite lush rough and severely sloped greens, Medinah is still essentially defenseless after being softened by rain from a thunderstorm the night before the first round.
On Saturday, a gloomy, humid haze that hung in the still air did little to dry out the course. It kept the immaculately prepared fairways and greens just moist enough for perfect scoring conditions.
"Normally on the first tee of a U.S. Open, some guys have fear in their hearts," said Strange. "Today, the guys on the practice putting green can't wait to get on that first tee.
"Medinah is a great old course, but right now it's pretty defenseless."
Strange was encouraged by a round in which he hit every fairway and green in regulation and made some difficult putts. He said he believes he still has a chance to win his third-straight Open.
"From where I came from, I feel pretty good," said Strange. "A good little round tomorrow may scare somebody. I'm kind of in the situation where I have everything to gain and nothing to lose.
"The wind could come up a little to make it a little trickier. That and just Sunday at the U.S. Open could bring scores up."
Tied with Strange is Jose-Maria Olazabal, who shot a second-straight 69. Greg Norman, who barely made the 36-hole cut at 145, shot a 69.
"The course is not playing like a U.S. Open course," Norman said almost wistfully. "The greens are soft, and guys are just firing at the bottom of the flagstick. This week seems more like a putting competition than a striking competition."
Norman said the easier conditions would give more players a chance to win the tournament. With too much water having doused Medinah's fire, the usually fearsome course is not that different from an average stop on the PGA Tour.
"Peter Jacobsen said it best this morning in the car park," said Norman. "He said, `It feels like the Anheuser-Busch.'
"It's just sad what happened Wednesday night. The golf tournament really stopped on Wednesday night."
Soon after the thunderstorm, the record-breaking started. Tim Simpson's 9-under-par score for 36 holes total set an Open record for most under par by a 36-hole leader, breaking the previous record of 6-under set by Nicklaus at Baltusrol in 1980.
The 47 rounds under par on Friday broke the championship record of 39 set Thursday. The total of 86 subpar rounds through 36 holes broke the record of 64 set at Brookline in 1988.
Keywords:
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by CNB