Azinger sinks four metre putt to keep lead

Press, 20 July 1987, Page 38

Azinger sinks four metre putt to keep lead

NZPA-Reuter Muirfield, Scotland American Paul Azinger sank a four-metre bogey putt at the last hole to keep a one-shot lead over Nick Faldo of Britain and South African David Frost after three rounds of the British Open golf championship yesterday.

Azinger’s determined putt after he had been in bunker trouble gave him a level-par 71 for a sixunder total of 207 and capped a day of variable weather which proved a nightmare for the early starters before easing off for the leading group. Faldo also bogeyed the final hole for a 71 while the Dallas-based Frost compiled a one-under-par day’s joint best of 70 despite missing three short putts. Five-time champion, Tom Watson, birdied the final hole from four and a half metres to salvage a round of 71. He was another shot back and level in fourth place with fel-low-Americans Craig Stadler and Payne Stewart, who shot 71 and 72 respectively. Last year’s U.S. Open champion, Ray Floyd, is alone in seventh spot. He also shot 70 yesterday. The world’s top three players, defending champion Greg Norman, Seve Ballesteros and Bernhard Langer, are out of the hunt now. Norman’s 74 yesterday left him three over par and he conceded he has no chance. Ballesteros faded to a 77 and is seven over while Langer needed three shots to escape from a cross bunker at the eighth hole and could do no better than a 76. He is one over par.

over-all length by nearly 190 metres. However, several big names still shot in the 80s, including U.S. Open champion, Scott Simpson, and Mark O’Meara on 82 and fellow Americans, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Kite, on 81. Despite forecasts that the bad weather would continue, the rain stopped, the wind dropped and the sun made a brief appearance to make Muirfield manageable for the afternoon group. Azinger, who has three wins on the United States tour and earnings of $U5586,962, said yesterday: “It was a struggle today, even though I had a good break on the tee times. I have had the best of the weather every day. “I was proud to make that putt at the last. On the 18th I was lucky to get out of the pot bunker I hit into off the tee. The ball scurried off the face of the bunker.’’ Frost, who has been second twice on the United States tour this year, said he was unaware that he had led for a time on the front nine yesterday. “I never look at the scoreboard. At the end of the round I didn’t know my position.

Open, felt he was lucky yesterday. “It was a scrambling round. “The key was that I made putts of between five and 10 feet to save par on four successive holes on the front nine. That’s the thing I haven’t been doing lately.” He took a double-bogey six at the second hole when he was plugged in the front wall of a bunker and had to play back into the sand. “That was a crisis,” Watson said. “I thought I might take a 10, like Arnold Palmer on Saturday.” Watson also bogeyed the eighth but he snapped up three birdies the rest of the way without dropping any more strokes. His 71 left him handily placed to match Harry Vardon’s record of six Open triumphs. Leading scorers: 207 Paul Azinger (U.S.) 68, 68, 71; 208 David Frost (S. Africa) 70, 68, 70; Nick Faldo (Britain) 68, 69, 71. 209 Craig Stadler (U.S.) 69, 69, 71; Tom Watson (U.S.) 69, 69, 71; Payne Stewart (U.S.) 71, 66, 72. 210 Ray Floyd (U.S.) 72, 68, 70. 211 Graham Marsh (Australia) 69, 70, 72; Rodger Davis (Australia) 64, 73, 74; Mark Calcavecchia (U.S.) 69, 70, 72; Nick Price (S. Africa) 68, 71, 72. 212 Gerry Taylor (Australia) 69, 68, 75; Ken Brown (Britain) 69, 73, 70; Mishashi Ozaki (Japan) 69, 72, 71; lan Woosnam (Britain) 71, 69, 72. 213 Ben Crenshaw (U.S.) 73, 68, 72. 213 JoseMaria Olazabal (Spain) 70, 73, 70. 214 Mark Roe (Britain) 74, 68, 72; Lee Trevino (U.S.) 67, 74, 73. 214 Bob Tway (U.S.) 67, 72, 75; Bernhard Langer (W. Germany) 69, 69, 76; Hal Sutton (U.S.) 71, 70, 73.

“I missed three short putts,” he said, mentioning three attempts of two metres or under at the fifth, seventh and 12th holes. “But I feel I played very well on the whole.” Watson, who resurrected a fading career with his second place finish at last month’s U.S.

Sheeting rain and a howling gale greeted the early players yesterday and ' course officials chopped the length on four holes to reduce the