Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 8, 1990 TAG: 9007080097
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: Medium
That situation will change today when Wadkins and Strange, the premier Virginia golfers of their generation, will tee off as the final twosome in the lone PGA Tour event to be held in Virginia, the Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic.
"We've never played head-to-head on the tour," said Strange, 35, a native of Virginia Beach. "We met once in the semifinals of the State Amateur [in 1970], but I was always just far enough behind him that we didn't play."
Wadkins, 40, was born in Richmond and lived there until he went to college at Wake Forest. Strange also went to Wake Forest and they have been teammates on four Ryder Cup squads.
Wadkins has won 18 PGA Tour events and Strange has 17 tour victories, but neither has won lately. Wadkins is looking for his first title since 1988 and Strange is winless since the 1989 U.S. Open.
"I think the [fans] are going to have some fun tomorrow," said Strange, who, unlike Wadkins, still lives in the state. "People don't forget. It's like he never left. He'll always be a Richmond native."
Wadkins and Strange may be the final twosome, but it might be stretching to call today's round a showdown. Wadkins, who shot a 4-under-par 67 Saturday, leads by three shots at 15-under 198.
"I've got a lot of work to do," said Strange, who chipped in for a birdie at No. 18 that gave him a 68 and sole possession of second place.
A four-way tie for third at 202 includes a third Wake Forest product, Jerry Haas, as well as little-known Bob Wolcott, who attended Wake for a semester before transferring to Georgia.
Haas shared the low round of the day with a 66 despite alternating between hitting his putts right- and left-handed.
"I had always been a great putter, but I'd only made five cuts and I was putting terribly," Haas said. "I thought about putting left-handed, so I got a Bullseye [which has a blade on both sides].
"I started hitting the shorter putts left-handed, anywhere from two to five feet, and I was 5-for-5 on Thursday. Nobody's really said anything. If it goes in the hole, that's all that matters."
Strange also used a Bullseye on Saturday, but that was a different story. On his way to the putting green, Strange noticed that the putter he had been using, a Zebra, was loose.
"It was wobbling," Strange said. "I don't think I would have hit a ball hard enough to affect [the putter], but I couldn't take that chance. I didn't want to be fooling with it during the round."
So, Strange, who had been putting erratically for two days, traded in the Zebra, which is a heavy putter, for the lighter Bullseye. He proceeded to make four birdie putts of more than 10 feet.
Strange trailed Wadkins by five strokes at one point Saturday, but Wadkins missed a 2-foot par putt at No. 10 and several excellent birdie opportunities.
"If the putter hadn't completely died on me in the middle of the round, we really would have had some fun," said Wadkins, a Dallas resident.
Wadkins shook the doldrums with birdies at Nos. 15 and 16, and then drained a 40-footer for par at No. 17.
"It will make the night more pleasant," Wadkins said, "but if I hadn't putted so atrociously during the middle part of the round, I might have been 18 under."
Instead, Wadkins fell into a share of the lead with Scott Verplank at one point and, even after Verplank had a double bogey at No. 12, Chris Perry trailed by just one shot.
Perry and Verplank were among the group tied at 202 and not ready to concede the tournament to Wadkins or Strange. "I definitely do not think winning is out of the question," Verplank said.
But all the attention will be focussed on Strange and Wadkins, both known for their steely intensity.
"I go back to [Ben] Hogan's line: `We don't play jolly golf,' " Strange said. "Lanny always said we should be paired in the Ryder Cup because we'd `mean 'em to death.' "
by CNB