THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 24, 1994 TAG: 9407240196
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL LEFFLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines
The third round of the Eastern Amateur turned into a battle of the elements and a guessing game.
When it finished Saturday, front-running Steve Liebler clung to a two-shot lead over Tony DeLuca.
Liebler, the pacesetter through the first two rounds, shot a 1-over-par 71 for a 54-hole 206. DeLuca trimmed a stroke off his deficit with a par 70 for 208.
David Seawell and David Hall shared the third spot at 209 and three players stood another stroke back at 210 - defending champion Tom McKnight, Kevin Kemp and Brett Boner.
The players had to wait out the longest rain delays in the 38-year history of the Eastern, which concludes today at Elizabeth Manor.
First came an early-morning shower and a lightning threat that stopped play for 56 minutes.
This only delayed the start for the tournament leaders, but a 130-minute halt came in the afternoon from a rain that inundated the course.
Liebler, DeLuca and Seawell, playing in the final threesome, were on the 8th green when play stopped.
At that point Liebler, a Portsmouth native with a large gallery of fans, was in solid command.
He had birdied the first and seventh holes, building his lead over DeLuca to five shots.
``Maybe I was standing around too long or something, but I seemed to become mentally lazy when we started back,'' Liebler said. ``I really didn't have much feel for the greens after the rain.
``It was a frustrating round. I thought I played well enough to shoot another 67 or 68. I played 10 or 12 really good holes and just didn't have the concentration I needed on the others.''
Liebler, the South Carolina golf coach, was 3-over on the back nine. He hit out of bounds on the 13th, but recovered for a bogey.
DeLuca made his charge after the rain, but it had a false start.
``I had a birdie putt when we went back to No. 8,'' he said. ``I three-putted for a bogey instead.
``But I was really happy with my play on the back nine. I birdied 10, 11 and 16. And on No. 15 I had an impossible golf shot but still made par.'' In trouble, he hooked a 185-yard 6-iron to the green.
``I have to get out of the blocks early,'' DeLuca said. ``Steve is playing very good golf and in complete control of his game.
``For me, it's a matter of getting momentum if I want to catch him.''
Seawell, the No. 1 player on Liebler's team, made up a shot on Liebler with his even-par 70. But he said it would be difficult to pick up three more.
``Coach will come out firing, so I definitely can't sit on my heels. I missed a lot of putts in this round and I can't do that Sunday,'' said the 20-year-old rising junior.
Both Hall, who also shot a 70, and Kemp, who posted a 2-under 68, felt it would take a round in the 60s for them to overhaul Liebler.
``If I am going to win, I have to make something happen,'' said Hall, a 23-year-old former University of Michigan player. ``Somebody is going to shoot low tomorrow and hopefully it will be me.''
Kemp, a Wake Forest player, said: ``There's always a chance when you are within 4 of the top.''
But he felt he should have been closer. ``That 68 could have been a 65 or 66,'' he said. ``I hit the ball really well.''
McKnight moved back in contention with a 2-under 68, barely missing a 10-foot birdie putt at the 18th.
He was ready to trade places with Liebler.
``I wish I was less than 4 back. I wish I had the 4-shot lead,'' the Galax, Va., player said.
The day's best round was a 5-under 65 by 19-year-old Ryan Parker, a redshirt freshman at the University of North Carolina.
He finished before the afternoon delay, battling back from earlier rounds of 75 and 73 for a 3-over 213.
Parker, the son of a golf pro in Chapel Hill, only missed one makeable putt, a 10-footer at the 10th, and holed a 35-yarder at the 13th.
``I've never had a better competitive round,'' Parker said. ``I had six birdies and my only bogey came on the 10th when I was in the rough.
``I felt like I was in a zone. I almost felt like I didn't even have to line up my putts.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
Steve Liebler, left, opened a five-shot lead on the front nine, but
after a 130-minute rain delay, he faltered and Tony DeLuca, above,
made up ground
Photo
IAN MARTIN/Staff
David Seawell studies a birdie putt on No. 5. The South Carolina
golfer matched par to pick up a shot on his coach, Steve Liebler.
by CNB