THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 16, 1995 TAG: 9507160172
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines
Everybody into the pool.
Not only was that the battle cry of the golfers after trudging through 18 steamy holes at Kingsmill Saturday, it's an appropriate slogan for today's final round.
Jim Carter leads the Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic by a stroke at 10-under 203. But 41 other players - more than half of the remaining field of 73 golfers - are within seven shots of the lead, reasonable striking distance. Twice this year on tour a winner has come from seven back to win.
Carter's 203 is the highest score for a third-round leader at the Anheuser-Busch since Jodie Mudd led at 6-under in 1986.
There wasn't much moving on the leaderboard Saturday, which makes sense. The less movement the better when the temperature is 98 degrees and the heat index is 118.
``They're showing this on ESPN, but it should have been on ESPN2 for Extreme Sports today,'' Ted Tryba said.
Tryba joined second-round leader Jim Gallagher Jr. and Blaine McCallister a shot back at 204. Four players, most notably former U.S. Open winner Scott Simpson, are three shots back at 7-under 206. And Curtis Strange and Jim McGovern head a six-man bunch at 205.
Gallagher would have been a co-leader had he not three-putted the 18th from 50 feet.
``When I walked off the 18th green, it (the heat index) was about 190,'' said Gallagher, who shot 1-under 70.
Carter, a 34-year-old who has never finished higher than third in a tournament, has led once before heading into the final round. That was at the 1989 Hawaiian Open.
Carter said he played well in the final round, even though he ended up fourth. He will draw on that experience today when he goes off in the final group with Tryba and Gallagher at 11:10 a.m.
``I feel good,'' Carter said. ``This is where I want to be, this is what I practiced my whole life for. It will be tough, but if you're going to be a champion, you've got to learn how to do it.''
Carter called his 68 one of his best rounds ever - even though he was two strokes better Thursday. He got things going with a birdie at the par-5 No. 3, but gave the stroke back on the next hole. He made short birdie putts at Nos. 6 and 7, dropped a 10-footer for bird at No. 11 and then parred out.
``To play a good round in those kind of conditions and to be around the lead in the golf tournament, I'm just real proud of that,'' Carter said.
McCallister had a strange front nine, birdieing the first hole and bogeying the second. He repeated the pattern at Nos. 7 and 8, notching an eagle to go minus-7, followed by a double-bogey to drop back to 7-under. McCallister finished at 69 for the day.
Tryba's 68 was punctuated with a 45-foot slam-dunk birdie on 18. But the hole that might have kept him in the hunt was 15, where Tryba bogeyed. He chunked one shot after another into deep rough and further trouble, and made an 8-foot putt to salvage bogey.
``I was so happy,'' Tryba said.
Among Saturday's few big movers was Kingsmill's resident touring pro Strange, who sweated whether he would make the cut Friday. He teed off in the third group of the day and shot a 65, which equaled the best round of the day.
``I played as good as I've played in a couple of months and hit the ball solid,'' Strange said. ``The key is I made a couple putts. I've been ugly on the greens the last couple days.''
Ugly is a good adjective for Kingsmill's conditions the last couple days. As Tryba concluded his interviews Saturday, he was told to go ahead and hit the showers.
``I think I'm going to hit the pool,'' he said as he walked out of the press room.
It's going to be crowded in there today. ILLUSTRATION: BILL TIERNAN
Staff
Jim Carter puts a little body language into his short birdie putt on
No. 16. Carter's 10-under 208 is the highest score for a third-round
leader at Kingsmill since 1986.
Jim McGovern starts a sand save at No.2. The former ODU player, like
much of the field, couldn't make a move on a searing Saturday,
shooting even-par 71 to stand 6-under.
ANHEUSER-BUSCH CLASSIC SCORES, PAIRINGS, LEADERS' CARDS
[For a copy of the results, see microfilm for this date.]
by CNB