Sabbatini leads into final round

Memories of major championship moments from a year ago invaded the fourth round of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic today.

Casey Martin got out of his cart, took off his shoes and waded into the water on the final hole, needing a birdie to make the cut. He decided to take his lumps, made double bogey and felt about as badly as Jean Van de Velde in the British Open.

David Duval, stymied by a tree on the 16th hole, aimed sideways and punched a 7-iron from 167 yards off a root that hooked sharply and stopped 25 feet below the hole. The only thing he didn't do was sprint down the fairway and leap like a pixie, as Sergio Garcia did in the PGA Championship.

At the end of the day, the Hope Classic was just like any other year. No matter who's on top or by how much, the final round Sunday figures to be another shootout in the desert.

The leader was Rory Sabbatini, a 23-year-old South African who hit a 5-iron from 208 yards into 15 feet on No. 18 -- the same distance Payne Stewart had to win the U.S. Open. He made the eagle for an 8-under 64 on pitch-and-putt Indian Wells for a one-stroke lead.

Now the fun begins.

Twenty-one players are within five shots of the lead. That includes Duval, the defending champion who came from seven strokes back a year ago with a 59.

Even though Sabbatini has never won on the PGA Tour, he said his 23-under 264 was no fluke.

"It's not like I'm sitting there wondering, 'I've had four good days -- when am I going to have a bad day?' I'm ready to go out there and shoot even lower tomorrow," he said.

Matt Gogel, a six-time winner on the Nike Tour who finally made it to the big leagues this year, had a 3-under 68 at Bermuda Dunes and was at 265. Another stroke back was Mr. 59, who doesn't believe he has to match history to cash the $540,000 first-place check.

"I can promise you, if I shoot 59 I'll win," Duval cracked.

He also knows that he'll have to start making some putts. Duval failed to convert several birdie chances and wound up with a 68 at Bermuda Dunes. It could have been worse except for an exceptional shot that stirred memories of the PGA Championship.

He pulled his tee shot on No. 16 and had no backswing -- there was only about 18 inches between his ball and a tree, and a root was under the ball. Duval threw caution to what little wind there was and punched a 7-iron some 70 yards to the right of the green.

The ball hooked sharply to the left and stopped 25 feet from the hole.

"I looked to see if I had a chance to hit out of bounds, which I felt like I had a pretty good chance of doing that," he said. "But I wasn't making any putts. It was almost like I was in a position where I had to try to force something."

He wound up with a par, part of a string of eight in a row before a two-putt birdie on the par-5 18th.

Also tied with Duval at 266 were Rich Beem, Stephen Ames and Jesper Parnevik. Frank Lickliter had the best score of the day and of his career -- a 10-under 62 at Indian Wells -- and was another stroke back.

The cut came at 11-under 276, the lowest ever for 90-hole PGA Tour event.

One player who didn't make it was Martin, although his debut as the first PGA Tour member in a cart ended on a memorable note.

Needing a birdie on his final hole at La Quinta to make the cut, Martin's 3-wood rolled to the edge of the water. He took off his socks and shoes -- even the stocking that helps control the swelling in his right leg -- and stood in the water.

Martin thought otherwise about trying to play the shot while standing in the water, took a penalty stroke and drop, then hit his third shot in a greenside bunker en route to making a double bogey for a 69.

"I just blew it on that hole," Martin said. "I'm bummed. Four days of grinding and playing well, and I get nothing for it. That sucks. That's life. That's golf."

Sabbatini had no such concerns.

He has spent the past two weeks working with his coach and loves the results he is getting. He missed only two greens today and finished off his round in style. With water left and a bunker to the right, Sabbatini saw only the flagstick.

"That's the frame of mind I have with my swing at the moment," he said.

Now what he needs is an image of winning.

He had two chances last year in his rookie season, and one of them featured a showdown with Duval in the Bellsouth Classic.

He was tied with Duval until a double bogey from the bunker and the woods on the 17th hole, then bogeyed the last hole going for broke. Duval birdied two of his last four holes for his fourth victory of the year.

"Atlanta helped me last year," Sabbatini said about the BellSouth. "It taught me a harsh lesson coming down the stretch. I have much more confidence in my game, and it's building in each round."

Chances are, he'll have to keep hitting it close and making the birdies to have a chance at Bermuda Dunes on Sunday. And he may have more than just Duval to worry about.

DIVOTS: Arnold Palmer was 1-under after nine holes at Bermuda Dunes and had a chance to at least shoot his age (70). But he bogeyed the next two holes, had a quadruple-bogey 8 on No. 16 and wound up with a 77. "If I don't get any better, I'm not going to play much golf at all publicly," he said. "I'll play at the club with members, since I play like them." ... Former Masters and British Open champion Sandy Lyle was disqualified Friday for too much practice -- at the wrong place. Lyle went out to the 18th green after play had been completed and practiced putting until it was dark. But the Rules of Golf forbid players from practicing anywhere on the course but the practice areas. ... Sabbatini, a rookie last year, bought a shirt at the TPC at Sugarloaf pro shop when he played the final round of the BellSouth Classic. That won't be the case Sunday. "I'm an Antigua boy this week," he said.

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