Calcavecchia moves into three shot lead

Mark Calcavecchia, looking for his first win in two years, shot a 6-under-par 64 on today to take a three-stroke lead in the Greater Hartford Open.

Calcavecchia had a 17-under 193 total to break the 54-hole tournament record of 195 set last year by defending champ Brent Geiberger.

''I'd be lying to you if I told you I wasn't a little nervous out there. And I'll be a little nervous tomorrow,'' said Calcavecchia, the 1989 British Open champion.

''But I've won tournaments before. Three shots is better than two, better than one and better than being behind.''

Second-round co-leader Notah Begay, struggled early in the round but finished with a 67 for sole possession of second place at 14 under. Kirk Triplett broke the course record with a 9-under 61 to move into a third-place tie with Edward Fryatt at 13 under.

Calcavecchia birdied the first two holes, then ran off a string birdies on Nos. 6-8.

His only stumble was on the par-4 17th. He tried to hit an easy 7-iron on his approach but pushed it right of the green. The ball landed on the back slope of the fringe.

''I should have hit a hard 8-iron,'' Calcavecchia said. ''But when you're trying to win a golf tournament, you've got a little adrenaline going and I pushed it way right. But that pin was staring me right there in the face. It was probably the worst iron shot I hit all week.''

He opted to putt it up and left the ball about 18 feet away, and two-putted for bogey.

''That was tough. I was going to chip it but unless I caught it perfect it would have gone all the way down to other side to the far left edge,'' he said.

Calcavecchia, 40, has six top-10 finishes in the GHO since 1981. Begay, in his second year on tour, missed the cut in his first appearance in 1999.

Begay, coming off a victory last week in the St. Jude Classic in Memphis, Tenn., made his only two bogeys on the front nine and lost ground early to Calcavecchia.

''Mark came out of the gates just overwhelmingly strong. If I were a rookie, I probably would have gotten flustered and tried to do something I didn't need to do,'' said Begay. ''Instead I just stayed patient.''

Triplett's 61 broke the mark of 62 on the 6,820-yard TPC at River Highlands shared by five players. He began the day 4 under and seven strokes behind Calcavecchia and Begay.

''I needed to stay in contact with these guys and not let them get that far ahead,'' Triplett said.

Triplett's round included a 60-foot birdie put on No. 9 and birdies on Nos. 16 and 17, where he bogeyed and double-bogeyed a day earlier.

Scoring conditions have been near perfect all week, with little wind and soft greens. Calcavecchia said he expects more of the same on Sunday.

''I saw Kirk Triplett shoot 61, Notah's playing great. He's going to keep making birdies out there,'' Calcavecchia said. ''I've got to keep pace with him and just keep making birdies and I'll be fine.''

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