Waldorf holds on to narrow lead

The lead in the Phoenix Open belonged to Duffy Waldorf, but just barely.

The cheers belonged to John Daly, by a mile.

Waldorf spent most of the third round Saturday scratching out pars until he made birdies on two of the last four holes for a 4-under 67 and a one-stroke lead. Along the way, he listened to cheers from a crowd far bigger than the last two Super Bowls combined.

Too bad they weren't for him.

Up ahead was John Daly, who got the beer-drinking gallery -- a record 164,900 -- whooping it up with his grip-it-and-rip-it style that left him only two strokes back.

``It was great to hear those cheers,'' Waldorf said. ``I felt like I was on the sidelines, waiting to get into the game.''

Waldorf didn't exactly get scrub time.

His 140-foot chip up to within 2 feet for birdie on the 332-yard 17th hole -- a shot he described as phenomenal the more he thought about it -- gave him a little breathing room on the TPC of Scottsdale.

Waldorf was at 197, one stroke ahead of Kenny Perry and Chris DiMarco.

The massive, raucous gallery that drinks, cheers and occasionally watches golf doesn't need much to get them going.

Having Daly in the hunt really fired them up.

After Waldorf missed a birdie attempt on the 16th green, one fan turned toward the 17th tee and screamed to Daly, ``He just missed his putt. Hit the green, bay-beeee!''

Daly went just over the green and three-putted for par, but he left the crowd one last treat -- a 379-yard drive on the final hole, leaving him a mere 59 yards from where he hit sand wedge into 4 feet for birdie and a 66.

``It's going to be down to the wire,'' said Daly, winless on the PGA Tour since his British Open victory at St. Andrews in 1995.

And it won't just be him.

Perry, who finished one stroke out of the playoff in the season-opening Mercedes Championships, had a 64 for the best round of the day and a date in the final group with Waldorf.

DiMarco two-putted from about 90 feet for birdie on No. 17 and also birdied the 18th from 4 feet -- even though he was 67 yards short of Daly's drive -- for a 66.

Waldorf didn't do much to elicit any cheers aside from his 4-iron from 200 yards that grazed the cup on the 470-yard eighth hole. Still, he turned a decent round into a good one with his final burst.

``There are plenty of guys who can win this tournament,'' he said.

Daly is one of them.

``When he's hitting it straight, he can bring any course down to size,'' Waldorf said.

Perry recovered from a near disaster when his tee shot rolled next to the roots of a knee-high desert brush. He poked it out into the rough, hit into a deep bunker away from the pin and got up-and-down to keep his round going.

``I'm very relaxed, and good things are happening,'' Perry said.

The only thing DiMarco lost Saturday was a friendly wager with Daly on the Florida-Arkansas basketball game, which the Razorbacks won in overtime. Good thing he didn't bet on a long drive competition -- no one can hang with Daly, who has won the tour title in that category 10 of the past 11 years.

Per-Ulrik Johansson was at 200, while Scott Verplank and Rory Sabbatini were another stroke back. Vijay Singh also had a share of the lead after hitting 6-iron into the 554-yard third hole to 18 feet and making eagle.

He three-putted twice on the front nine and never made up any ground the rest of the mild, breezy afternoon.

Jeff Maggert needs a victory to have any chance of getting back to La Costa for the Match Play Championship, which he won in 1999. He had a 66 and was at 211, along with Brent Geiberger.

Also in the mix once again is Charles Howell III, who has made 16 consecutive cuts on the PGA Tour as he tries to pick up his first victory.

Howell showed why the Phoenix Open likely won't be decided until the final putt falls on Sunday. He was off the radar screen until finishing with five straight birdies for a 66.

``You've got to make birdies or people are passing you by,'' Howell said. ``As I showed today, anything can happen down the stretch.''

Among those missing was Ty Tryon, but that was no surprise. The 17-year-old played three holes in the morning to finish his second round and missed the cut by seven shots. He had a 71 to finish at 6 over.

The spotlight now shifts to a logjam at the top, and what figures to be a shootout in Scottsdale on Sunday.

Right in the middle of the hoopla is Daly, whose game and life is control. He had chances to win last year at the St. Jude Classic and the Canadian Open.

``You're a lot more confident the more times you have a chance,'' Daly said. ``But so many guys can win. It's just nice to be in the hunt again.''

Him and just about everyone else. But Daly figures to have a homefieldadvantage.

Divots

Waldorf went on a treasure hunt on the par-3 7th hole when his ball landed right in front of Sabbatini's ball in the bunker. Waldorf marked it with a dime, then after Sabbatini blasted out, he couldn't find the coin. After ranking the sand, Waldorf dug through the sand with his finger three times before they found it. ``This is way too much work,'' Waldorf said. Both of them got up-and-down for par. ... Mike Weir played the final four holes in even par -- a triple bogey, followed by three straight birdies. ... College loyalties run deep in Arizona, so when a fan shouted out ``ASU,'' Sabbatini stopped in his tracks. ``ASU? I'm a Wildcat,'' retorted the South African, who went to Arizona. ``That's cause for a fight right there.'' ... CBS Sports analyst David Feherty to Singh, after he hit a 6-iron to 18 feet for eagle on the third hole:``Know any hard games?''

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