Barlow pulls three shots clear

Craig Barlow birdied four straight holes and was three strokes ahead of Tim Herron at 14 under Saturday with two holes left in the suspended third round of the Reno-Tahoe Open.

Barlow, a native Nevadan seeking his first victory on the PGA Tour, used a pair of 350-yard plus drives to spark the birdie string midway through his round at Montreux Golf and Country Club.

J.P Hayes, Rod Pampling, Cameron Beckman and Guy Boros were the leaders in the clubhouse at 9-under 207 when darkness stopped play just before 8 p.m. PDT with Barlow, Herron and Dennis Paulson in the last group on the 17th green.

Barlow, Herron and Paulson, who is 8 under, will have to complete the round before the final round begins on the 7,472-yard course on the edge of the Sierra Nevada.

Barlow will return to a 15-foot par putt, while Herron will begin with a 4-foot birdie attempt on the par-5, 616-yard 17th. Both players hit their second shot into greenside bunkers.

Herron got out cleanly, but Barlow's shot went only 5 feet and landed in another bunker before he played onto the green and called it quits for the day as darkness fell.

Barlow, 31, was an all-state tennis player in high school in Nevada before he switched to golf and won the state amateur title in 1994. The Henderson resident has won $313,055 this year to rank 132nd on the money list -- his best finish a tie for fourth last month in the Greater Hartford Open - and push his career earnings over six years to nearly $2 million.

Barlow, who started the day a shot off the lead at 9-under 135, hit his drive 359 yards on the 616-yard No. 9 before making a 1-foot putt for a birdie. He drove 352 yards on the next hole and hit his approach to 10 feet for another birdie to move in front of Herron.

Barlow hit within a foot again from about 43 yards out on the 584-yard, par-5 11th, then made his fourth birdie in a row with a 6-foot putt on the 186-yard 12th to get to 15 under par before a bogey on the next hole dropped him back to 14 under.

Herron started the round tied for the lead with Paulson at 10 under, and held a one-stroke lead over Barlow at 12-under when his approach spun back 12 feet to set up a 2-foot birdie putt on the par-4 sixth. But his four birdies on the round so far were undermined by three bogeys, including a three-putt from 28 feet on the 186-yard 12th hole.

Paulson was among those who had to finish his second round Saturday morning after rain delays Thursday and Friday. He made five straight birdies for a second-round 66, but was 2 over in his third round to drop back to 8 under.

Notah Begay III, who won the inaugural Reno-Tahoe Open his rookie year in 1999, was among those who missed the cut of 1 over after rounds of 72-76.

Email this page to a friend | Return to top of page