| Endicott,
New York, 19th September 1998
- Bruce Fleisher said time had passed him by. One month shy of
his 50th birthday, maybe it has, but not on this day at the B.C. Open.
Fleisher briefly put any
thoughts of graduating to the Senior PGA Tour on hold with a 9-under-par 63 and
gained the third-round lead at 12-under 204. That was one shot better than Nolan
Henke, who shot a 67. Chris
Perry, second here last year, had a 69 and was alone in third at 206, while rookie
Richard Coughlan of Ireland and R.W. Eaks were tied for fourth, another shot back.
Third-round
leader Dave Barr of Canada had an off day with a 73 and led a group of six players
at 208. Defending B.C. Open champion Gabriel Hjertstedt of Sweden also was in
contention after a 66 moved him within five strokes of the lead. Three
decades ago, Fleisher was dreaming of life on the PGA Tour after winning the U.S.
Amateur title. Now he's staring at life on tour as a senior, and that's not so
bad. "I've
been around a long time, but I can still play," said Fleisher, who took advantage
of the firm playing conditions on the En-Joie Golf Club course for seven birdies
and an eagle that got him going. "I'm competitive, but that's why there is
a senior tour. My peers are out there. I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking
forward to the no-cut. This year I've missed eight cuts by one shot, and it seems
like every week I'm always around that cut. That's stressful. "I'm
not putting a lot of heat on myself this week," said Fleisher, whose only
PGA win came at the 1991 New England Classic. "It's certainly not life and
death for me. It's life and death for the 25-year-olds. I've done that, been there."
So, too, has
the 33-year-old Henke, who won the 1990 B.C. Open in only his second full year
on tour. He had four birdies on the front nine to quickly sneak up the leaderboard,
then managed to save par on the final two holes after pulling his last two tee
shots. "That
doesn't give me a lot of good vibes going into Sunday," Henke said. "I
hadn't drove the ball that great this week, but I drove it a lot better today,
so I'm not that worried about two little pulls. I'll just try to forget about
it." Perhaps
the biggest surprise in a weekend of surprises was the 24-year-old Coughlan, who
graduated from Clemson only last year. Because of early morning fog, Friday's
second round was delayed 90 minutes, and 22 players were stranded on the course
when darkness fell. Coughlan was one of them, which meant today was a long day.
"I don't
like going back out to finish one or two holes in the morning because you get
out of your groove," said Coughlan, who was awake at 4:30 a.m. and shot a
5-under 67 today. "I'm just trying to keep the ball rolling. I feel confident
in so far as I'm playing good. I know what I'm doing well. But it's the last round
of a tour event, and I never thought I'd be out here with these big boys so soon."
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