| Fort
Worth Texas, 23rd May 1998
- Tom Watson flashed out of the pack with a 5-under-par 65 Saturday
to grab a share of the lead with rookie Harrison Frazar and veteran Jim Furyk
after three rounds of the MasterCard Colonial. Watson,
48, flirting with a 34th PGA title, birdied four of the final eight holes and
rode his back-nine 31 to a 54-hole total of 199, 11-under-par for three trips
around the course immortalized by five-time champion Ben Hogan. "I'll
just take tomorrow as it comes," Watson said in assessing his chances for
his first PGA victory since the Memorial in 1996. Equally
amazing was the performance of Frazar, the former University of Texas sharpshooter
who emerged from obscurity last week to tie for second at the GTE Byron Nelson
Classic. Frazar
carded a 68 after earlier rounds of 64 and 67 to forge the three-way deadlock
entering Sunday's showdown for the top prize of $414,000. Furyk,
meanwhile, rolled in a birdie putt on the final hole for a 66 in his bid for a
third tour title. His PGA Tour victories were the 1995 Las Vegas Invitational
and the United Airlines Hawaiian Open. Jeff Sluman,
the 1988 PGA champion, fired a 66 and was all alone at 200, a stroke off the pace
but two ahead of Kenny Perry and Rocco Mediate. Perry shot a 69 and
Mediate a 67 Saturday. Watson
got off to an erratic start with birdie-bogey-birdie-bogey on the first four holes,
but made the turn at 34 and then caught fire at the par-5 11th with a 2-putt birdie.
He birdied 14,
15 and 18 and overtook Frazar, who missed the 17th green, chipped poorly and missed
his par putt to drop to 11-under and into the eventual tie. Furyk
made his charge with a string of four straight birdies, beginning at the par-4
fifth hole, known as Death Valley, and capped his comeback with the birdie at
No. 18. Mark
Calcavechhia, who started the day just two back, took the lead at 11-under at
one point, but stumbled on the closing nine and wound up with a 70 for 203. He
was tied at that point with former Colonial champion Bruce Lietze, who fashioned
a 67 Saturday, and John Cook, last week's Nelson champion, who had a 69.
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