| Las
Vegas, 16th October 1998
- Bob Tway wants to play in only one more golf tournament this year. He's trying
to make sure it won't be next week at Disney World. Tway
shot a 3-under-par 69 in gusty conditions today to move into sole possession of
the lead in the Las Vegas Invitational -- and one round closer to his goal of
making it into the season-ending Tour Championship. Tway
overcame three three-putts to get to 14-under 202 and take a two-shot lead over
Davis Love III, Jim Furyk and David Ogrin on a day when winds gusting to 40 mph
sent most third-round scores soaring at the TPC Summerlin course. Mark Calcavecchia
led a group of four golfers another stroke back. Tway
is on the bubble for the Tour Championship -- which takes the top 30 on the money
winning list. He committed to play in the Disney tournament only to make sure
he's able to retain or improve on his No. 30 ranking. He
won't be heading for Florida, though, if he wins in Las Vegas. "I'd
like to not play and instead go home and rest and practice for a week," Tway
said. "The only reason I committed next week was I wasn't sure I'd make the
top 30." Tway,
who shared the lead with Ogrin, and Robert Damron after two rounds, made four
birdies in his third straight round in the 60s. It could have been even better,
but for the 3-putts. Two
of them came on par-5s where Tway had reached the green in two. "I
really felt like I putted well," he said. "But the greens are so fast
that putting is more difficult in the wind." Tway,
whose best finish this year was third in the U.S. Open, has won $850,823 in what
he called his most consistent year on tour. But he hasn't been in contention often
enough to win. "The
only disappointing thing is I haven't had many chances to win a golf tournament,"
he said. "Having a chance at this tournament with a couple of days to go
is great." Friday's
winds helped push up scores in a tournament where winners commonly shoot five
rounds in the 60s. The low round of the day was a 68, by Love and two others.
"I hit
the ball low being from Oklahoma so that helps me in the wind," Tway said.
"I don't have to change my trajectory much." The
tournament, a pro-am spread over the first three rounds at three courses, now
moves to the TPC Summerlin course for the final two rounds. Love,
who played at the more sheltered Las Vegas Country Club, missed a 6-foot eagle
putt on the last hole that would have put him within a shot of the lead. Love's
68 put him in prime position once again in a tournament he won in 1993 and lost
in a playoff to Tiger Woods in 1996. "This
tournament has been very good to me," Love said. "You have to shoot
low scores here and I know I can shoot low scores." Love
has only one win this year, at the MCI Classic, but has still won more than $1.2
million in 18 tournaments. "It's
a disappointing year because I didn't win but one tournament, but I had some back
problems so I was kind of iffy most of the year," he said. "It's obviously
not a lost year. But it's not what I wanted. I wanted major championships and
player of the year kind of stuff." Furyk
shot a 69 to get to 204, while Ogrin had a 71. Divots:
Paul Azinger, a stroke off the lead after two rounds, shot a 79 Friday and barely
made the cut at three under. ... Chip Beck, who missed the cut in 46 tournaments
before making one last month, will play this weekend even though he shot a 6-over
78 Friday. Beck was at nine under going into the third round. ... Robert Gamez,
who has a house overlooking the TPC course, also missed the cut, and is in danger
of losing his tour card for the first time since bursting onto the tour in 1990
with two wins. Gamez was 199th on the money list going into the tournament, and
needs to make the top 125 to keep his tour card | 
