| Dublin,
Ohio, 30th May 1998
- Fred Couples knew there was something wrong the
night before today's third round of the Memorial Tournament. And he knew what
it was. "I
haven't had a migraine in a while," Couples said after he shot a 67 to move
to 14-under-par 202, three strokes ahead of Davis Love II going into Sunday's
final round at Muirfield Village. "It
started Friday night," he said. "I felt bad on the range and worse on
the first tee. I hope I feel that bad tomorrow, too." Couples
pulled himself together for a fast finish with a curling 12-foot eagle putt on
the 15th hole, a 25-footer for birdie on the next hole and a 10-foot par-saving
putt on No. 18 to create some breathing room over one of the best leaderboards
of the year. Ernie
Els shot a 67 and was at 206, four strokes back along with Ted Tryba and Andrew
Magee. David Duval also had a 67 and was alone at 207. It's
the third time this year Couples has gone into the last round with the lead. He
let both the Masters and the Byron Nelson get away when he hit shots into the
water on the back nine. "He's
had a lot of close calls this year," Love said about Couples, his close friend
with whom he will be paired in the last round. "So he's due to break one
out. Watch out for those sick guys." In
his only victory this year, the Bob Hope Classic, Couples trailed by three strokes
going into the final round. If
those squandered opportunities bothered Couples, he did not show it today at Muirfield.
Moving in his usual easy style, Couples cruised through the first eight holes
even par then closed with a rush, playing the last 10 holes 5-under par despite
his first migraine in years. "The
significance of tomorrow is that the last couple of times I didn't win,"
Couples said. "It's not a big deal to me." Rain
that interrupted play for 2-1/2 hours on Friday softened the Muirfield Village
course just enough so players could go after the pins a little more aggressively
but not so much that the fairways didn't give generous roll. After
only five players shot a score as low as 66 on the firm and fast layout in the
first two rounds -- and only one on Friday -- a bunch of players went low today
as 50 of the 71 players broke par. Bobby
Wadkins shot a 65 to get to 8-under-par 208 and John Huston matched that score
to finish at 209, as did Glen Day. A 66 by Larry Mize put him at 208. Brandel
Chamblee had a 66 to get to 209. Jesper Parnevik also shot a 66 and was at 210.
"The course
really played easy today," Wadkins said. "The fairways were still firm
enough that you got a little roll. But I hit a lot of shots that I could fly right
at the hole." Tiger
Woods was one of the players back in the pack who was unable to make a move. Hampered
by a tricky design with narrow landing areas and devilish doglegs, Woods was able
to hit his driver only three times and shot a 71 to be at 215, 13 strokes back.
One of the best
moves was made by Duval. He made eight 3s in 10 holes beginning at No. 8 and survived
a penalty stroke on No. 15 to get to 11-under par with a birdie on No. 17. But
an ugly double bogey on the last hole gave him a 67 to be at 207. His
problems on the par-4 final hole came when he unwisely tried to do too much from
out of the right rough with his second shot. The thick grass grabbed his club,
twisting it and sending his ball wildly across the fairway into the left rough.
"I hit
2-iron -- an attempted 2-iron -- 7-iron, sand wedge, sand wedge, sand wedge and
then I putted," he said. "I was looking at 7." Els
got to 10-under with a 15-foot eagle putt on No. 15. Then
Couples began his move to break the log jam on the leaderboard. He
got to 11-under when his 10-foot birdie putt on No. 13 curled in the back side
of the hole, followed by an eagle at No. 15 and a birdie on No. 16. Love
said he was looking forward to going up against his good friend in the final round.
"It's fun
to win so you'd probably rather not have Freddy up there," Love said. "But
yeah, it's more fun to beat the best. You get more satisfaction by beating the
big names in a great tournament." That's
what it will take to win the Memorial Tournament on Sunday. | 
