| Coal
Valley, Ill. 11th July 1998 -
David Toms's third straight 65 gave him a lead in the Quad
City Classic that he doesn't expect to own when he tees off in the final round
Sunday. "I
expect someone will already set a new lead," said Toms, who won his sole
PGA title here last year. "If I go out tomorrow and shoot 1- or 2-under,
I'm not going to win." And
he said winning at the 6,762-yard Oakwood Country Club is what he wants to do.
"Once you
win, I think you are hungry to do it again. It would be a great thing for my career
to get that second victory. That's my goal tomorrow," he said. He
emerged from a crowd atop the leaderboard to take a one-stroke lead with a round
in which he made five birdies and few mistakes. Even his mistakes didn't always
cost him strokes. He converted a bad drive on No. 10 into a birdie, thanks to
a good approach and a 6-foot putt. "That
was big. I didn't really struggle at all. I made all the easy pars," Toms
said. But with 11 other golfers with double-digit below-par scores, he knows Sunday's
final round may not be as easy. "Someone
asked me, 'How about four 65s? Wouldn't that be great?' I said, 'Yeah, but it
might not win,' " Toms said. "Hopefully, my experience here will help."
Scott Gump's
64 featured a 29 on the back side, getting him to one stroke off the lead at 196.
He is looking to improve on his best showing of the year, 19th in the BellSouth
Classic. "When
you get on a roll you just try to get out of your own way and see what you can
shoot," Gump said. "And boom! Before you know it, you're 6-under for
the day." Coming
in at 13-under 197 were second-day leaders Frank Lickliter and Steve Jones, who
shot 68s, Kenny Perry, who shot a 67, and three-time Quad City champion D.A. Weibring,
who shot a 65. Brad
Fabel had a 65 and ended the day at 199, along with Scott McCarron and Nolan Henke,
who shot 67s. The
best round of the day came from Doug Martin, who shot 63 and was at 10-under overall,
five off the lead. He was joined there by Brian Claar, who had a 64, and Mark
Carnevale, who had a 66. "It's
going to be a serious shootout tomorrow," Gump said. Toms's
lead came off a 30-foot putt on No. 8, his third birdie of the day. He followed
that with birdies on Nos. 8, 10 and 14. His first birdie on No. 1 came after he
chipped onto the green for a 20-foot putt. Lickliter
lost the lead with bogeys on Nos. 2 and 3. He came back with birdies on the Nos.
4, 8, 11 and 12, gave a stroke back at 13 and birdied 14. Jones
struggled off the tee and gave himself few chances for birdie, making only three.
He bogeyed No. 5 when he chipped long from the fringe and two-putted. Casey
Martin, who sued the PGA for the right to ride a cart at its tournaments, had
a 73 and was at 207. He said he would return to the Nike Tour in an attempt to
earn a PGA Tour playing card next season. | 
