Mike Weir, Notah
Begay and Tom Byrum couldn't have asked for more heading into the final round
of the Michelob Championship.
All three overcame bogeys that could have been disastrous today and because no
one else avoided mistakes, all three have a shot to win on Sunday.
Weir bounced back from
finishing the front nine with two late bogeys by making birdies on five of the
first six holes of the back side in a 3-under 68, good enough to give him a one-shot
lead over Begay and Byrum with 18 holes to play.
"This
is awesome," said the left-handed Weir, who six weeks ago won for the first time
with a closing 64 in the Air Canada Championship. "I love being in this position.
I worked very hard for seven years to be in this position."
Begay was elated after a 69 left him tied for second with Byrum, the second-round
leader who had three birdies and two bogeys in an mostly uneventful 70.
"It's anybody's tournament,"
said Begay, the tour's only American Indian, a rookie who also earned his first
victory in the Reno-Tahoe Open in August.
Byrum, who at 147th on the money list needs a high finish to close a $70,000 gap
on the money list and get into the top 125, thereby guaranteeing that he'll retain
his playing privileges next year, has downplayed the pressure all week.
"I'm just trying to have
fun," he said. "I think that takes care of it for me. There's going to be mistakes
when the course is playing like this. Don't let those slow you down too much or
get too upset about a bogey here or there."
In many events, all three might have hurt their chances on Saturday, when the
deep tangled rough and hard greens of the River Course at Kingsmill gave the field
fits, one errant shot often leading to more and costing players key strokes.
Weir, for example, bogeyed
two of the last three holes on the front to drop to 4 under, then started the
back with four straight birdies and five in six holes.
"The
more often you're (near the lead), the more comfortable you feel," he said. "I
didn't panic when things weren't going well on the front nine."
The back nine has been Weir's playland. After shooting a 3-over 38 there the first
day, he had a 29 Friday and a 31 Saturday. Overall, he's 10 under on the closing
nine the last two rounds, but 1 over on the par-36 front side.
"The
front nine sets up well for me," he said. "I don't know why I haven't been playing
better. Hopefully tomorrow I'll change things around a little."
Begay, who has been in the lead or within a shot throughout, was in front at 9
under until he double-bogeyed the par-5 15th, a reachable 506-yard hole where
many tee off thinking eagle or birdie but sometimes end up paying dearly.
"That hole puts you in
a mindset that you want to make an easy birdie," said Begay, who tried to lob
a shot from hardpan next to the green and bladed it into woods behind the hole.
He took a drop, chipped to 8 feet and two-putted.
"I'm
a very aggressive player, but it bites you now and again," he said. "The best
thing about my round is that that double didn't faze me. I was in a positive mindset
and I wasn't going to let it take me out of the golf tournament."
Lee Janzen, a two-time U.S. Open champion, made a 45-foot putt on No. 18 for his
eighth birdie and his 65 left him alone in fourth place at 207.
Four others were at 208, including Jay Delsing, whose 65 tied Janzen for the round
of the day on the 6,853-yard layout, Scott Verplank, who shot a 68 despite a bogey
at No. 18, Tom Scherrer, who had a 66, and Kenny Perry, who shot a 67.
Divots: Two-time
defending champion David Duval followed two straight 70s with a 69 and remained
within a hot wedge and putter of a third straight victory. He was in a tie for
ninth with six others, most notably Dennis Paulson, who shot a 66. Peter Jacobsen
remained one of the hottest players in the tournament. Since starting with a 43
on his first nine, Jacobsen's scorecard reads 32, 33, 32, 36 and 33. He's in the
group four shots off the lead. ... Larry Rinker had a round Saturday that was
much like what his younger brother did Friday. Larry had seven birdies over the
first 16 holes to go from 3 over to 4 under, then double-bogeyed the par-3 17th
and bogeyed the par-4 18th. In the second round, Lee Rinker was at 5 under after
17 holes before hitting two out of bounds and scoring an 8.
