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18th - 21st June
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Stewart stumbles but holds one-stroke lead

Associated Press

The Olympic Club, San Francisco, 19th June 1998 -   Payne Stewart worked the gum ferociously in his mouth and watched with folded arms as his 8-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole at the U.S. Open neared the cup, nearly stopped then proceeded on its merry way.

"I really thought I would have about 3 or 4 feet coming back up the hill,'' Stewart said after he shot a 71 today to be at 3-under-par 137, one-stroke ahead of Jeff Maggert and Bob Tway after two rounds at The Olympic Club.

"Then all of a sudden it's 20 feet,'' the 1991 U.S. Open winner said with the exasperated look of a man who knows how the USGA sets up a golf course with deep rough, fast greens and difficult pin placements.

"That was borderline ridiculous where they had the pin,'' he said. "I wasn't really pleased about that.''

Stewart missed the putt coming back.

Adding to his annoyance was the fact that it was his third bogey in five holes as a three-stroke lead became one just like at the 1996 U.S. Open when he made bogeys on two of the final three holes of the second round to let a lead slip to one stroke and ended up finishing 27th at Oakland Hills.

But on a day in which Casey Martin and his cart made the cut for the weekend rounds and player after player succumbed to the unique demands of a U.S. Open golf course, Stewart managed to make just enough putts to keep the lead.

Lee Janzen grabbed a share of that lead briefly with birdies on Nos. 15 and 16, but he went from the rough to the bunker on the 468-yard 17th hole and made a double bogey and still shot a 66.

"I was actually thinking abut shooting a 62 and shooting the lowest round in major championship history,'' Janzen said. "You don't get greedy in a U.S. Open.''

Janzen was at 139 along with 19-year-old amateur Matt Kuchar and 32-year-old journeyman Lee Porter, while Nick Faldo and Davis Love III missed the cut of 7-over 147.

While others around him were unraveling -- including Tiger Woods, Colin Montgomerie and Fred Couples -- Stewart, who finished the first round with three consecutive birdies, started today with three more.

He then settled into doing what needs to be done to win a U.S. Open -- make a lot of putts to save par, including key ones on Nos. 11, 13 and 16.

But bogeys on Nos. 14, 17 and 18 let a lot of players back into the tournament. One of those was David Duval, who shot a 68 and was lurking at 143, suddenly only six strokes back going into the weekend.

Nine players started the second round under par, but that number dwindled as the day went on and the thick El Niño-fed rough swallowed up shots and the wind-dried greens grew faster by the minute.

Of those nine, only Maggert was able to improve on his score, shooting a 69 to be at 138 along with Tway. Kuchar and Lee Porter were at 139.

"The style of golf that we play at the U.S. Open suits my game very well,'' said Maggert, who was in a final-round duel with Montgomerie, Ernie Els and Tom Lehman last year at Congressional before finishing fourth.

"I took a lot away from that tournament,'' he said. "I am looking forward to getting myself in a position like that again and hopefully I can better my performance than what I did last year.''

Maggert rebounded from bogeys three times today and -- in perhaps the key to winning a U.S. Open -- managed to make bogey his worst score on any hole.

Woods was not as lucky. He had a second four-putt green in two days -- this one on No. 6 -- and made his fifth double bogey in his last six U.S. Open rounds. He shot a 72 and was at 146, nine strokes back.

Defending champion Ernie Els shot a 70 and was at 145.

Perhaps the most surprising player to hang tough -- and in fact gain on the field -- was Kuchar, who shot a 69 to get to 139.

"I'm definitely playing the weekend right?'' Kuchar said. "I made my major goal. I wanted to be out here for Father's Day and my birthday,'' both of which are Sunday.

Sunday will be a special day for Kuchar, whose smile charmed the galleries at Augusta National in April when he finished 21st at The Masters, because his father, Peter, is also his caddie.

Joining Kuchar in making the cut for the weekend rounds was Martin, the 26-year-old Nike Tour player who successfully sued the PGA Tour to be allowed to ride a cart because of a circulatory problem in his right leg.

Martin shot a solid 71 in the second round and was at 5-over-par 145.

"From where I was eight or nine months ago'' when his legal status was in doubt, "I am very lucky to be here,'' Martin said.

Stewart threatened to sprint away from the field when he started with birdies on the first three holes to get to 7-under par.

But Olympic is a course where you have to put strokes in the bank when you have the chance because withdrawals from that account can come at an alarming rate.

One of the best examples of how quickly things could go wrong was Justin Leonard.

Leonard had a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-3 15th hole to go to even par but had a four-putt, missing twice from 3 feet, and then made consecutive bogeys to finish with a 75 for a 146.

Whoever wins this Open will certainly have to endure more of the same on the weekend -- including "ridiculous'' pin placements.