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18th - 21st June
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Stewart shoots 70 to take a four-stroke lead into final round

Associated Press

The Olympic Club, San Francisco, 20th June 1998 - Payne Stewart knows what it's like to lead the U.S. Open from start to finish. He's the last guy to do it.

Tom Lehman knows what it's like to get part of the job done. It seems like that happens every year.

Today at The Olympic Club they both displayed their major championship mettle while nearly everyone else in contention was pulling back with the relentlessness of the tide rushing out.

Stewart, who led the 1991 U.S. Open after every round, played safely when he needed to and scrambled when he had to. He shot an even-par 70 to be the only player under par after 54 holes on the firm, fast and frightening Lake Course.

His 3-under-par 207 was four strokes ahead of Lehman, who pushed into contention with a 68 -- tying Jim Furyk for the best round of the day -- and Bob Tway.

The four-stroke lead was the largest after 54 holes in the U.S. Open since Tony Jacklin did it on his way to winning in 1970.

"It's not over by any means," Stewart said. "I have to play a nice round of golf. This is the kind of golf course where it's real difficult to shoot a real low one and catch somebody. If I should step on it a little bit I can let a lot of people back in the golf tournament."

Lehman is very much in the tournament. And for the fourth consecutive year, he will be playing in the last group on Sunday at the Open, hoping this time he can get the job done after finishing third, second and third.

"I don't think it owes me one," Lehman said. "I think I owe myself one, though."

This time -- at least -- Lehman avoids the pressure of being the leader going into the last round.

"If I'm not leading, then the pressure is on the other guy," Lehman said. "It's something different anyway, maybe something better for me."

Nick Price and Lee Janzen were five strokes back going to Sunday at 212 while Steve Stricker, who gained ground with a 69, was at 213 along with Jeff Maggert.

"Tomorrow is Payne's day," Price said after shooting a 71. "We have to go out there and be patient and wait for him to make a mistake -- if he does."

Janzen had a chance to be a lot closer to Stewart but made a double bogey on No. 17 for the second consecutive day as he shot a 73.

"Even if Payne struggles tomorrow we will have to shoot a good score to catch him," Janzen said. "So he does have that in his favor.''

Stewart started his round with a 25-foot eagle putt and had a short birdie on No. 8 that balanced a bogey on the third hole and another bogey when he missed a 7-foot par putt on No. 9.

But four times -- on Nos. 4, 5, 6 and 14 -- he made a good two-putt from more than 30 feet while negotiating the Lake Course's steep sloping greens.

And he showed soft hands around the greens with consecutive good chips on Nos. 12 and 13 to save par and another one on the 17th hole to escape a bogey.

It was a solid display of exactly the kind of gritty, grind-it-out golf needed to win a U.S. Open.

"I'm not a thoroughbred," Stewart said when asked about being the last wire-to-wire winner in the Open. "I'm a plodder."

Lehman walked away from a roller-coaster round once again with a chance to win. He opened the round with three consecutive pars, followed that with three consecutive bogeys then played two under the rest of the way, finishing with a 6-foot birdie putt on the final hole.

"I played those first six in even par, which was a good score no matter how you've done it," Lehman said.

"One thing to keep on telling myself tomorrow is to be patient. If I can make par after par after par ... ," he said, his voice trailing off.

Matt Kuchar, the 19-year-old amateur, hung tough for quite a while but slipped from the scene with four consecutive bogeys beginning at No. 14. He finished with a 76 to be at 215.

Tiger Woods shot a 71, parring the last 14 holes, and was at 7-over par 217. Casey Martin had a 74 and was at 219, while Masters champion Mark O'Meara shot a 78 and was at 224.

Defending champion Ernie Els shot a 75 and was at 220.

Because of fairways as narrow as a hotel hallway, rough so deep that players are happy merely to advance the ball and a lot of dogleg holes where position is more important than distance, the driver was virtually useless here this week.

After shying away from it for two days, Woods and John Daly put the big stick to use torday.

Woods showed what he could do on No. 1, hitting a drive 373 yards and getting to the par-5 green in two with a wedge from 160 yards. He two-putted from 15 feet for his only birdie of the day.

Daly reached the green on the 288-yard uphill seventh hole with his 3-wood while the group in front of him was still putting. Els, part of that group, turned around and applauded Daly. Still, Daly shot a 75 and was at 219.

The Olympic Club is known as The Graveyard of Champions because Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson -- who have a combined 24 major titles -- never won another after finishing second at an Open here.

This is another U.S. Open that might very well produce not only a winner, but also a victim. Tom Lehman hopes this time it is not him.