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 The Morning Line: Round 3
Posted: Sunday June 21, 1998 11:24 AM The Morning Line: Round 3Sports Illustrated golf writer Alan Shipnuck checks in after each round of the U.S. OpenROUND 3 The pros call Saturday "moving day" because so many addresses change on the leader board. That was the case here, with the exception of Payne Stewart's rent controlled spot at the top. He staggered around out there a bit but used that momentous eagle on the first hole to scrape out a 70, which went a long way on a day when only three players broke par.
Stewart is not playing the best golf but he is scoring better than anybody else, which can be taken two ways: Either he has figured this course out, or he is due finally to blow up. It is an old saw that nobody wins the Open, all but one lose it. I hate to keep sounding skeptical, but Sunday is Stewart's day to lose it. Stewart's career playoff record on the PGA Tour is a lackluster 3-5, and in the past seven years he has only won one tournament. He has the misfortune of being paired with one of the most tenacious competitors in golf, Tom Lehman, who is four strokes back. That may sound like a lot, but in these conditions you can blow that lead in the space of a couple holes. Since the 1994 Masters, Lehman has been a factor on the back nine on Sunday in seven majors. This includes his win at the 1996 British Open as well as the last three U.S. Opens, all of which he led going into the final round. Stewart hasn't been in a war like this in what seems like half a century. I see Lehman coming out with his pedal to the metal, trimming most of the lead on the brutal front side and then fighting off Stewart down the stretch, Lehman's 69 good for a one-shot victory over Stewart and his disappointing 74.
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