| |
Rain delay Olazabal leads St. Jude when play resumes Monday
Posted: Sunday June 13, 1999 08:17 PM
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal rocketed to the top of the St. Jude Classic leaderboard Sunday, then torrential rain postponed completion of the final round. Olazabal was 8 under for the day through 14 holes and 15 under for the tournament, one shot ahead of Omar Uresti, Rick Fehr and the four third-round leaders -- Hal Sutton, Tom Lehman, Ted Tryba and Tim Herron. Brett Quigley is alone at 13 under. Weather permitting, the final round was to resume Monday at 8:30 a.m. "Today was a wonderful round," Olazabal said. "I really hit quite a lot of good shots, made a few good putts and that's why I managed to score 8 under par." When play was suspended, 24 of the 76 players had completed their rounds. Those still on the course will pick up where they left off. Tryba and Herron, the last twosome of the day, had just teed off on No. 1 when play was halted. Sutton and Lehman were just ahead of them, Uresti was on No. 2 and Fehr had completed three holes. Olazabal started the day seven shots behind the leaders after shooting a disappointing third-round 70. He played the front nine in 32 and made five consecutive birdies starting at the par-4 2nd. He made a tricky 18-foot birdie putt after getting a fortuitous bounce onto the green at the 231-yard par-3 14th, then hit a perfect drive on the par-4 15th when the horn sounded indicating lightning was in the area. Play was suspended, then a few minutes later the skies opened. Nearly 2 inches of rain fell in 30 minutes, flooding bunkers and turning the 18th fairway into a duck pond. All the rain will leave the greens soft and allow players to shoot for the flags. Olazabal said he does not expect his score will be low enough to win, no matter what he does over the final four holes. "I don't think I have any chance to win," he said. "I mean, I will have to birdie maybe the last four holes but that's not being very realistic." The delay caused problems for Olazabal and the other players entered in the U.S. Open later this week. Many had planned to fly out of Memphis on Sunday night and practice on the course in Pinehurst, N.C., on Monday. Olazabal said he does not react well to last-minute changes in his schedule. "But those things happen and you have to take them," he said. "I have to find some way to feel comfortable." Tryba, whose best finish this year was second at the Nissan Open, said the chance to win his second career PGA Tour event makes the delay worthwhile. "I've played well for 54 holes," he said. "I want to play 72 and win a golf tournament." Lots of players have an opportunity to win the St. Jude. When play was halted, 34 players -- nearly half the field -- were within five shots of the lead. Sutton, who ended the third round with three bogeys over the final five holes, said he felt great after parring the first hole Sunday. Meantime, the woes continued for David Frost. He tied a PGA Tour and St. Jude record by shooting a 16-under 126 that gave him a four-stroke lead after two rounds, but ballooned to a 3-over 74 on Saturday. On Sunday, he bogeyed No. 1 to fall to 12 under, three shots off the lead. He's glad to have another day to try to find his game. "I think it would have been a little unfair to send the guys back out under these conditions," he said. "The other guys [who played earlier] played under different conditions." If more rain falls Monday, tournament officials say they may hold a playoff among the four third-round leaders. The last PGA Tour tournament that was delayed to the following Monday was the 1997 Memorial Tournament. The St. Jude, sponsored by FedEx, has a $2.5 million purse and $450,000 winner's check.
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Copyright © 1999 CNN/SI. A Time Warner Company. Terms under which this service is provided to you.
| |||||||||||||||||||||
