Flesch up by two with one to go
Associated Press
Saturday, October 28
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Steve Flesch held his own against
Tiger Woods.
Flesch, who has never won in 93 starts on the PGA Tour, pulled
away with four crucial putts in the middle of his round Saturday
and finished the way he started -- with a two-stroke lead over Woods
in the National Car Rental Classic at Disney World.
"I hung in there today," Flesch said. "It was a blast playing
with Tiger. It was everything I anticipated, and I look forward to
doing it tomorrow."
Flesch, the 1998 rookie of the year, was at 22-under 194 and
will take at least a share of the lead into the final round for
only the second time in his career. He finished second last year in
New Orleans, and tied for fifth in the Western Open in July.
Jeff Sluman had a 67 and was five strokes back, but he will be
in the final grouping Sunday with Flesch and Woods.
"Obviously, he didn't get run over," Sluman said of Flesch.
"But this is a 72-hole tournament, not a 54-hole tournament."
Still, a two-stroke lead over Woods beats the alternative. Woods
has won 24 times on tour in his career, and he has come from behind
in only five of them.
On a warm and breezy afternoon at Disney, Woods managed to keep
a couple of impressive streaks going -- 105 straight holes without a
bogey, and his 42nd straight round at par or better. But it wasn't
easy, especially with the pace of the greens and his fighting some
loose swings throughout the day.
He was still in good position to successfully defend a title for
the fourth time this year.
"It's imperative that I get off to a good start -- as well as
Steve," said Woods, who birdied the last hole for a 66. "And we
can't forget the guys behind us."
In the group behind will be three at 200 -- Duffy Waldorf, who
had a 69, and Glen Day and Bob May, who each had a 66.
Flesch fits the recent profile for giving Woods all he can
handle -- no majors, not many PGA Tour victories and nothing to
lose.
May was that guy in the PGA Championship, matching Woods with a
31 on the back nine at Valhalla before losing in a three-hole
playoff. Grant Waite stepped in at the Canadian Open, pushing Woods
the entire final round before falling one incredible shot short.
Next up is Flesch, a left-hander from Kentucky who managed to
not get too caught up in his first pairing with Woods.
"It's easy to get sucked into what he's doing," Flesch said.
"I watched every shot he hit. It's impressive how far and straight
a guy can hit it. But I did well on my shots, sticking to my
routine and staying focused on what I was doing."
All he did was answer Woods early, and then ride four great
putts into a cushion that he never gave up.
Woods, taking an unusual amount of time to line up his putts,
made a 12-foot birdie on the first hole to close within one stroke.
He had a 15-foot birdie putt on the next hole, but Flesch stepped
up and made a 25-footer. Woods missed his putt and they traded
birdies over the next two holes.
"My putting saved me," Flesch said.
Woods pulled even for the first time with a driver off the
fairway into the greenside bunker on the par-5 eighth, and blasting
out to 4 feet.
That's as close as he got. Flesch was usually behind all day -
63 yards, to be exact, in the second fairway. But he stayed ahead
where it mattered -- on the scoreboard.
Flesch made 20-foot birdie putts on Nos. 9 and 10 to rebuild his
lead, kept it with an 8-foot par putt on 11, then birdied 13 from
about 25 feet.
Just as importantly, he matched Woods' birdie putts the rest of
the way until the final hole.
Flesch says he has learned from his past opportunities not to
put too much pressure on himself, no small task on Sunday
considering the opposition.
Woods is going for his fourth straight victory and 10th of the
year, which would be the most by anyone since Sam Snead had 11 in
1950. Flesch is still trying to win, but he can't think of a better
time.
"If I could get my first win playing in the same group with
Tiger, I don't think there's anything more I could ask for," he
said.
Divots
Chris Perry is one round away from sneaking into the Tour
Championship. Perry was 32nd on the money list to start the week,
but Rocco Mediate (No. 30) missed the cut and Scott Hoch (No. 31)
bogeyed the last two holes to fall to the bottom of the pack.
Perry, who played with Woods in the final round of the Tour
Championship last year, had a 67 and was at 203. He needs to finish
at least 25th to surpass Mediate. If Perry doesn't make it, he
won't blame it on anything Sunday. "I've given away so many shots
this year ... it'll be because of those ones throughout the year,"
he said.
Davis Love III said he definitely will go to Australia
for the Match Play Championship, but is waffling on whether to go
to Spain in two weeks. For one reason, he doesn't like Valderrama.
And even if he wins the next three weeks, the extra money won't
help him win the money title.
Glen Hnatiuk of Canada had a
hole-in-one on 15, a 6-iron from 179 yards.
