U.S. Senior Open Running Updates - Round 4

Doyle Hanging Tough

Tom Watson bogeyed the 16th hole after sticking his approach 12 feet from the hole and missing the putt for par.

Allen Doyle had a chance to go up by three strokes but his 6-footer broke right. He also carded bogey.

With a two-stroke lead on 17, Doyle dropped in a back-door 10-footer for birdie. It was on top of Watson's birdie. Doyle went to 18 with a two-shot lead.

Two Birdies At 14

Tom Watson sank a forty-foot putt for birdie from the front of the 14^th green, moving to six under par for the championship and into sole possession of second place. Shortly thereafter, Allen Doyle converted his own eight-foot putt for birdie, moving to eight under par and once again staking a two stroke lead.

Both are waiting to play the par-3 15^th.

Doyle Leads By Two Over Three

Allen Doyle continues to lead the championship at seven under par, playing the par-4 14^th hole.

Trailing Doyle by two strokes are Peter Jacobsen, who just posted a birdie at the 14^th hole to move to five under par. Also at five under par, playing the 14^th hole alongside Doyle, is Tom Watson. Scott Simpson, playing the par-3 15^th hole is tied with Jacobsen and Watson.

Doyle Takes Lead Back

Allen Doyle has just posted a birdie at the par-4 12^th hole to move to seven under par and into sole possession of the lead. It was Doyle's third birdie of the day, but his first since the 3^rd hole. He leads Andy Bean by one stroke.

Simpson Birdies Three In A Row

1987 U.S. Open champion Scott Simpson has surged up the leaderboard with birdies at the 11^th, 12^th, and 13^th holes. He has carded five birdies in his round today, against two bogeys. Three under par for the day, Simpson is currently tied for third place, one stroke behind the leaders.

The lead is currently held by Andy Bean and Allen Doyle at six under par. D.A. Weibring, who had moved as low as seven under par, has just bogeyed the 13^th and 14^th holes and is tied with Simpson and Tom Watson at five over par.

Three Way Tie At The Top

D.A. Weibring carded his first bogey of the day, and his first three-putt of the round, at the par-4 13^th hole to drop into a four-way tie for the lead with Andy Bean, Allen Doyle, and Tom Watson at six under par.

Two strokes back of the leaders are Peter Jacobsen, Bob Gilder, Bruce Lietzke, and Scott Simpson.

Weibring Surges To Top

D.A. Weibring, who started the day eight shots off the lead at even par, has just carded his seventh birdie of the round at the par-4 12^th hole. He is now the leader of the championship.

Allen Doyle and Tom Watson are one stroke behind, and have just completed the 9^th hole. Peter Jacobsen and Andy Bean, playing the 10^th, trail Weibring by two strokes.

Through 12 holes, Weibring has needed just 15 putts.

Leaderboard Continues To Change

The leaderboard at the 2006 U.S. Senior open continues to fluctuate. A trio of players – D.A. Weibring, Allen Doyle, and Tom Watson – now share the lead at 6 under par. Watson, who had dropped to five under with a bogey at the 6^th, immediately got a shot back at the par-5 7^th hole. Weibring, meanwhile, has registered his sixth birdie of the day at the difficult par-4 11^th. Doyle continues at level par for the day through eight holes.

Peter Jacobsen, who had moved to the top of the leaderboard with a birdie at the 7^th, has just double-bogeyed the difficult, downhill par-4 9^th hole. He drops to five under par for the championship, and into a tie for fourth with Andy Bean.

Bruce Lietzke, Bob Gilder, and Loren Roberts are two shots off the lead.

Jacobsen Alone At Top

2004 U.S. Senior Open champion Peter Jacobsen has just posted his third birdie of the round at the par-5 7^th hole. He now stands alone atop the leaderboard at seven under par. Allen Doyle is one stroke back, while D.A. Weibring, Andy Bean, and Tom Watson trail by two.

Through the first seven holes, Jacobsen has needed just one putt on six of the green. His only two-putt of the round came at the 2^nd hole, where he carded a par.

Tom Watson has been struggling on the opening nine, dropping three strokes to par with bogeys at the 2^nd, 3^rd, and 6^th hole. Where Jacobsen has needed just 8 putts on his first seven holes, Watson has putted 12 times in six holes, including three-putts at the 2^nd and 3^rd.

Tie At The Top

Allen Doyle posted bogey at the difficult par-4 5^th hole, as Peter Jacobsen made birdie on the downhill par-4 6^th hole. Both are now six under par for the championship and tied for the lead with Tom Watson.

The leaderboard remains tightly bunched, with three players trailing Doyle, Jacobsen, and Watson by just one stroke – D.A. Weibring, Loren Roberts, and Andy Bean.

Like Jacobsen, Bean has just carded a birdie, his second of the day, at the 6^th hole.

Further down the leader board, Craig Stadler continues his excellent play, four under par on the day through 12 holes. Stadler is currently tied for 18^th place at one over par.

Five Birdies In Seven Holes

D.A. Weibring continues his excellent play in the fourth round, posting his fifth birdie of the day at the par-5 7^th hole, the easiest hole on the course this week.

Weibring has birdied the 1^st, 3^rd, 4^th, 6^th, and 7^th holes. He posted pars at the par-3 2^nd and long par-4 5^th.

He is now tied for third at five under par with Peter Jacobsen and Loren Roberts.

Doyle Takes The Lead

Allen Doyle posted birdie on the par-4 3^rd hole, as Tom Watson made a second consecutive bogey on the same hole. Doyle has taken over the top spot on the leaderboard, at seven under par.

With his fourth birdie in six holes, D.A. Weibring continues to move up the leaderboard. He is currently tied for fifth place at four under par, enjoying the best round of the day among all players in the field.

Birdies And Bogeys

With the full field now on the course, there has been minor movement at the top of the leaderboard through the opening holes.

Tom Watson, who entered the round with a two-stroke lead, now leads by one at seven under par, having bogeyed the par-3 2^nd hole.

Allen Doyle, who started his round at six under par, made birdie at the first, but promptly gave the shot back on the next hole and remains alone in second place at six under par.

Two strokes back of Watson are Mark James and Peter Jacobsen, each one under par for their rounds today, as well as Loren Roberts, who, like Doyle, birdied the first but bogeyed the second.

Several players are three under par for the day, most notably D.A. Weibring who has moved to three under for the championship through five holes.

James And Bean Birdie First

With the leaders on the first tee to start their rounds, several players in the groups ahead have posted some early birdies.

Mark James has birdied the first hole to move to five under for the championship. Likewise, Andy Bean, who shot 64 in the third round, carded a birdie at the first to move to four under for the championship.

D.A. Weibring, with birdies at the first and third holes, now stands two under for the championship.

The best round of the day thus far belongs to Craig Stadler, who is three under par on his round through seven holes, and now stands at two over par for the championship.

The weather continues to hold out, with rain showers now passing just north of the course.

Early Scores

With the leaders still waiting to tee off, several players have made small climbs up the leaderboard early in fourth-round play.

Brad Bryant, two under par through four holes, has moved to even par. Kirk Hanefeld and Craig Stadler are also two under for the round, and both currently stand in a tie for 23^rd at three over par.

D.A. Weibring birdied the first hole of the day to move to one-under par for the championship.

New Time For Leaders

Fourth-round play in the 2006 U.S. Senior Open resumed at 10:15 a.m. local time after a weather-related delay of two hours and three minutes.

Starting times for the fourth-round have been pushed back two hours and four minutes. The leaders – Tom Watson at 8 under par, Allen Doyle at 6 under par, and Loren Roberts at 5 under par – are now scheduled to begin their round at 11:43 a.m. CDT.

Play to Resume at 10:15

The severe weather that threatened the local area earlier this morning has begun to clear. The practice range will soon re-open for the players, and fourth-round play is now scheduled to resume at 10:15 a.m. CDT.

Suspension of Play

The first two groups of the morning started play at 8:00 a.m. this morning from the first and tenth tees. But play has been suspended just 12 minutes later, at 8:12 a.m., due to severe weather in the area.

The local forecast calls for widely scattered thunderstorms throughout the day. In anticipation of severe weather, the USGA announced yesterday afternoon that it had changed the format of the fourth-round starting times. Players will be grouped in threesomes, instead of the customary twosomes. They will also be starting on split tees, with groups on both the 1^st and 10^th holes.

The leaders were scheduled to begin play at 9:39 a.m., but this time will be pushed back due to the current weather delay.