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| Greg Norman prepares to send his approach shot into 12 on Saturday. He has two fourth-place finishes in two Senior Opens. (Fred Vuich/USGA) |
By Phillip Howley
Carmel, Ind. - Some sense of normalcy was restored to the U.S. Senior Open on Saturday at Crooked Stick Golf Club. Those who one might expect to be leading a major assumed the position, with marquee names Fred Funk, Greg Norman, Joey Sindelar and Mark O'Meara stepping up.
Meanwhile, the one man who nobody expected to be leading the championship, amateur Tim Jackson, took a slight step down.
Funk threw down his third consecutive round in the 60s, carding a 68, and moved into the championship lead at 13-under 203 on the 7,316-yard, par-72 Pete Dye design. Whether it holds will be learned Sunday, but the score at the moment represents one stroke lower to par than the 12 under John Daly needed to win the 1991 PGA Championship.
Funk, who has absorbed one bogey through 54 holes, enjoys a slender, one-digit margin of error over two-time British Open winner Greg Norman, his fellow competitor on Saturday. The “Shark” also shot a 68 to get to 12 under.
“Freddie and I enjoy each other's company,” said Norman, who was the third-round leader at the Senior British Open last week before finishing in a tie for sixth. “We kind of spur each other on quietly.”
Norman shares second place at 12 under with Joey Sindelar, while Jackson is two more back at 10 under. For Funk, who has four Champions Tour victories - including a major - the position is a slight reversal from last year's U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor, where he began the final day two strokes behind eventual champion Eduardo Romero.
“I'm fired up,” said Funk, who made a "disappointing" triple-bogey 7 late in last year’s final round and who was a playoff second to Loren Roberts at last week's Senior British Open. “I feel like I'm playing well and I'm ready to go.”
Funk, who needed only 25 putts to get around, made a key birdie at No. 16 in answer to an eagle by Norman at No. 15. In turn, Norman bogeyed 16 to create a two-stroke swing for his fellow competitor.
“No. 16 was huge,” Funk said. “Greg had all the momentum going with the eagle, and then I reversed it. That doesn't usually happen. I felt really good about it, although Greg probably didn't feel too good about it.”
Sindelar played alongside Jackson and had a 70 to get a share of the shotgun seat with Norman. For his part, Jackson dipped to 13 under with a birdie on No. 7. But the surprising amateur from Memphis bogeyed three of the next five holes to stumble backward.
A two-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champ, the 50-year-old Jackson showed resilience by stringing together pars over the last seven holes - the toughest stretch of the course - to remain 10 under and three strokes off the lead.
Jackson is vying to become the first amateur to win the Senior Open and first amateur to win a USGA Open since 1967.
“I struggled today, really struggled with my tee shot,” Jackson said. “Just had to grind it out ... It wasn't pretty, but I got a decent score and I'm not out of it. And that's about all you can say.”
Mark O'Meara, a 16-time PGA Tour winner that included a Masters and British Open crown, is still looking for his first senior circuit trophy. He climbed the board with a 68 and moved within four shots at nine under.
“I think nine under is good,” said O'Meara, whose pogo-stick round included five birdies, three bogeys and one eagle at No. 15. “And I know I'm going to be behind the leaders, but if I continue to strike the ball well, you never know what can happen.”
Three others, including Scott Simpson, left-hander Russ Cochran and Dan Forsman, are traveling together at eight under par. Cochran had the round of the championship, carding a course-record 8-under 64. Two other players, Bruce Vaughan and Robin Freeman, are six shots back at seven under.
Phillip Howley is a freelance writer whose work has previously appeared on www.ussenioropen.com.
