For Gil Morgan it was a Saturday to remember, or forget, depending on what hole it was.
Morgan made history and then collided with it in the third round of the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links. In a stretch of seven holes, a nightmare that lasted less than two hours, Morgan went from running away with the championship to barely holding on to his lead.Still, Morgan's 5-over-par 77 for a three-round total of 4-under 212 was good enough for a one shot lead over Ian Woosnam, Mark Brooks and Tom Kite going into Sunday's final round.
"Will you all bow your heads?" Morgan deadpanned afterward. "Pretty disastrous, wasn't it? I feel pretty bad about it myself. I'm sure everyone else liked it."
Morgan reached the pinnacle of his round when he birdied his way to a U.S. Open-record 12 under par after seven holes. He entered the day 9-under par, which had tied the record, and had a 3-shot lead over Open rookie Andy Dillard.
By the time he sank an 8-footer for birdie on No. 7, Morgan's lead had grown to 7 shots over Dillard and nine over anybody else.
"I turned to my caddie and said, `This is where the golf course begins,"' Morgan said.
But it was nearly the end for him. Morgan made the details brief.
- He missed a 5-footer for bogey on No. 8. Result: Double bogey.
- He drove it in the rough on No. 9. Bogey.
- He botched a 5-iron into a hazard on No. 10. Double bogey.
- He shoved his 3-iron and missed the green on No. 12. Bogey.
- He pitched over the green on his fourth shot on No. 14. Double bogey.
By the time Morgan reached the 15th green, his commanding lead had vanished. He was now in a five-way tie for first and staring at six-foot putt for birdie.
"I thought my confidence would be history by then," Morgan said.
But, somehow, Morgan regrouped. He sank the birdie putt. And the nightmare ended.
Morgan's collapse was reminiscent of Tom Kite's demise in the final round of the 1989 U.S. Open at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y. He held a 3-shot lead with 14 holes to play but shot 78 and tied for ninth.
Morgan also has a history of blowing majors. He held the lead in the 1976 PGA Championship and 1983 Masters after two rounds but ended up tying for eighth in each.
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And now Morgan has Woosnam , Brooks and Kite on his heels, a shot behind. Another shot back are Joey Sindelar , Nick Faldo and Gary Hallberg . Five players are three shots back, including 1991 U.S. Open champion Payne Stewart and 1987 champion Scott Simpson .
Faldo, two-time Masters and British Open champion, predicted earlier in the day that Morgan's lead wouldn't hold up.
Asked how far a player has to be ahead to be safe, Faldo said: "On a flight back home. All you have to do is sneak a few off line."
Morgan got back on line by sinking a 30-foot birdie putt on No. 16 and a 35-foot birdie putt on No. 18.
"To still be in the lead, overall it means that I've played better than everybody," Morgan said. "I just couldn't handle it in places."