Corey Pavin and Bernhard Langer survived. The greens at The Players Championship might not.
For a third day the wind whipped across the TPC course at Sawgrass, blowing golf shots every which way and taking the already dry greens one step closer to resembling a municipal course in August."They must be very close to losing them," Langer said after shooting a 71 on Saturday to share the third-round lead with Pavin at 5-under-par 211. "But I guess they know what they are doing."
Langer, who got to 6-under when he rolled in a 75-foot birdie putt on No. 15, had a chance to hold the lead all alone but three-putted from 45 feet on No. 18 for a bogey, missing a 7-footer.
The wind and the greens continued to confuse and frustrate the players. On some holes, the flag would hang limply from the pin while the tree tops towering above bent in the stiff, steady breeze.
On other holes, the flag whipped in the wind and the pin would bend over so far it appeared ready to snap right out of the cup.
Club selection was sometimes a guess and the greens were lightning quick and rock hard. Each 6-foot putt carried with it the fear that a miss on the wind-dried greens could leave the ball even farther away from the hole.
"The greens are much harder than yesterday," Lee Janzen said after shooting 69 and trailing by one stroke at 212. "They are very close to being extinct."
Janzen was able to shoot 69 with a wonderful stretch of putting, making putts of 15, 18, 25 and 15 feet on the last four holes of the front nine for three birdies and a par.
Pavin, who managed an even-par 72, said the condition of the greens was "right on the edge. They need a little water so they don't die."
The difficult conditions make it unlikely that anyone will storm from the pack on Sunday with a really low score, but it also means the leaders could falter.
"It is a very difficult golf course under very difficult conditions," Pavin said. "Last year we didn't have a lot of wind and had lush, soft greens."
A bunch of big names came into the third round poised within striking distance of halfway leaders Pavin and Gene Sauers, who fell back with a 78.
But none of them could get it going.
Greg Norman was 1-under for the tournament going to No. 18 and made a double bogey, shooting 73 and finishing 54 holes at 1-over 217. Tom Watson shot 75 and was at 218. Nick Price also shot 75 and was at 219, while Ernie Els posted a 78 and was at 222.
Still, a ton of players remain in contention on a course where things can change very quickly.
Payne Stewart shot 71 and was alone at 213, three strokes back, while Peter Jacobsen, with a 71, D.A. Weibring, who shot 73, Steve Stricker and Davis Love, both shooting 74s, were all at 214.
Bunched at 1-under-par 215 were Brian Claar, Jeff Maggert, Tom Lehman and Brad Bryant. And seven players were at even par, including Seve Ballesteros, Ian Woosnam and Scott Simpson
"Especially with these last three holes, anything can happen," Janzen said about today's final round.
At Rancho Mirage, Calif., Tammie Green, her game steady despite pressure from challengers Nancy Lopez and Laura Davies, shot a 2-under-par 70 Saturday to maintain her lead in the Nabisco Dinah Shore.
Green went to 5-under for the tournament and will carry a two-shot lead over Lopez and a three-shot pad over Davies into the final round of the first of the LPGA's four major championships.
Lopez, fighting her way back from a opening-day 74, shot a third-round 68 to keep the heat on Green at Mission Hills Country Club.
Davies, winner of last week's tournament in Phoenix, matched Green's par round to remain just off the pace.
Nanci Bowen, with a 71, and Susie Redman, with a 70, were four shots behind Green.
Green began the day with a two-shot edge on Lauri Merten and Kelly Robbins. Merten shot a 73 to fall five shots off the lead, and Robbins struggled to a 76 that dropped her back into the pack.
Colleen Walker and Merten were tied at even-par 216, and Meg Mallon, Sherri Turner and Dawn Coe-Jones were another shot behind.