Not counting the 1992 U.S. Open, Gil Morgan has always been a terrific front-runner. Seven times he has taken a lead into the final round of a Senior Tour event, and seven times he has emerged a winner.
Anyone want to bet against Morgan at the final round of today's Utah Showdown, where he holds a comfortable three-stroke lead?Morgan heads into today's final round three shots ahead of Senior Tour rookie John Mahaffey after playing his second straight bogey-free round. He added a 67 to the 66 he shot a day earlier, and his 133 total is just one off the two-round tournament record.
The man known as Dr. Gil because of the optometrist license he still holds, only committed to play in the tournament a week earlier. He hadn't even seen the Park Meadows Country Club until Thursday, when he went out and fired a 65 in the pro-am. If he follows the pattern of one shot higher each day, a 68 today should give him his eighth Senior victory and fifth of the year.
There is one big reason not to anoint Morgan the 1998 Showdown champion just yet, however.
His name is Dave Stockton.
The man who practically owns the tournament over the past five years since it moved to Park Meadows with two victories and two seconds, also shot a 67 Saturday and lurks just four shots behind Morgan. In 1993 when he won his first senior event here, he fired a closing-round 63, a score that would beat a 68 by Morgan today.
Stockton actually helped convince Morgan to make the stop in Utah this week, but he didn't tell Morgan about his own history in the tournament.
When asked if he was aware of Stockton's record at Park Meadows, Morgan said "no" and after he was told, remarked, "Maybe he can show me some things out there tomorrow. Maybe I can learn something from him."
As if Morgan needs any help.
He played his second straight flawless round, keeping the ball in the fairway, hitting greens in regulation and sinking birdie putts when needed.
His first birdie came on a bunker shot at No. 4 when it looked like he might make his first bogey, then he added a short birdie putt at No. 8, a 3-footer at No. 9, then sank an 18-footer at the par-3 14th and two-putted No. 15.
"My three-shot cushion should help, but this is the kind of course where you can shoot low numbers," said Morgan.
Mahaffey, who won the PGA in 1978 and just turned 50 in May, had gone unnoticed through much of the pre-tournament hype and Friday when he shot a 70. But he got his short game working Saturday as he went to 4-under-par through 15 holes. Then at the par-5 17th he hit a 5-wood within 15 feet and sank it for an eagle and finished up with a 66, the lowest round of the day.
"It's great out here. This is where I belong," he said. "It's nice to be in the hunt again."
Stockton wasn't on the lea-der-board much Saturday until he got hot late in his round with birdies at 13, 15 and 17. It marked the 17th straight sub-par round at Park Meadows for Stockton.
"I'm back in contention, but I'll have to shoot awfully low to beat Gil tomorrow," he said.
No one asked Morgan about it, but he is still remembered for the '92 Open at Pebble Beach, when he built up a seven-shot lead early in the third round, only to crash and burn with a third-round 77 and a final-round 81. But no one is expecting any such collapse today.
In seven of his Senior Tour wins, Morgan held leads between one and five shots and won every time. Only at the Nationwide Championship in Atlanta earlier this year when he was tied for the lead going into the final round, has he failed to hold his lead.
First-round co-leader Bob Duval played in the same group as Morgan and stayed close to him throughout most of the round. He sank a 50-footer from off the green to get within one and after a bogey sank a birdie at No. 13 to get within one.
It looked like he might tie Morgan at 14 when he hit his tee shot six feet closer. However his 12-footer missed after Morgan sank his. Then at 15, Duval almost holed a bunker shot for eagle, but it lipped out.
However, at 16, Duval might have shot himself out of the tournament when he hooked his second shot out of bounds after a poor tee shot just short of a bunker and made double bogey.
"I played good and hung in there, but four is a lot to catch the Doc (Morgan) with," he said.
For the second straight day, Duval was followed by his son, David, who is taking a week off from the PGA Tour. But David stayed inside the ropes and away from the gallery, riding in the EPSN cart and providing occasional commentary.
Duval stands at 137 along with Stockton, a shot better than Isao Aoki, Vincente Fernandez, Joe Inman and Hank Cooper. Another shot back at 139 are six golfers, headed by all- time Senior money winner Lee Trevino.
Heber's Bruce Summerhays moved into respectable position with a 69, but he is still well off the pace at 3-over-par 147.
Stockton, Morgan and Mahaffey will be grouped together for today's final round at 1 p.m. Duval, Cooper and Inman are in the 12:50 group.
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Additional Information
Utah Showdown leaderboard
Gil Morgan 66-67--133
John Mahaffey 70-66--136
Dave Stockton 70-67--137
Bob Duval 66-71--137
Hank Cooper 71-67--138
Joe Inman 70-68--138
Isao Aoki 70-68--138
Vincente Fernandez 70-68--138