Third Round See-Saw Day For Open Leaders

By Ken Klavon, USGA

Southampton, N.Y. – Is this what the Moody Blues meant by "Ride My Seesaw?"

	Fred Funk reacts to his birdie attempt at the 4th at Shinnecock Hills, in the third round of the 2004 U.S. Open Championship, Southampton, N.Y. He birdied the hole but remained three back of leaders Jeff Maggert and Shigeki Maruyama. (John Mummert/USGA)

On a day when the lead changed hands more times than a Jennifer Lopez romance, 2001 U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen was the one who wrested control heading into Sunday’s final round.

To start the day, fellow competitors Phil Mickelson and Shigeki Maruyama shared the lead at 5-under 135. By the time the two reached the 12th hole Jeff Maggert, Fred Funk and Goosen had held the outright lead at some point.

The South African Goosen, patient as a neurosurgeon, played a steady round except for back-to-back bogeys on the 13th and 14th holes. Successive birdies on his next two holes put him in the lead for good. He was one of three players to post under-par scores Saturday. Compatriot Timothy Clarke (4-under 66 to move into a tie for sixth) and Charles Howell (2-under 68) were the others.

With Clarke’s leader board ascension, three South Africans are now in position to win. Ernie Els, tied for second, is the other after carding an even-par 70 to stand at 3-under 207. Even more interesting, five of the top-10 players in contention own a major-championship victory.

"Retief we all know," said Els. "He has the perfect temperament [for a U.S. Open]."

A tie for 42nd last year at Olympia Fields and an embarrassing missed cut while trying to defend his title in 2002 energized Goosen to do well this week. Earlier this year he underwent a new fitness regimen.

Said Goosen: "I felt comfortable out there today. I felt quite calm for a U.S. Open championship. It doesn’t matter who you are, you’re going to be nervous. It’s how you handle it."

Coming into the homestretch on the back nine, it was Goosen who was able to shift his emotions from tranquil to darn-near comatose. A two-putt for bogey on the elevated 13th green, followed by another on the 14th – the result of two missed fairways in which Goosen said he didn’t stand a chance at either flagstick – might have led to others to acquiesce. Not Goosen. All he did was answer with two difficult birdie putts, which included a 20-footer on the 15th^, disallowing himself to get rattled.

After a masterful 140-yard sand wedge approach shot from the first cut of rough that stopped 3 feet short of the hole at 18, Goosen could have extended his lead. However, reminiscent of his final-round muff in the 2001 Open at Southern Hills, Goosen pushed the ball left. He looked puzzled.

"I left it in a tricky position there and couldn’t make the putt," said the 35-year-old Goosen, who won that 2001 Open in an 18-hole playoff over Mark Brooks.

If Goosen was the picture of tranquility, then how would one explain Funk and Maggert? The 48-year-old Funk, bidding to become the 10th player older than 40 to win the Open, watched as his 5-under score evaporated to 2-under 208 by the time he signed his card. A near hole-in-one on the par-3 11th hole led to his fourth and final birdie of the round.

Even if he held the lead for two holes, he at least could say he led the national championship.

"I saw I was leading," said Funk. "I actually said to [caddie] Mark [Long], ‘Isn’t this cool? I’m leading the U.S. Open right now.’ He says, ‘Hey, it doesn’t mean anything until tomorrow.’ I said, ‘I know, but it’s still pretty cool.’ "

Funk’s round became undone on the par-5 16th. Laying up in two, his ball came to rest a few feet short of the right bunker. All he needed was a soft 20-foot chip to the hole but instead skidded the ball into the bunker. His club had stopped before it hit the ground, he said. "I kind of laughed it off," said Funk. "Normally I’d be furious. I felt good about making a six from where I was."

Maggert’s travails were worse than Funk’s. Early in his round, bolstered by a 27-foot putt for birdie on the second hole and another birdie at the par-5 fifth, he led Mickelson and Maruyama by two strokes at seven under. But he limped in with six bogeys over his last 13 holes. Part of the problem had to do with the fact that he struck no greens in regulation from holes nine through 17. And when he did find the green, his reads were off.

"If I could have hit three or four putts 3 inches closer, it would have been a different story today," said Maggert, who shot 74 and is 1-under 209 for the championship.

Despite their woes, Funk and Maggert soon focused their attention on the course. With the winds picking up in the afternoon and the sun baking the course, the greens were firmer than the first two rounds. Funk said they were becoming so uncontrollable that he thought about practicing on the hardwood floors in the place he’s staying. He added that he wouldn’t be surprised if only one player posted an under-par score Sunday.

Els chimed in as well.

"It was tough today," said the 1994 and ’97 U.S. Open champion. "I’m sure the guys will say the same thing, that the greens were border line. They are getting away from us now.

"This golf course is going to give a little and take a lot."

Ken Klavon is the USGA Web Editor. E-mail him with questions or comments at kklavon@usga.org.