Golf’s Tournament of Champions : Steady Kite Increases Lead to Three at La Costa

Tom Kite increased his lead in the MONY Tournament of Champions to three strokes Saturday, leaving the field almost as far behind as Spend A Buck did in the Kentucky Derby.

Kite didn’t really charge off and disappear from his rivals, however. The only one who challenged him seriously, Scott Simpson, started the round too far back, six strokes, to catch him. The others got close occasionally, then fell back.

Finally breaking his string of pars at 21, Kite shot a two-under-par 70 at the La Costa Country Club for a total of 206, 10 under par for 54 holes.

While Lanny Wadkins, who trailed Kite by only one stroke after 36 holes, was shooting a 73 and dropping back to 210, Simpson moved into second place at 209 by firing a five-under-par 67, the lowest round of the day.

So, going into the final round today, Fuzzy Zoeller and Wadkins are tied at 210 and Larry Nelson and Mark McCumber are at 211. Asked about his lead, Kite said, “It’s not enough.” How much would be enough? About 25 strokes, he replied.

On another flawless day, only 11 of the regular-tour players broke par, and only two others besides Simpson broke 70 on the lengthy and immaculately groomed La Costa layout.

Denis Watson, who had an 80 Friday, shot a 69. The other low round was made by a senior, Don January, who shot a 68.

Surprisingly, the seniors, who embarrassed themselves when they played here for the first time last year, are shooting almost as well as the younger players this time. Only four players have a better score than Peter Thomson, who leads the seniors with a five-under-par 211, and only six are ahead of Arnold Palmer, who is at 212. Palmer shot a 70 and Thomson a 71 Saturday. January’s 68 put him at 213.

To give you an idea of how much better the seniors are playing, Orville Moody won by seven strokes here last year with an even-par 288.

Kite finally shot another birdie by sinking a four-foot putt at the fourth hole. But then he made what he said was his worst swing of the week on the fifth tee and ducked hooked his ball into a water hazard. Forced to drop his ball into the rough, he knocked his next shot into a bunker and ended up with a double-bogey 6. For a brief time then, Wadkins was tied with him for the lead.

But starting at the seventh hole, Kite ripped off three straight birdies, sinking a 15-foot putt at No. 7, chipping into the hole from 35 feet at No. 8 and making a 12-foot putt at No. 9.

On the back nine, Kite resumed the consistent play for which he has become famous. He made nine straight pars. The only hole he messed up was the par-3 14th where he hit his tee shot into a bunker. He saved a three with a four-foot putt.

“It was nice to make some birdies today,” he said of his round. “But it was not that I made a charge. They (Wadkins, Nelson, et al) just fell back.”

However, it is not easy to catch a fellow who has been over par on only 2 of 54 holes. He made a bogey at No. 18 Thursday while shooting a 64, and took the 6 at No. 5 Saturday.

Simpson had a simple explanation for his splendid five-under-par round. “I had a great day on the greens,” he said. “That shows you what is really important in this game.”

Simpson, in fact, took only 24 putts, which made up for some poor iron shots and produced six birdies. He made one from 40 feet at No. 15 and another from 15 feet at No. 18.

Simpson has been at his most consistent at No. 17, bogeying the hole all three days. On Saturday he hit his 3-wood second shot on the par-5 hole into a lake. “It was a terrible shot,” he said.

Simpson lives in the neighborhood; he’s from San Diego. As a youngster, and later as a member of the golf team at USC, he came here every chance he got to watch the pros play in the tournament.

While Zoeller shot a rather ordinary 70, he said, “I was kind of impressed by the way I played.” The reason: About three minutes before he was scheduled to tee off, he didn’t think he would be able to play.

He apparently pulled a muscle or tendon in his back, he said, “And it hurts like hell.” After completing his round Friday, he took some pain pills and went to bed. Saturday morning he took some more medicine and said he seemed loose except for his back. He had back surgery late last year.

He tried to practice some putts just before his round but said he had to quit because he could hardly bend over. Instead, he swung his putter trying to find a swing he could use comfortably. He found one but said, “To be honest with you, I was in pain all day. But I had an obligation to play, so I played.”

He still had his sense of humor, however. On the first tee, he deliberately hit his drive while starter Bob Fulton was still introducing him. “I was careful to aim away from him,” Zoeller said. Lee Trevino, who was paired with him, was overheard exclaiming, “He’s going to hit the damn thing.”

Zoeller laughed as he told the story and said, “You know me; I’m different.”

Thomson said his round was “a little bit scrambly,” a round he saved by making “a few unexpected putts.” One was for a birdie from 30 feet on the first hole.

Thomson and Palmer, playing together, drew a gallery much larger than the crowds that followed most of the younger players. The reason did not escape the droll Thomson. “Yesterday,” he said, “I had two men and a dog.” And: “Out of the 500 today, there were 498 Palmer fans and two Thomson fans, my wife and daughter.”

There is little question that Palmer is as popular as ever.

Bernhard Langer, who got back into the tournament by shooting a 66 Friday after opening with a 76, was making another strong run at the lead Saturday, going to six under par after 13 holes. Then he lost five strokes on the next three holes, bogeying the 14th and 16th and making a triple-bogey 7 on the short (375 yards) par-4 15th.

Langer hooked his tee shot into some trees at the 15th and instead of wasting a shot to get back onto the fairway, he gambled on getting through the trees and didn’t make it. He finished with a 72 and a total of 214.

Two big names, Jack Nicklaus and defending champion Tom Watson, had another quiet day. Nicklaus shot 72 for 218 and Watson had a 73 and is 15 shots off the lead at 221.