Golf Roundup : Norris Calmly Takes 2-Stroke Lead in Monterey Event

Tim Norris, playing in relatively calm weather 10 miles from the ocean, shot a three-under-par 68 Saturday and held a two-stroke lead over Dan Forsman after three rounds of the $200,000 Spalding Invitational golf tournament on the Pebble Beach Golf Links.

Both men and women pros compete in this event on three Monterey Peninsula courses, with the women getting distance advantages off the tees.

Norris birdied the last three holes on the Carmel Valley Golf and Country Club course for his third consecutive score under 70, giving him a 54-hole total of 201. Forsman had a four-under-par 68 at Del Monte and a 203 total.

Norris birdied the closing holes by chipping in from 40 feet and sinking putts from 25 and 50 feet.

Today’s final round will be played on Pebble Beach, which had been blessed by unusually calm weather Thursday and Friday. Rain and wind arrived Saturday.

Forsman said: “The golf gods were upset about all those low scores at Pebble Beach the first two days.”

Norris had a 64, matching the official course record at Pebble Beach, on Friday. Don Pooley also carded a 64 there Friday and was the second-round leader, one stroke ahead of Norris.

“I was fortunate with the course I played today, but I didn’t take advantage of it,” Pooley said after shooting a 73 at Carmel Valley to drop back to third place with a 205 total.

Only two players, defending champion Peter Oosterhuis with a 70 and Australia’s Greg Norman with a 71, broke par at Pebble Beach Saturday. Those dropping out of contention because of high scores on the famous course included Andy North and Patty Sheehan with 75s, Alice Miller with a 77, Craig Stadler and Jan Stephenson with 78s, and Juli Inkster with a 79.

Hale Irwin rode a back nine of 29 and a finishing string of four birdies to a tie for the lead with Scott Hoch after three rounds of the new Bahamas tournament.

Irwin, 40, tied the course record at the Paradise Island Golf Club with an eight-under-par 64 that gave him a 54-hole total of 202, 14 under par in the $300,000 tournament that serves as the unofficial kickoff event for the 1986 PGA Tour.

Hoch moved up with a third-round 67 in warm, sunny, muggy weather. Ed Fiori was next at 204 after a 69.

The three men who shared the second-round lead--Bob Tway, rookie Davis Love III and Bob Lohr--couldn’t keep pace.

Tway matched par 72 and was at 205. Love had a 73 and was tied at 206 with Jeff Sluman, who had a 69. And Lohr took a 74 that left him tied at 207 with Mark McCumber, who had a 70.