Seriously, Folks, Mudd Leads Hope by a Stroke in Bid for First Victory

It’s time to get serious in the Bob Hope Chrysler golf tournament.

Bob Hope has made his last fairway quip, Tip O’Neill hit his last 85-yard drive, Harpo the Clown milked his last laugh. All the amateur golfers have left with their loot and their hangovers, and the members have returned to Indian Wells, Eldorado and La Quinta for a round of golf.

Nothing is left but 71 professional golfers, intent on carving up $650,000 today at Bermuda Dunes in the final round of the second tournament of the PGA’s $25-million season.

It took a seven-under-par 281 for 72 holes to make it into the fifth day of this 90-hole marathon. Twenty-eight players bettered par and didn’t make the cut.

Jodie Mudd, a slender, 25-year-old professional from Louisville, Ky., will carry a one-stroke lead into the final round. Mudd, winless in five years on the tour, shot a 68 Saturday at La Quinta and is 20 under par with a 268.

Tied for second at 269 are former PGA champion Hal Sutton, who surged back into contention with a 65 at Indian Wells; Coachella Valley favorite John Cook of nearby Rancho Mirage, who shot 69 at Bermuda Dunes, and Donnie Hammond, another young pro looking for his first win, who had a 68 at La Quinta.

Craig Stadler, a former Hope winner and a playoff loser last year despite shooting a record 27 under par, is only three shots out of the lead at 271 after a 70 at Bermuda Dunes. With Stadler at 271 is Gary Koch, who had a 68 at Indian Wells.

The day’s low rounds were eight-under-par 64s by Payne Stewart, Lennie Clements and Blaine McCallister, a rookie pro from Ft. Stockton, Tex. It came too late for McCallister, however, as he missed the cut by eight shots.

Other casualties of the remarkably low-scoring splurge were U.S. Open champion Andy North, four under par; the late Bing Crosby’s son Nathaniel, making his first U.S. pro start other than last year’s Crosby National Pro-Am, six under par; and 56-year-old five-time winner Arnold Palmer, who finished at even par.

The consensus among the leaders is that someone will have to shoot 65 or 66 to break out of the pack today and win the $108,000 first prize.

Among the leaders, Mudd played Bermuda Dunes the best as the players toured each of the four desert courses the past four days. Mudd equaled the Bermuda Dunes record in shooting a nine-under-par 63 Friday. Sutton had a 65 and Koch a 67 last Wednesday, while the others were at 68 or 69.

The other consensus is that there is no room for strategy, that the only thing to do is come out firing at the flag for birdies. Bermuda Dunes is the most open of the four courses, which allows for the use of more drivers off the tee.

Mudd, a two-time U.S. Public Links champion while attending Georgia Southern, appears to be the steadiest player at the moment. He has not made a bogey in three days.

“The key for me will be the par 5s,” Mudd said. “Unless the wind comes up, I can get to most of them in two shots.”

Last year’s tour statistics bear out his statement: Mudd was third on the tour in eagles with 11.

“I will be playing with Sutton and Cook, so I can’t help but know what they’re doing, but that won’t mean a thing to me,” Mudd said. “All I can do is try to execute the mechanics and mental parts of my game as well as I can. I can’t do a thing about what the others are doing.

“What it will come down to is who makes the most putts.”

During his round at La Quinta, Mudd displayed patience and discipline, traits he hopes will carry over into today.

“I struggled at the start, especially on the fourth hole, where I drove it left into the trees but still managed to get out with a par,” he said. “I was pleased that I didn’t let the hole get away from me and settled down.”.

His key hole was No. 14, where he chipped in from the back fringe, about 45 feet, for his fourth birdie.

Sutton, who started the tournament with a 65 at Bermuda Dunes, had an eagle, seven birdies and two bogeys in his 65 at Indian Wells.

The eagle was spectacular. On the 517-yard, par-5 fifth hole, Sutton hit a 4-wood shot 245 yards, but the ball landed in a bunker behind the green. He blasted out into the cup for a 3.

“Thank God for four perfect days to play golf,” Sutton said. “That’s why we’re seeing so many low scores.”

Sutton started on the 10th hole and bogeyed No. 12 when his second shot hit a palm tree and No. 13 when he took three putts.

“I had started the day thinking ‘65’ because I felt a 65 would put me close to the lead, but my chances didn’t look very good after four holes,” Sutton explained. “I had a talk with myself going to 14 and said I wasn’t playing to win the tournament, I was playing defensively. The talk must have done some good, because I played nine under (par) the last 14 holes.”

Stadler would be up with Sutton, Cook and Hammond had he not hit his opening shot out of bounds on the 10th hole at La Quinta. He followed the double bogey with five birdies on the front nine for a 33, but a back-nine 37 gave him his first score out of the 60s in his last nine rounds of the Hope tournament.

Cook agreed that it would be foolhardy to play conservatively if he got the lead today.

“If you do that with today’s players, you’ll get run over,” he said. “Out there, you’ve got to go for the flag at every hole. When I tee off, I want to make birdies on every hole. I’d like to be 18 under. It may sound foolish, but that’s the way you have to think today.”

Three amateurs--James Halperin of New York, Jack Hodges of Oklahoma City and Ralph Clifton of La Quinta--must have felt the same way. In 72 holes of golf, they finished 66 strokes under par to win the amateur team championship.