Golf Roundup : King Leads a Women’s Open With All the Elements

Betsy King shot a two-under-par 70 for a one-shot lead Saturday in a U.S. Women’s Open that has been plagued by fire, flood, storm and earthquake.

“This is going to become a tour story,” King predicted after she’d survived a 2-hour 17-minute storm delay and posted a 213 total for three rounds at Kettering, Ohio. So far, the golf in the tournament has been overshadowed by:

--The fire. Noxious fumes of burning phosphorus from a derailed tanker forced the evacuation of 30,000 people in nearby Miamisburg, Ohio, and chased some players from their hotel rooms.

--The flood. Rains from a severe thunderstorm Saturday afternoon flooded portions of the course, caused the long delay and, at one time, raised a question of whether the round could be completed before today.

--The earthquake. It registered 4.2 on the Richter Scale Saturday morning in Lima, Ohio--60 miles away but strong enough to jolt players from their hotel beds.

--The storms. A series of extremely strong thunderstorms have disrupted play in each of the first three rounds. The latest was the strongest, with winds high enough to knock down trees on the course.

Saturday’s storm struck with 10 players--including all the leaders--still on the course.

They immediately sought shelter, boarding vans and golf carts for the ride to the clubhouse.

Ayako Okamoto of Japan, who came on to take second place, was a passenger in a cart that went out of control on a rain-slickened path, crashed through bushes and collided with a tree.

“It was by the 18th tee, and the water was streaming down like a waterfall. I was screaming. I knew it wouldn’t stop the cart, but I still was screaming,” Okamoto said through an interpreter.

She said she received a sharp rap on the right side of her head in the accident, but it didn’t deter her from dropping a 25-foot birdie putt on the 17th green more than two hours later when play was resumed.

A par on the 18th gave her a 69 and a 214 total. Okamoto played the back nine in 32, using only 10 putts.

It was three shots back to Judy Dickinson, Sally Little and Deb Richard. Little and Richard each shot a 72. Dickinson, who shared the second-round lead with King, slipped to a 74.

Canadian Richard Zokol, taking advantage of faltering play by the leaders, shot a four-under-par 67 to take a two-stroke edge after three rounds of the $500,000 Anheuser-Busch tournament at Williamsburg, Va.

Zokol posted the best round of the day and had a three-round total of 205 on the 6,776-yard Kingsmill Golf Club course.

Zokol, a resident of Vancouver, British Columbia, missed the cut in 12 of his previous 19 events on the PGA Tour this year. Kenny Knox, who shot a 70, and Jodie Mudd, who had a 72, were at 207.

Don January birdied the final four holes en route to a six-under-par 66, a 136 total and a two-stroke lead after two rounds of the PGA Senior Tour’s Greenbrier-American Express tournament at White Sulphur Springs, W. Va.

January was trailed by Bruce Crampton, who shot a 70 for a 138 total, and Lee Elder, who had a 69 and was at 139.