Golf Roundup : Ayako Okamoto a Reluctant Open Leader

Leading after three rounds of a major championship is not a new experience for Japan’s Ayako Okamoto, just a forgettable one.

Okamoto shot a two-under-par 70 Saturday to grab a one-stroke lead over Laura Davies of Britain heading into the final round of the 42nd U.S. Women’s Open at Edison Township, N.J. Okamoto stood at 213, three under par, for the championship.

Okamoto had a six-stroke lead after three rounds of the du Maurier tournament in Canada earlier this month but wilted under the heat and pressure, finishing two strokes behind winner Jody Rosenthal.

“There’s always something to be learned from a bad experience,” Okamoto said through an interpreter. “Nothing specific, but keep it in your mind to make sure you do not repeat it.”

She would rather not be leading entering today’s final round at the Plainfield Country Club.

“I feel this course is very difficult,” she said. “Maybe it would be easier to be coming from behind than being in the lead.”

Okamoto had six birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey in her round of 70. She bogeyed No. 1, then double-bogeyed No. 2 when she 2-putted from four feet.

However, she finished strong with birdies on three of the five final holes.

Davies bogeyed the final hole to fall back into second place after shooting 72. The 23-year-old British Open champion, the leader by one shot after the second round, was at 214.

Martha Nause, enjoying her best season after undergoing shoulder surgery last year, registered three birdies coming home for a 70 that put her in third place at 215.

Another stroke back at even-par 216 were JoAnne Carner, the oldest woman in the field at 48, and Deedee Roberts. Roberts shot a 69, while Carner, the 1971 and 1976 Open champion, missed several birdie opportunities late in the round after a wild start and had to settle for even-par 72.

Roberts was one of two players Saturday to equal the women’s record for the 6,284-yard course. The other was amateur Kathleen McCarthy, tied for low amateur honors with Cindy Scholefield at 221.

Nancy Lopez, bidding for the only major title which has eluded her, failed to make a single birdie in a round of 77 which dropped her eight shots off the lead at 221.

Robert Wrenn, who started with the lowest 36-hole total on the PGA Tour this season, shot a five-under-par 67 for a commanding six-stroke lead after three rounds of the $600,000 Buick Open at Grand Blanc, Mich.

That put Wrenn at 21-under-par 195 and far ahead of 1985 champion Ken Green who shot 69 and a 201 on the 7,014-yard, par-72 Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club.

Trevor Dodds, a South African who now lives in St. Louis, shot a nine-under 63 and is tied with Jay Haas at 202. Jodie Mudd and Don Pooley were another stroke back.

If Wrenn continues his mastery of the course in today’s final round, he will erase all tournament records and perhaps some Tour records as well.

Green set the Buick Open record when he won with a 20-under 268 in 1985. The 72-hole record for a Tour event is 27-under by Mike Souchak and legendary Ben Hogan.