Crenshaw Leading by 4 When Play Suspended

Ben Crenshaw is reliving the past, chasing the ghost of his Masters victory at Augusta National in 1984.

The third round was delayed one hour 40 minutes Saturday because of lightning. When play resumed, the golfers were drenched by rain and the round was eventually suspended because of darkness.

Crenshaw was on the 14th fairway with a four-stroke lead over the field when play was halted. He was standing tall against the elements, just as he did in 1984, when the tournament was also suspended in the third round with Crenshaw on the 14th hole.

He wasn’t leading then, but he went on to win the tournament and wear the green jacket.

Despite the miserable weather conditions, Crenshaw played steadily while the second-round leaders, Lee Trevino and Nick Faldo, faltered--especially Trevino.

Trevino, a sentimental favorite here because the Masters is the only major title he hasn’t won, dropped far back.

He was three under par for the tournament at the outset of the round but lost seven strokes through 12 holes and is eight shots behind Crenshaw.

Faldo, who was paired with Trevino, is at even par. So are Scott Hoch and Mike Reid.

Seve Ballesteros, who was only two strokes behind Trevino and Faldo after two rounds, lost four strokes to par through 13 holes.

Greg Norman, who shot a 68, is the leader in the clubhouse. He managed to complete 17 holes before the round was delayed. He has a 54-hole total of 217 and is one over par for the tournament, five strokes behind Crenshaw.

It was to his advantage to have played earlier Saturday as he only had to contend with encounter the wind. Others had to endure wind, rain and eventually darkness.

Ballesteros played with Crenshaw and turned to his partner at the 14th fairway and said, “It’s so dark I can’t even see the ground.”

Hoch and Tom Kite were on the 14th green, just ahead of Crenshaw and Ballesteros. They refused to putt because of the darkness and the round was stopped a few minutes later.

Crenshaw is a golf traditionalist who reveres the Masters and all the lore that goes with the tournament.

Although he said he feels comfortable and confident playing here, he is approaching the end of his third round and the final round with caution.

“I’m going to try my dead level best to build on what I have,” he said. “Four shots is never enough here.”

Play was suspended at 12:31 p.m. PDT Saturday, and the forecast is for more rain today with the completion of third-round play scheduled to begin at 6 a.m. PDT.

Crenshaw didn’t single anyone out as his main competition for the remainder of the tournament, saying: “I try not to look at individuals. If we have a good day (weather) tomorrow, there could be an eight-shot fluctuation.”

Crenshaw, regarded as one of the game’s best putters, had three birdies on the front nine, making the turn in 33. He parred the only four holes he played on the backside.

However, his advantage could have been even more commanding, considering he just barely missed birdie putts at the eighth, ninth and 10th holes.

“I just hit them a bean too hard,” Crenshaw said. “I kept trying to get my chances and I missed a few. I played this course as close to the vest as you can.

“I had good pace on my putts, hit a lot of good irons and didn’t make many mistakes.”

Crenshaw had birdie putts of 12, 40 and 18 feet on the second, fourth and seventh holes, respectively.

He was on the eighth green when play was delayed, with about a 10-foot putt left for a birdie.

Crenshaw didn’t stroke the putt until play resumed.

“It was difficult to judge the speed of the greens after the delay,” he said. “It’s a 50-50 thing whether I should have putted before we stopped playing.”

Crenshaw says he has a four-iron shot left to the green on the par-four, 405-yard 14th hole.

“I marked my ball with a tee and a coin,” he said.

Norman said he had an advantage with his earlier starting time. The wind that kept even the long hitters, such as him, from reaching the par-five holes the first two days was at his back for most of his round.

He had four birdies on the front nine, one coming at the par-five, 535-yard eighth hole. Then, he had two birdies and two bogeys on the back nine.

“I told my wife this morning that I had to go under 70 to be in the thick of things,” Norman said.

Norman usually scores better on weekends in tournaments, but he said he doesn’t understand why he’s a fast finisher and slow starter.

“I’m positive after my round today,” he said. “I wasn’t going to let anything affect me.”

Faldo and Trevino were the last group off the tee. Asked if the third round should have been stopped earlier, Faldo said: “It’s close to a fine line whether they went too far.”

The British golfer, who is probably more accustomed to adverse weather conditions than American pros, said it was hard to get his rhythm, or judge how wet the greens were.

“What makes it tough is that this course is designed for perfect conditions and now we don’t have them,” Faldo said. “The weather has been testing us all week and I think it will test us tomorrow.”

Faldo seemed disturbed about a ruling that didn’t go his way on the 11th green.

“I had a 50-foot putt and there was water 20 feet short of the hole,” he said. “I wanted to move the ball to a dry spot but an official said, ‘There’s no water.’ ”

So he putted from his original spot and three-putted.

Trevino, who was a regular in the interview room the first two days, didn’t make an appearance Saturday.

Asked what Trevino had to say of his shortened round that included a 41 on the front side, Faldo said dryly: “It was unspeakable.”

Faldo added that the van that was supposed to take Trevino and him back to the clubhouse ran out of gas. So they were marooned in the rain for a while.

It seems that the 49-year-old Trevino, who is getting ready for the Senior PGA Tour, isn’t destined to win the Masters. He shared the 36-hole lead in 1978 but faded the final two rounds.

Crenshaw, 37, has 14 career victories, last winning at the Doral Ryder Open last year. When asked when he last led a tournament, Crenshaw hesitated and then said, “I honestly don’t know. It has been a blur of 10th-place finishes.”

His blur is fairly accurate. His best finishes this year were a tie for ninth at the Nissan Los Angeles Open and Doral.

Weather permitting, he will try to become a two-time winner of the Masters today.

Golf Notes

The players who teed off earlier in the day scored better than their afternoon counterparts. Other than Greg Norman’s 68, Fuzzy Zoeller, Larry Mize and Paul Azinger each shot 69s. And, Tommy Aaron, 57, a former Masters winner, came in with a 72. . . . Mize is at 218. Azinger, Zoeller, and Jumbo Ozaki are at 219. . . . Lee Trevino said Friday that every major championship he has won has been in the mud and rain. It isn’t likely to happen here, though.