BRITISH OPEN : Watson Within Shot of Lead After a 68 : He Will Seek Sixth Title in Event Today; Grady Is One to Catch

It would be fitting for Tom Watson to win the 118th British Open at Royal Troon.

It would be a great player, who has been in a slump, coming back to win on a familiar course in a prestigious tournament that he has won five previous times.

Watson was in that position Saturday after shooting a 68 for a 54-hole total of 205, 11 under par and one stroke behind Australia’s Wayne Grady.

The seaside Royal Troon course continued to yield low scores on another warm and virtually windless day. The British Open conjures images of howling winds and relentless rain. Not this year, however.

“I’ve never seen any British Open course play as benignly as this one,” said Watson, who won his fourth Open championship here in 1982 by coming from three strokes behind on the final day to beat Bobby Clampett.

An American hasn’t won the British Open since Watson did it at Royal Birkdale in 1983, but the odds favor the United States now.

Payne Stewart was two strokes behind Grady at 206, while Fred Couples and Mark Calcavecchia were grouped with Northern Ireland’s David Feherty at 207.

Paul Azinger and Jodie Mudd were at 208, while 22-year-old Jose Maria Olazabal of Spain, former UCLA star Steve Pate and Mark McCumber were at 209.

Grady, the 36-hole leader, held his ground and shot what he called a scrambling 69 for his 204 total.

Seldom has a leader been so overlooked--the result of the attention paid to the 39-year-old Watson.

“After reading the papers for 15 minutes today I found out I was leading,” Grady said wryly. “However, if I win tomorrow, I’ll get a lot of headlines.”

The headlines today, however, belong mainly to Watson, who hasn’t won on the PGA Tour since the Nabisco Championships in 1987.

He had almost been written off as a factor on the world scene, falling from the eminence he shared with Jack Nicklaus in the 1970s and part of the ‘80s.

Britain’s Nick Faldo, a pre-tournament favorite who is out contention, said Watson was the player to beat today.

“Any day the wind is blowing left to right on the back nine and you can drive the ball into the wind, I’d have my money on Watson,” Faldo said.

Those were the conditions Saturday, and they’re expected to remain about the same today.

When told of Faldo’s comments, Watson said, “I don’t know who will win tomorrow, but I hope I do. If I shoot 85, or 65, I hope it’s one shot better than the rest of the field.”

A sixth Open victory today would tie Harry Vardon’s record established in the early 1900s.

“I don’t think having won five Opens will hurt,” Watson said. “And when you win on a course, it’s easier to win the second time because you have the same feeling and you don’t forget that. I’ve never forgotten the feeling I had here in 1982.”

Said Stewart, who shot a 69 while being paired with Grady: “If I wasn’t picking myself, I probably would pick Tom.”

Grady, however, doesn’t seem to be intimidated. The 32-year-old player from Queensland, who scored his first tour victory last June in the Westchester tournament, was asked how he felt going into today’s final round.

“I feel bloody good, man,” he said, smiling.

Then, he added, “I made a good round out of a so-so round. I hit my irons very poorly, but I drove the ball, chipped and putted well.”

Asked if he enjoyed his front-running role, Grady said calmly, “I’d rather be there than four shots behind.”

Grady had three birdies on the more difficult back nine, getting two of them with a 20-foot chip shot and a 60-foot putt.

Watson, who had four birdies during his round, said his short game and putting rescued him.

“I feel nervous, yet confident,” he said. “A lot of good things are happening. I can’t wait until tomorrow to put it to the test.”

Stewart was the most colorfully attired player, wearing hot-pink plus fours and a shirt with the logo of the Phoenix Cardinals of the National Football League.

“It’s the best position I’ve ever been in in a major,” he said. “I came out with the idea of playing a good, solid round, which I did--and nobody ran away from the field. Tomorrow’s the day you win, and that’s what I plan to do.”

Couples and Calcavecchia, who shot 68s, were paired Saturday and it was a good match. Both are known as long hitters (Couples’ nickname is Boom Boom).

Couples would be in even a better position if he hadn’t bogeyed the last hole--just as he had done Friday--when his drive found a pot bunker.

“Whoever gets off to the best start tomorrow will be hard to catch,” he said. “The way the course is playing, guys can’t just make pars to win, they’ll have to make birdies.”

Feherty, who shot a 69, doesn’t have credentials as imposing as the other contenders. Nonethless, he doesn’t seem to be awed.

“I have very little experience of being so close in the big majors,” he said. “I’m not saying I’m going to win, but I want to know what it’s like to be in that position.”

As a youngster, Feherty was being groomed as both a singer and a golfer. For relaxation he listens to Puccini.

“I would still like to play on the U.S. tour,” he said. “I’ve tried four times and I’ve been unsuccessful.”

Azinger, who shot a 67, is still in the hunt. But he reasoned that he would be even closer to Grady if he had been able to make birdie putts ranging from 15 to 18 feet on six greens.

“Tomorrow, nerves will play a big part. I think it’s hard to be a front-runner,” he said. “It’s easier for someone to come from farther back. If I were in the lead, I’d want bad weather and just hang on.”

That isn’t likely, according to the weather forecast.

Azinger played with Mudd, who shot a 68 even though he said he was distracted by cameras and a television cart.

“I wasn’t used to the aggressiveness of those people,” Mudd said. “There were 30 cameramen out there taking pictures of my downswing. I got pretty rattled. It’s my first Open here, so I’ll have to get used to it.”

Watson doesn’t have that problem. The British Open is old hat to him and he would like to prove that his experience is invaluable today.

British Open Notes

Larry Mize had the low round of the day with a 66. He was at 211. . . . Tom Kite, who shot a 67 and was also at 211, said the course is defenseless: “Soft greens, no wind and no rain.” . . . Scott Simpson, the former USC star, shot a 72 after moving close to the leaders with a 66 Friday. He was also at 211. . . . Curtis Strange, the two-time U.S. Open champion, shot his second consecutive 74 and was at 218. . . . Bernhard Langer, the 1985 Masters champion, had the worst round of the day, an 83.

All three of the Ozaki brothers, Jumbo, Jet and Joe, made the cut. . . . Payne Stewart was rolling in putts on the practice green before the round, prompting Wayne Grady to ask, “Did you sleep with that thing (putter) last night?” . . . John Saddler, a columnist for the Sun, a British tabloid, wrote that he was snubbed by Strange after asking what Saddler acknowledged was a dumb question. Nonetheless, Saddler wrote: “I am told he’s a firm admirer of John McEnroe. I can’t say I’m surprised.”