Jacobsen Won’t Be Clowning Today : Golf: PGA Tour comedian leads Hope by two strokes and is trying to win an official event for the first time since 1984.

Peter Jacobsen is the PGA Tour comedian. He imitates the swings and mannerisms of the other pros.

He does a pretty good Mike Reid, too. Even Reid admits it.

Jacobsen will have the opportunity to study Reid closely today in the final round of the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. They will be playing together along with Australia’s Steve Elkington in the last group of the day as the 90-hole tournament comes to a conclusion.

With a six-under-par 66 Saturday at Bermuda Dunes, Jacobsen has a two-shot lead over Reid, 268-270, after 72 holes. Reid, with his 67 at Indian Wells, is one shot ahead of Elkington.

Ted Schulz, Scott Simpson and Tom Kite trail by fourheading into today’s shootout at the Palmer course at PGA West, the most demanding layout of the four courses used for the tournament.

Jacobsen and Reid have opposed each other many times. They played against each other in college, Jacobsen at Oregon and Reid at Brigham Young. They went through qualifying school at the same time in 1976.

“Peter and I go back a lot of years,” Reid said. “I enjoy his friendship and he’s a funny companion.”

As for Jacobsen’s skill as a mimic, Reid said: “He’s pretty good. He’s got it down.”

How have they fared against each other as competitors?

“We’ve split it up pretty good,” Jacobsen said. “I remember that he beat me by a stroke in the Pacific Coast Amateur at L.A. North (Los Angeles Country Club).”

Jacobsen had six birdies in his round at Bermuda Dunes, making putts ranging from three to 15 feet. Reid, playing Indian Wells, the easiest of the four courses, had six birdies and one bogey when he three putted the 13th green.

Jacobsen hasn’t won on the tour since 1984 and, when asked if he thinks he’s due, he said:

“Yeah, I feel I’m due. In 1986 and 1987 I was ready to quit because my back was bad. I had a ruptured disk. But I didn’t want to quit. So I rededicated myself to my game, made a lot of swing changes and I did a lot of conditioning for my lower back.

“I feel I’ve worked my way back up the ladder. I definitely think I’m going to win. It’s just a matter of whether it’s tomorrow, next week, or next month.”

Jacobsen earned $526,765 on the tour in 1988 and $267,241 last year. He also won the Kapalua tournament in Hawaii last November, a non-tour event.

“One of the most difficult things about sports is that a Orel Hershiser or a Fernando Valenzuela are at the top of their game one year and may not be the next year,” Jacobsen said.

“It’s so hard to maintain that level. Curtis Strange has been such a shining star, like Tom Kite. They’ve maintained that level. I don’t think anyone is going to maintain the level that Jack Nicklaus did for years. But it’s great to see players make the effort.

“It’s going to be a good test for me tomorrow and for Mike and there are a lot of good players within a few shots of the lead.”

Asked by one reporter if it bothers him that he hasn’t won on the tour for quite a while, Jacobsen said: “It doesn’t bother me at all. I’ve never been a player to identify with my score. When I shoot 65, I’m not a good guy and when I shoot 80 I’m not a bad guy.”

Then Jacobsen paused, smiled and said to the reporter: “Does it bother you that you’ve never won a Pulitzer prize?”

The weather couldn’t have been better Saturday. It was clear with the temperature in the 70s as the pros played the last round with their amateur partners.

However, it was a frustrating day for Kite because of the way he finished. Kite charged into contention Friday with a 64 and was only two strokes behind the 54-hole leader, Don Pooley.

Playing at the Palmer course Saturday, Kite needed to par the 17th and 18 holes to record a 67.

Instead he missed a putt of about 3 1/2 feet at No. 17 when his ball nicked the cup and made a U-turn.

Then, he bogeyed the par-5, 540-yard 18th hole.

Elkington remained in contention with a 69 at Bermuda Dunes.

“I didn’t do anything spectacular, but I played a good steady round,” he said. “I’ve driven the ball well and I haven’t been in much trouble.”

So Elkington stayed in the hunt, but Pooley faltered with a 73 at Tamarisk and is at 274, six shots behind Jacobsen.

Golf Notes

The cut was at 281 with 73 pros moving onto the final round of the $1-million tournament. The winner’s share is $180,000. . . . John Cook, who shared the second-round lead, didn’t make the cut, shooting a 77 (282) at Tamarisk. . . . Neither did Tom Watson, who was at 283 along with Arnold Palmer. . . . Peter Jacobsen has been frustrated in his bid for victories in recent years. He had a one-shot lead going into the final hole of the Western Open in 1988 but lost when he got a double bogey. The Western was his nemesis last year when he lost in a playoff to Mark McCumber after he missed a one-foot putt.