Floyd Remains Cream of Mixed Crop at Top

There’s a curious mix of players at the top of the leader board of the Masters tournament.

Raymond Floyd is the 54-hole leader at 206, 10 under par. He birdied five of the first seven holes on the back nine for a four-under 68 Saturday at Augusta National.

At 47, Floyd seeks to become the oldest Masters winner.

With his 66, Britain’s Nick Faldo, the defending champion, is one stroke behind Floyd. Faldo seeks to become the first player to win consecutive Masters titles since Jack Nicklaus did in 1965 and 1966.

John Huston has won only one tournament in a short career, and he’s with fabled company seeking victory at his first Masters. Huston shot 68 and is two shots behind Floyd.

Nicklaus, 50, hasn’t won on the regular tour since the Masters in 1986. He was 46 then, the oldest player to win at Augusta. He seeks to become the only player ever to win on both the senior and regular tour in the same year, having won a week ago at Scottsdale.

Bernhard Langer and Scott Hoch are also in contention at 212. Huston and Hoch are the only leaders who haven’t won here.

It would seem Huston, 28, has more pressure, but he isn’t showing it. Asked if he was intimidated, he said: “That could be in my favor, too. Everyone expects them to do it. I have nothing to lose.”

Then, he added: “If I wasn’t here, I’d be pulling for Nicklaus. As for the Masters, I’ve watched it every year, so I feel I have been here for years.”

Of Floyd, with whom he played at the recent Honda tournament, Huston said:

“He impressed me as much as anyone I’ve played with. He putts as well as I did at 14. He doesn’t look 47 or act 47.”

When someone asked Floyd to comment on Huston, he said: “Who did they play?”

Then, he became serious, saying, “I played with him at Honda when he won. After the second round, I said to my caddie, ‘Who in the world is this guy?’ I never heard of him and he’s out here driving it eight miles straight. He’s sticking every iron at the flag and he putts like Houdini. Where has this guy been?”

Floyd has said all week that he’s enjoying himself.

“I’m having a ball. . . .,” he said. “I’m in a relaxed state and, when I make a bad shot, it doesn’t bother me.”

Floyd has a reputation for being a strong front-runner, taking a lead and then running away with it as he did in 1976 when he won the Masters by eight shots.

“It’s the attitude that you carry into the last round,” said Floyd, who hasn’t been competitive recently. “You must be playing well to be in front and, if I feel I’m playing well and have a lead, I’m comfortable. It’s a mental attitude. But, believe me, I’ve lost a lot of tournaments from the lead.”

Floyd hasn’t won since 1986, the year he won the U.S. Open. Asked if he feels he’s destined to win the Masters, Floyd said:

“I’m not much for mystical powers. As for tomorrow, I’m not going to put any pressure on myself to shoot a number.”

Nicklaus said if Floyd breaks 70 today, not many players could catch him.

Asked about Huston, Nicklaus said: “I really don’t know enough about him to fill a thimble, but my son says he’s a good player.”

Nicklaus shot a 69 Saturday on a windy day when the fast greens were holding. “That (late Friday) rain took some of the fire out of the greens,” he said. “I didn’t play that well and still shot a 69.”

Since Nicklaus has won six Masters titles, he would seem to have some sort of a psychological advantage over the rest of the field despite his age. He was four shots behind Seve Ballesteros, the leader, with four holes to play when he won the 1986 Masters.

Asked if he is immune to pressure, Nicklaus said: “Nobody is immune to pressure. But that’s what I happen to enjoy. Pressure is the fun of the game. It’s no fun to go out and finish in 30th place.”

Nicklaus seemed slightly annoyed when someone suggested that there might be pressure on Faldo in trying to emulate his accomplishment of back-to-back Masters titles.

“Who cares?” Nicklaus said. “The players don’t talk about it until you (media) bring it up.”

Faldo discounts that aspect, saying, “I just want to keep playing the same way I have the last three days. My putting is getting better.”

Faldo had six birdies in his round. However, his most important putt was a 12-footer that saved par on the 18th hole.

It’s been said the Floyd gets into a zone in which he’s hot and focused. He certainly was on the back nine with his 31, one stroke higher than the record here.

He made a 12-foot putt for a birdie on the 10th hole and another birdie with a 25-foot putt at No. 12.

From the edge of the green on the 14th hole he made a 25-foot chip shot for still another birdie.

His 15-foot putt earned him a birdie at the par-five, 500-yard 15th. Then, on No. 16, a very slick, undulating green, he said he made a roller-coaster of a putt of about 35 feet for his final birdie on the back nine.

“The putt at 16 was like like lightning out of a jug,” Floyd said.

Langer, who won here in 1985, had his own lightning when he sank a 60-foot putt for a birdie at the par-five eighth hole.

“That’s probably the longest putt I’ve ever made here,” said the West German player, who finished with a 69.

While Floyd, Langer and the other leaders were making putts, Curtis Strange, the two-time defending U.S. Open champion, was getting frustrated.

He was in contention until he double-bogeyed the 12th hole, his tee shot going into the trees and azaleas behind the green.

Strange got birdies at 13 and 15, but bogeyed No. 17 and 18 to finish with a 71--214.

So the scene is set for today’s final round--those who have worn the green coat trying to get another one.

Then there’s Hoch, who lost in a playoff to Faldo last year, and Huston, who doesn’t seem fazed by such a pressure situation.