GOLF / L.A. CITY CHAMPIONSHIPS : Turner Slides but Holds Lead as Field Fares Worse

Mike Turner leads the 73rd annual Los Angeles City Golf Championship entering today’s final round, and he may have his competition to thank for it.

Turner, 33, a pillow manufacturer from Van Nuys, led by one stroke entering Saturday’s third round at Rancho Park, but struggled reaching the greens and putted poorly on the back nine to finish one over par for the day, two under for the tournament at 68-71-72--211.

Fortunately for Turner, the rest of the field struggled so much that he increased his lead to three strokes.

Ken Cruz, who was second after 36 holes, shot three-over to finish 68-72-74--214. Ed Susolik, 69-74-74--217, and Jim Lundstrom, 75-70-72--217, are tied for third.

“The greens were a little bumpy and it didn’t seem like I was hitting my approach shots well,” said Turner, who won the tournament in 1987. “But this is a tough course and I figure if you shoot a 74, you don’t lose any ground.”

Slow greens and 105-degree heat were common complaints. But the conditions didn’t play favorites.

“The main thing here is to keep it in the middle of the fairway,” Turner said. “I kept it in play and hit it straight today. If my approaches were a little better, I could have scored much lower.”

For example, he bogeyed the 15th hole, a 431-yard, par-four after hitting long off the tee, then short on his approach, three-putting from 20 feet.

The difficulty of the course, the winds and the heat left most of the golfers optimistic about their chances in today’s final round.

Susolik, 27, a recent USC law school graduate, said he thinks his chances are good for winning the title today.

“A lot of my birdie putts kept slipping out today and the greens were a little slower than I expected,” he said. “But I’ll compensate for that tomorrow and I like my chances.”