Mediate Has Second Shot at Pebble

The sequel to Rocky I will be played out today and Rocco Mediate is in an even better position than he was last year.

Mediate, the 28-year-old pro from Greensburg, Pa., shot a three-under-par 69 Saturday at Spyglass Hill for a one-shot lead over Davis Love III in the AT&T; Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Paul Azinger, the second-round leader, and John Cook, are two strokes behind Mediate going into today’s final round.

Last year, Mediate trailed eventual winner Mark O’Meara by one shot heading into the final round, then shot himself out of contention with a 77.

The final 18 holes will be contested at Pebble Beach Golf Links and that suits Mediate, who is at 11-under-par 205 after 54 holes.

“I’m pretty excited about it,” Mediate said. “I’m looking forward to playing my favorite course in the United States.”

Asked how he would learn from last year’s experience, Mediate said:

“I slept good on Saturday night last year and and tonight I’ll be asleep by 9:30, just like every other night.

“I just have to go out and do what I’m supposed to do. I know I can do it. I just have to go do it. I’m just going to try to play like I’ve been playing, hitting the fairways and greens. If I can do that, then I can win the golf tournament.

“I’ll be nervous in the morning, but so will everybody else. I feel I can handle that now.”

Mediate said his short game has steadily improved, but it was a two-iron that propelled him into the lead Saturday.

Starting on the back nine, he was even par for through 15 holes until he hit a two-iron 225 yards for his second shot on the par-five, 515-yard seventh hole. The ball landed 2 1/2 feet from the cup, where he made his putt for an eagle.

He birdied the next hole with a four-foot putt and then saved par at the ninth and closing hole.

Mediate had three birdies and two bogeys on his front nine and had a bogey at No. 4 preceding his eagle at the seventh hole.

His six-iron shot on the second hole hit a spectator in the back, rolling to a stop on the fringe of the green.

“That was a nice break because the ball was traveling way too far,” said Mediate, adding that he thanked the spectator for providing a backstop.

Azinger, who had a one-over-par 73 at Poppy Hills, said that Mediate has improved because he has learned how to hit the finesse shots.

“He needed to become a better player and he has become one,” said Azinger, 31, a six-time winner on the tour. “He learned to hit chip shots that I had to learn to hit.”

Azinger got off to a bad start at Poppy Hills with a bogey at the 10th hole, his starting point, and a double bogey at the 11th hole.

“But I promise you that I didn’t hit a bad shot,” Azinger said.

Azinger is not enamored with Poppy Hills, the new course in the rotation that has been criticized by some other pros.

He said his bad start merely enhanced his bad outlook for the five-year-old public course.

“I’m not exactly in love with it,” Azinger said.

One of his complaints is that the bunkers are on the wrong side of the fairways, on the inside of the doglegs.

However, he expects he will play in the tournament next year, especially since Pebble Beach is the site of the 1992 U.S. Open.

Love, who matched Mediate’s 69 while playing Poppy Hills, didn’t have any complaints about the course on a day when the start was delayed for 90 minutes because of an overnight rain.

“When I got up this morning, I didn’t think they’d ever play,” he said. “Actually, it turned out to be a pretty nice day.”

Starting from the 10th hole, Love had two birdies and one bogey on his front nine. He finished with a flourish with birdies at the eighth and ninth holes.

Love, 25, said he’s looking forward to playing with Mediate today.

“He’s a good friend. We’ll have fun out there tomorrow,” said Love, who has two victories in his five years on the tour.

Cook, 33, is also in the hunt with his 69 Saturday at Pebble Beach. He had six birdies and three bogeys in his round, closing out with a birdie on the 18th hole when he hit a wedge shot to within eight feet of the cup.

“This golf course can beat you up pretty bad, but I hung in there,” Cook said. “I made some mistakes, but everyone will do that here.”

So the script is set today: Rocky II against the field.

Golf Notes

Sixty-four players made the cut at 217. Actor Jack Lemmon, playing with his pro partner, Peter Jacobsen, failed to make the cut for the 29th time, according to his estimate. Among prominent pros who didn’t make the cut are Mark O’Meara, Lanny Wadkins, Jack Nicklaus, Curtis Strange, Ben Crenshaw and Arnold Palmer.

O’Meara, who has won this tournament three times, including the past two years, wasn’t a factor this week. He has shot three consecutive 73s and, at 219, missed making the cut. “I played all week about 80%. I could have played better,” he said. “It’s the same thing the 49ers could have said after their loss (in the NFL playoffs).” . . . Sam Randolph, the former USC star, was on his way to a good round when he had a quadruple bogey nine on the par-five, 18th hole at Pebble Beach. He had a 35-40--75 and didn’t make the cut at 224.

Chip Beck and Ray Knowles are the pro-am leaders at 192, 24 under par. . . . John Joseph made a hole-in-one at the par-three, 180-yard 12th hole at Spyglass Hill. He used a nine-iron with the wind behind him. . . . Beck is in fifth place at 209. Mac O’Grady, who has been an infrequent player on the tour, is at 212.

Asked for his assessment of Poppy Hills, Paul Azinger said: “I don’t want to get fined.” Then Azinger, rarely critical of anything, reconsidered. “Let’s just put it this way: The best hole on the course definitely is the 19th,” he said, then offered a smile and added: “That ought to be worth $500.”