O’Meara Is Alone--Barely : Golf: He is 21 under par and leads five others in the Bob Hope tournament by only one shot going into today’s final round.

Mark O’Meara is in position to win the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, this time without having to worry about Corey Pavin.

Pavin beat O’Meara last year with a chip shot from the rough for a birdie on the first playoff hole at Indian Wells.

But Pavin barely made the cut Saturday and is 13 strokes behind O’Meara. Still, there are several players in position to torment O’Meara, who shot a five-under-par 67 Saturday at La Quinta and is at 21-under-par 267 after 72 holes of the 90-hole tournament.

Crowding O’Meara are Jeff Maggert, Lanny Wadkins, Gene Sauers, Kenny Perry and Fred Couples, all 20 under par.

The final 18 holes will be played today at Bermuda Dunes, with the pros leaving their amateur partners to play against their peers.

Asked to assess his mind-set going into the final round, O’Meara said:

“Whether I’m on a mission or not, I try not to look at it that way. I know last year I played extremely well and deserved to win the tournament and I didn’t. That’s part of golf, unfortunately.

“But I’m glad I’m in position (again) to win.”

O’Meara said the pressure will start to mount today.

“When you have so many guys bunched up as you have right now, a lot of guys from behind will be firing, and maybe there is a little more pressure on the guys on the top.

“Any time you have the lead it’s a little tough at times to be overly aggressive. But I think in this tournament the guys realize that you have to be aggressive.”

A playoff s is a possibility. There have been 11 sudden-death playoffs in the Hope tournament, seven in the past 10 years.

O’Meara said the reason for so many playoffs is that the “courses yield a lot of birdies, and players can make up ground quickly.”

There’s also an outside chance the tournament record of 29-under-par, posted by Pavin and O’Meara, could be threatened.

O’Meara said he had an up-and-down round with eight birdies and three bogeys. After bogeying the 17th hole, he got a birdie on No. 18 with a six-iron to within 20 feet of the cup, from which he made his putt.

O’Meara, who grew up in Orange County and played for Cal State Long Beach, reasons it will take a score of six- or seven-under today to win.

Wadkins and Couples, O’Meara’s teammates on the Ryder Cup team, could be the most serious challengers because of their experience.

Wadkins, 42, shot a 65 at Bermuda Dunes and conceded that he might have some advantage, however small.

“The only advantage is that I don’t have to change greens tomorrow and will be used to the speed,” Wadkins said. The greens on the four courses used in the Hope are “all a little different.”

He might have another edge. He has played exceptionally well on the West Coast.

Wadkins won the Hope tournament in 1985, is a two-time winner of the Los Angeles Open and the Tournament of Champions. He also won the PGA Championship at Pebble Beach in 1977.

“I’ve also had a bunch of seconds on the West Coast over the years,” he said.

Wadkins had seven birdies, including the 17th and 18th holes, to put himself in a position to challenge O’Meara.

He said the desert courses favor him because they aren’t exceptionally long and he can reach the par-five holes in two shots.

Even though Wadkins has been on the tour since 1971 and has 20 victories, he said he is constantly working on his game.

“It’s a never-ending process,” he said. “I’m getting older, and I work harder every year to maintain the level I’ve been playing at. It doesn’t get any easier, but I like it.”

As expected, the foursome of Bob Hope, Vice President Dan Quayle, former President Gerald Ford and John Daly attracted the largest gallery Saturday.

Quayle, who plays to a six handicap, shot an 82, 10 over par, at Bermuda Dunes. Daly shot a 69 and, at 281, missed the cut by one stroke.

Golf Notes

The low 70 players and ties made the cut. Prominent players who missed the cut included Arnold Palmer, Fuzzy Zoeller, Jodie Mudd, Mark Calcavecchia, Larry Mize and Tim Simpson. . . . Jeff Maggert, Fred Couples and David Edwards had the low rounds Saturday with 64s. Maggert shot his at La Quinta, where he started at the 10th hole. He got an eagle on the par-five, 508-yard 13th hole. “That jump-started me,” said Maggert, the 1990 Ben Hogan Tour Player of the Year. . . . Couples got his 64 at Bermuda Dunes.