Charges by Haas and Kaneko Are 1 Shot Short

They began playing the final round of the Los Angeles Open Sunday with the odds clearly against them--six strokes behind leader Fred Couples and five behind a group of others. But by the time Couples made the turn at Riveria Country Club, Japan’s Yoshinori Kaneko and South Carolina’s Jay Haas had surged into contention.

Kaneko and Haas each made seven birdies and one bogey to shoot 65s and finish the tournament at 14 under par, one stroke behind Couples and Davis Love III. Couples won his playoff against Love. Kaneko and Haas tied for third, and each took home a check for $58,000.

“It feels great,” said Kaneko, who does not speak English, through an interpreter.

Haas, who played three groups ahead of Couples and Love, needed a birdie on the 18th hole for a shot at the championship and responded by sinking a six-footer. In his 12 years in this tournament, Haas said he never before birdied the 18th hole. But he had been sinking putts all day.

Kaneko, playing one group behind Haas, sank a 22-foot putt to birdie No. 18, tie Haas at 14-under and join him in the waiting game. But when Couples and Love had short putts left for par, Haas, watching on television from the clubhouse, knew it was over.

“It was wishful thinking that they would miss those putts for par on 18,” Haas said.

Haas started the day with three birdies. He struggled with his putter in the last couple of rounds, but when he sank an 18-footer on No. 2 he felt momentum change. He birdied No. 7, bogeyed No. 8 and then made three more birdies on the back side.

“I got off to such a good start that I thought that maybe there was a chance,” Haas said. “It’s easier to play aggressive when you are behind than it is to hang onto the lead. There is far more pressure when you are on top. You tend not to make too many birdies when you are that far ahead. Nobody really runs away with the lead and hides. Davis tried that (Saturday, before he had a triple-bogey seven on the 12th hole), and it cost him three shots.”

Kaneko, from Tokyo, ranks in the top 10 on the Japanese tour, but the only PGA Tour event he plays is the Los Angeles Open.

“I think it’s because it is closer for him to travel to, and he really likes the course, “ said Kaneko’s caddy, Frank Weatherwax, who is also the caddy master at Riviera. “I told Yoshinori coming down the stretch that he only had to make four birdies to get into a playoff. He made the birdies, but he also made a bogey (on No. 12).”

Kaneko made three birdies on the front nine and then birdied Nos. 10, 14, 16 and 18. He hit 16 greens.

“Kaneko is a long-ball hitter,” Weatherwax said. “Last year at this Open he was paired with John Daly, and he hit the ball almost as far as Daly. He is big in Japan, similar to the popularity Fred Couples has here in the U.S.”

Earlier in the week Kaneko had flu. He shot a 69 in Thursday’s opening round despite being doubled over at times. He saw a doctor, then played in a weak physical state on Friday and shot another 69. He told Weatherwax that if he were home in Tokyo, he would not have played. Feeling better on Saturday, Kaneko shot a 67.