Clark Fires 68, Leads SCGA Amateur by 1 : Golf: Duncan only a stroke back going into today’s final round at Fairbanks Ranch CC.

If Bob Clark had the 1970s back, he’d probably have never spent them chasing the golfer’s dream of being the next Jack Nicklaus or Arnold Palmer.

For Clark, 45, the amateur circuit suits him just fine.

“Amateur golf is so much more fun for me,” he said.

It was plenty fun Saturday at Fairbanks Ranch Country Club for Clark, who shot a third-round 68 and leads the Southern California Golf Assn. Amateur Championship at six under par.

Pat Duncan also shot a 68 and is a stroke back. Second-round leader Craig Steinberg was around the hole all day, but couldn’t get anything to drop and shot a 74 to trail by four strokes. California Amateur champion Todd Demsey had a slow start for the second consecutive round and shot a 72 that puts him at par, six behind Clark.

Clark, who runs a mortgage company in Bear Creek, rode a hot putter through the front nine, making birdies on Nos. 1, 3, 8 and 9, and he played par on the back nine.

He began the day by making a 25-foot birdie putt on the first hole, then sank a 35-footer from the back of the green on No. 3. He drilled a 15-footer on the eighth and a 10-footer on the ninth. But his putt of the day came on the par-four 14th.

After driving deep into a fairway bunker, Clark was forced to chip out onto the fairway. His approach shot landed 25 feet to the right of the hole. His putt landed dead center in the bottom of the cup.

“I was just playing for bogey,” he said. “I just saw a good line on it. I knew it was good five feet from the hole. I made 100 feet of 10-foot putts (Friday) and three putts of 30 feet (Saturday).”

His position on top of the leader board of the SCGA is not new. Clark led the SCGA last year going into the last day and with nine holes left, but fell apart on the back nine and finished second to Steinberg.

“All of us were in exactly the same position last year,” Clark said. “I was actually playing better last year. But with a 14-month-old daughter, changing diapers and all only gives me a chance to play once a week.”

Which is exactly how often Clark played in the early 1970s as a member of the PGA tour. Each Monday, before every PGA tournament, Clark tried to qualify to play that week.

Usually, he wound up packing his bags Monday night and going on to the next tournament site with the other “rabbits,” as they were called.

In 1972, his PGA card was taken away and he played for some five years on the Australian and Asian tours. In 1977, he regained his card. But a year later, he decided amateur golf might be less frustrating.

“Those guys really had a closed shop,” said Clark, who won the NCAA Championship in 1969 while playing for Cal State Los Angeles. “Looking back, I’m disappointed that I ever turned pro. But then now, I guess I’d be regretting that I never tried it. I’m just too small. Those guys on the pro tour are really athletes.”

Duncan, who finished third at the SCGA last year and advanced to the quarterfinals at the state amateur two weeks ago, appears poised to give Clark a run. He made seven birdies and three bogeys, and even kept tournament officials off his back.

Friday, he had assistant rules chairmen following him with stopwatches because of his slow play.

“I do that for rhythm,” he said. “That’s my pace. I didn’t want to get in the cart and rush to my next shot.”

Duncan stayed out of a cart again Saturday, but he appeared to pick up his pace slightly.

Demsey, a second-team All-American from Arizona State and Torrey Pines, started slowly with bogeys on three and four, but he picked himself up with birdies on 11, 12 and 14 before bogeying 16.

“I was fighting myself all the way,” he said. “I’m getting myself in a hole early every round. Luckily, I made some birdies on the back nine. I still have a glimmer of hope.”

The final round begins today at 11:30 a.m. with the foursome of Clark, Duncan, Demsey and Steinberg teeing off at 12:42 p.m.