Stadler-Wadkins Show Why It’s Called Shootout

Craig Stadler and Lanny Wadkins may have been born to be golf partners, probably because they share the personality of a nuclear reactor.

Wrapping a club around a tree comes as easily for Stadler as twitching his mustache and Wadkins could freeze water with one of his stares, so it figures that they would make a pretty strong combination on the golf course.

They proved it Saturday in the $1.1-million Franklin Templeton Shark Shootout at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, where Stadler-Wadkins shot a tournament-record 15-under-par 57 in best ball. They are at 18-under 126.

How did it happen, this one-eagle, 13-birdie, four-par day at the shooting gallery?

“We just never backed off, which we tend not to do anyway,” Wadkins said.

There is no question that Stadler and Wadkins are scoring better than anyone in the 20-player field--they’ve played the last 27 holes in 20 under par.

“That’s not bad,” Stadler said. “It got to the point where we expected a birdie every hole.”

It was easy to see why, especially after Wadkins holed out a pitching wedge from 105 yards to eagle the par-four, 385-yard No. 10.

“I caught it really good and it worked out just right,” Wadkins said.

The leaders don’t have much room to breathe easily. Jay Haas and Tom Kite shot a 12-under 60 to put themselves one shot back at 17-under 127.

The team of Haas-Kite shot 28 on the back nine, even though Haas conked the Chevrolet on display near the 18th green with his drive. It didn’t matter, though, because Kite birdied the hole.

“I was the cheerleader today,” said Haas, the car-wrecker.

Hale Irwin and Lee Janzen are two shots off the lead at 15-under 129. They put up a 61, but the problem was they were playing with Stadler-Wadkins.

“It didn’t look very good compared to the guys we were playing with,” Irwin said. “We had front-row seats to watch that one.”

First-day leaders Mark O’Meara and Curtis Strange are in fourth place at 130 for today’s last round, which will be played as a scramble.

Irwin knows exactly what that means.

“You have to put your eggs in a basket and keep them there,” he said. “You can’t drop any and you have to find some more.”

There you have it, advice that’s good for either the golf course or the grocery store.