Irwin’s 62 Gives Him 5-Stroke Cushion

Hale Irwin loosened up his sore right shoulder and shot a course-record 62 Saturday to open a five-stroke lead in the Vantage Championship at Clemmons, N.C., moving closer to becoming the first golfer to win $2 million in a season.

Irwin, who took a one-shot lead into Saturday’s round and questioned how he would perform because of shoulder tendinitis flaring up, birdied five of his first eight holes as he moved to 16 under par after 36 holes.

Irwin’s two-round total of 126 tied the senior tour-opening 36-hole record set by Jim Colbert in the 1994 GTE West Classic. His 62 broke the Tanglewood championship course record of 63 set by Dave Stockton in the first round of the 1994 Vantage.

“It would take a round like he had today to catch him, and then he would have to not play the way he has been playing,” said Larry Nelson, who is in second place, three strokes ahead of a trio at 134. “It’s like [Jack] Nicklaus always says, ‘It’s possible, not probable.’ I think that is the case.”

A victory today by Irwin, who won this tournament in 1995 and tied for second last year, would give him eight victories this season, the $225,000 top prize and a place in history by becoming the first pro golfer to earn $2 million in a season.

Tiger Woods on the PGA Tour is about $50,000 shy of reaching the $2-million milestone with several events left, including the lucrative Tour Championship.

John Bland, Jose Maria Canizares and Dave Eichelberger were tied for third at eight under.

Gil Morgan’s one-under 70 gave him 25 consecutive sub-par rounds, breaking the senior tour mark set by Bob Murphy in 1995. Morgan sank a four-footer for birdie on his final hole to secure the record.

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Davis Love III continued to shake off last week’s disastrous showing at the Ryder Cup, shooting a third-round five-under 67 at Pine Mountain, Ga., to take a two-shot lead over fellow Georgian Stewart Cink at the $1.2-million Buick Challenge.

Love, who won his first major by taking the PGA Championship this year, lost all four of his matches at the Ryder Cup in Spain last week.

Love made six birdies before a lone bogey on No. 17 for a 17-under 199 for 54 holes over the 7,057-yard Mountain View Course at the Callaway Gardens resort, 90 miles southwest of Atlanta.

That was good enough for the Sea Island, Ga., resident to break the course and tournament record of 200 for 54 holes set by Steve Elkington in winning the rain-shortened event in 1994.

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Germany’s Bernhard Langer shot a record 12-under 60 and took a commanding seven-stroke lead after three rounds of the German Masters at Berlin.

Langer, whose score broke the Golf and Country Club Motzen course record of 61 set in 1995 by Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland, had a 54-hole total of 19-under 197.

Spain’s Jose Maria Olazabal was in second place at 204, one shot ahead of Colin Montgomerie and Thomas Bjorn. Olazabal, Montgomerie and Bjorn each shot 66 but lost ground.

American Steve Jones shot a 70 for 211. American Ryder Cup player Tom Lehman carded a 69 for 212 and Phil Mickelson--also a U.S. Ryder Cup member--had a 69 for 213.

European Ryder Cup captain Seve Ballesteros, who made only his fourth cut in 18 events this year, shot 70 for a two-under total of 214.

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Host Betsy King and LPGA money leader Annika Sorenstam moved into a first-place tie after the third round of the $600,000 CoreStates Betsy King Classic at Kutztown, Pa.

King shot a five-under 67 at the 6,075-yard Berkleigh Country Club. Sorenstam, the defending champion, shot a 68 to tie King at 11-under 205.

Kelly Robbins, who tied the course record with a 65, was one stroke behind.