Even for Desert, Magee Is Red Hot

As it made a left turn into the weekend, the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic once again affirmed its position as golf’s version of the limbo.

How low can they go?

Well, after 54 holes, it’s all the way to 21 under par. That’s where third-round leader Andrew Magee found himself Friday after torturing PGA West with an eight-under-par 64, which was worth a four-shot lead.

Afterward, Magee made a quick assessment of his situation and formed a strategy.

“I’m hoping for a rainout right now,” he said.

But seriously, 21 under is a 54-hole record for the Hope, breaking Harry Taylor’s 20-under total from the first three rounds in 1995. It should be noted that Taylor finished seventh, which proved Magee’s next point.

“It’s a long, long week,” he said. “You have to go deep in this one.”

Make that really deep. Stewart Cink and Mark O’Meara are closest to Magee at 17 under after Cink shot a 67 at La Quinta and O’Meara a 65 at PGA West.

Fred Couples, who had a 66 at Bermuda Dunes, managed to stay within reach of the leaders and begins today in a four-way tie for fourth with David Duval, Bob Tway and Brad Fabel.

Five under after nine, Couples got tired coming in and produced only one birdie the rest of the way. Couples wasn’t about to complain about anything, basically because he hasn’t played since October when he tied for ninth at Las Vegas.

His arthritic back hurts, but it always does. Maybe a 90-hole tournament isn’t the best way to rest, but then Couples doesn’t concern himself with all that much, especially problems with his sore back.

“It’s a pain,” he said. “I can’t say it’s getting better.

“I wake up in the morning and I walk like a 60-year-old. It’s not some sob story. It’s just the facts.”

For Couples, the facts of his life aren’t limited to golf statistics that showed him playing in only 15 tournaments last year, the fewest in his 17-year career.

Couples still made 13 cuts, had seven top-10 finishes and earned $448,385, but his greatest challenges did not occur on the course.

His father, Tom, lost a long battle with leukemia. His girlfriend, Thais Bren, underwent treatment for cancer. Understandably, Couples found it difficult to play golf, but he did learn something about himself.

“I don’t know the right words, [but] it was fun to be around my father and to see this girl get better,” Couples said. “I thoroughly learned a lot off the golf course, and I think it will help me this year.

“I will still mope around when I am not playing well, but when I get done I’ll realize--the easiest cliche in the world--that there are other things besides golf, because I did it last year.”

Couples now divides his time between his home in Dallas and his girlfriend’s residence in Mandeville Canyon, where he likes to do yard work, his back permitting.

“It doesn’t hurt to cut limbs and rake leaves and dig holes,” he said. “So that’s what I do.”

Bruce Lietzke dug himself a hole when he ballooned to a 71 at La Quinta. That means he fell from the lead all the way to a tie for eighth with Steve Jones, who had a 65 at Indian Wells (where else?).

It’s Couples’ turn to lower the boom on Indian Wells today, which ought to make his aching back feel better. Magee will spend the next two days touring Bermuda Dunes to see if he can dig up any more birdies at the place.

His celebrity partner will be Andy Williams, who is Magee’s singer-of-the-day playmate, following Glen Campbell. Singing partners are helpful, Magee said.

“They help me relax,” he said.

This could be helpful from here on out in the Hope, as the pressure (if that’s what it is) mounts.

Magee tried and tried, but couldn’t find much fault in Friday’s round. Look at the thing: eight birdies, no bogeys, every green hit, every fairway hit, seven birdie putts of eight feet or closer sent straight into the hole.

“You’ve got to go low,” he said.

That’s probably the secret, all right. There can be no letdown, not in this lowdown tournament.