Watts the Story? Wind

By THOMAS BONK

July 19, 1998 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

SOUTHPORT, England —

What does it mean when 81 of the best professional golfers in the world take dead aim at Royal Birkdale and not a single one of them can break par? They weren’t trying? Somebody made the holes smaller? The fairways had trap doors in them?

Nick Price, who shot an 82, struggled to figure it out.

“Something is amiss,” he said.

Truly. But Price had just described the typical golf shot Saturday in the third round of the British Open: a miss. So why were so many great players missing so many shots? At this tournament, there’s only one reason. Yes it’s the wind.

It blew in gusts, it blew constantly and it blew the scores off the chart, but it couldn’t blow Brian Watts out of the lead at Royal Breezedale.

Watts finished with a three-over-par 73 and a 54-hole total of par 210 that puts him two strokes ahead of Jim Furyk, Mark O’Meara and Sweden’s Jesper Parnevik.

Afterward, Watts was asked how he felt.

“Exhausted,” he said.

It was that sort of day, capable of producing the kind of sensation that may be duplicated only when you drop your golf clubs on your bare feet. There were 23 scores in the 80s, including an 85 by Phil Mickelson and an 82 by defending champion Justin Leonard. The average score was 77.5.

Mickelson played the last seven holes with six bogeys and a triple bogey. He was asked if it would be difficult to play today since he is so far back.

“Yeah, but I’ll be done early,” he said.

The players chasing Watts hope they’re done late. Justin Rose, the 17-year-old amateur from England, is only three shots behind after his 75. Five shots behind is a foursome highlighted by Tiger Woods, who managed a seven-over 77. Brad Faxon, John Huston and Thomas Bjorn of Denmark begin the fourth round tied with Woods at 215.

Woods walked off the 18th green with a frown, but he should have been relieved he wasn’t being carried off, spikes first. He explained his reaction.

“Well, you’re upset because the scores are pretty high, but you’re pretty happy because it’s over,” he said. “The suffering is over. Playing in the wind like this, it tends to beat you up a little bit.”

What happened Saturday was a mugging. Consider the unusual situations of Katsuyoshi Tomori of Japan and Costantino Rocca of Italy. They were the only players to shoot par. They began the day tied for last and by nightfall, they were tied for 10th.

That’s what the wind will do to a golf tournament. Furyk’s two-over 72 looked so good to him, he couldn’t believe it, especially after watching his ball blow around on the sixth green.

“The ball kept moving, I backed off, the ball kept moving, I backed off,” he said. “I thought it was a comedy act.”

Most of the time, it wasn’t very funny. Woods said the wind gusts were so strong, they blew the blade of his putter off line. Mickelson said he had a 20-foot putt on No. 8 that should have broken a foot and a half to the right and broke two inches the other direction.

Rose, a qualifier, seemed to be the only one not bothered by the wind or anything else. No amateur has won the British Open since Bobby Jones in 1930, which would make Rose enough of a longshot if it weren’t for the fact that his biggest accomplishments to date are for competing in the Walker Cup and once playing a round with the Duke of York.

For a while, until Watts birdied the 13th hole, Rose was in the lead. He was asked how he felt about that.

“Um, I obviously felt great, you know,” he said.

Parnevik would have felt much better if he had kept his two-iron on the fairway at the 18th and avoided a bogey, but he’s not being picky after getting by with a 72 in the wind.

“You’re just happy every time you get close to the green,” he said.

O’Meara, the Masters champion, shot two under on the back to finish with a 72 and said he has a chance. Being out of the wind probably helped his comfort level.

“It was just one of those days you just try to survive,” he said.

Furyk’s 72 put him within reach of winning his first major and ending a streak of good-but-not-good-enough. Since the beginning of last year, Furyk has 22 top-10 finishes, but no victories.

Watts has 11 tournament victories in Japan, but none anywhere else. He said he’s going to enjoy playing in the last group today . . . he thinks.

“Did I feel pressure today? Absolutely. I felt lots of pressure from the get-go. I think I handled it pretty well.”

And how did he do that?

“Good question. I’m stumped.”

Blame it on the wind.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

THE LEADERS

Brian Watts: 68-69-73--210 E

Jesper Parnevik: 68-72-72--212 +2

Jim Furyk: 70-70-72--212 +2

Mark O’Meara: 72-68-72--212 +2

Justin Rose: 72-66-75--213 +3