Davies Can’t Give Lead Away

With one more round to go in the 1998 LPGA season, there are a few questions still to be answered at the $1-million PageNet LPGA Tour Championship.

* Is Laura Davies going to hold it together or fall flatter than the bill on her visor?

* Can Annika Sorenstam finish at even par and become the first player to wind up with a scoring average below 70?

* Has anybody seen Se Ri Pak?

* Has anybody seen a gallery around the Desert Inn?

If there were any fewer people watching the LPGA’s season-ending tournament, you couldn’t fill up a dice table. The crowd was estimated at 6,650 for Saturday’s third round, which ended with Davies holding a two-shot lead.

Davies could do no better than a three-over 75 and should have given some hope to almost everyone chasing her, but Meg Mallon was the only one who really took advantage.

Mallon’s five-under 67 got her close to Davies, who seemed to be waiting for something bad to happen. Mallon chipped in from 18 feet at the 17th and quickly recognized that Davies was sort of fragile.

“Well, she’s not exuding a lot of confidence right now,” Mallon said. “I’ve been in that position before. If you go out and shoot a good, solid round, who knows what’s going to happen?”

As far as confidence goes, you could put all Davies had in a nickel slot machine. Before she started Saturday’s third round, she was anxious about what might happen staring straight into the face of a four-shot lead.

“There’s more to blow,” she said.

And away it went. It was quite a transformation, Davies played the four par-five holes in a combined 10 under the first two days and played them at one over on Saturday.

But whatever Davies had, it must have been catching, because most everyone else trying to catch her spent the day taking giant steps backward. Mallon was the notable exception. She began the day 10 shots behind Davies and cut eight shots off the lead.

Through three rounds, Davies is at eight-under 208. After Mallon at 210, there is a three-way tie for third at five-under 211 with Pat Hurst, Julie Inkster and Tina Barrett. Kelly Robbins, Wendy Ward and Dottie Pepper are four shots back at 212.

Davies, who hasn’t won in 21 months, had 38 putts and apparently wasn’t too happy about it afterward when she took a couple of hacks at the scorer’s tent with a club.

She began her day by hitting a palm tree on the first hole and then missing an eight-foot putt for birdie.

“It just didn’t get any better after that,” Davies said.

After she missed an 18-inch par putt on No. 7, drove a ball into the water on No. 9, then missed every birdie putt she had on the back, Davies didn’t sound very much like someone leading the tournament.

“Unfortunately, I’m looking at the fact that if I putt like that tomorrow, I’ve got no chance,” she said.

Meanwhile, rookie sensation Pak is 22nd in the 30-player field at five-over 221. The more important number is her official money total--$862,170--which puts her at No. 2 on the money list behind Sorenstam, who is at even par 216 through 54 holes.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

In Front

LPGA TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

At Desert Inn GC, Las Vegas--Par 72

Laura Davies 66-67-75--208 -8

Meg Mallon 72-71-67--210 -6

Pat Hurst 74-69-68--211 -5

Juli Inkster 68-72-71--211 -5

Tina Barrett 71-66-74--211 -5

*

COMPLETE SCORES 18