Davies Leads as Inkster Falters

The pressure of winning her third consecutive major championship isn’t a problem for Juli Inkster. The problem is Laura Davies.

Inkster’s bid to make history and the Hall of Fame suffered a setback Saturday when she failed for the first time in 27 rounds to break par, and Davies again overpowered Priddis Greens Golf and Country Club to build a two-stroke lead in the du Maurier Classic at Calgary, Canada.

“She’s going to be a tough one to beat,” Inkster said after a two-over-par 74 left her four strokes behind. “I’m going to have to go out there and shoot a real good score tomorrow, because I just don’t see Laura backing up.”

History alone was enough to suggest that Inkster had her work cut out for her.

Pat Bradley, Mickey Wright, Babe Zaharias and Ben Hogan are the only players to have won three majors in one season.

When Davies made birdie on the 18th after a 50-foot bunker shot trickled down the shelf next to the hole for a tap-in, she completed a three-under 69 and owned a two-stroke lead over Dawn Coe-Jones.

“If I shoot the best round tomorrow, then I obviously win,” said Davies, who was at nine-under 207. Davies also won the du Maurier in 1996, the only other time in its 26-year history that it was played in the province of Alberta.

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Brent Geiberger overcame a bumpy front nine with a ferocious rally on the back, getting an ace and three birdies to go 15 under par and carry a three-stroke lead into the final round of the Greater Hartford Open at Cromwell, Conn.

Geiberger, who shared the second-day lead, shot a 64 and was six under for the day. His three-round score of 195 was a 54-hole course record and put the six-year pro in a position to win his first PGA Tour title. He has never been closer than third after three rounds.

Ted Tryba had the day’s low round, a 62 that tied the course record, and was at 12 under.

Geiberger started the day tied at 11 under with Pete Jordan. A birdie on No. 2 put him 12 under, but that was the high point on the front. He double bogeyed the next hole and bogeyed Nos. 4 and 5, briefly losing the lead to Skip Kendall, who was 12 under at the turn. Geiberger birdied Nos. 7 and 8 to get back to 10 under.

“I wasn’t nervous at all,” Geiberger said. “I was putting the ball pretty well. We just tried to regroup and start over.”

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Dave Eichelberger closed with an eagle and a birdie on the last two holes to build a three-stroke lead after the second round of the Senior PGA Tour’s Novell Utah Showdown at Park City.

Eichelberger, who three weeks ago won the Senior U.S. Open at Des Moines, was at 15-under 129 after two rounds of the 54-hole event at Park Meadows Country Club. His nine-under 63 in the second round was bolstered by eagles on the 15th and 17th holes.

Tied for second were Hale Irwin, John Mahaffey and defending champion Gil Morgan.

Greg Edwards, a Monday qualifier who held the first-round lead after a nine-under 63, followed with a 79 and was at 142.

Golf Notes

David Duval said he will play the Greater Hartford Open to the end even if the tournament carries into Monday, when he is to play in a made-for-television match against Tiger Woods in Thousand Oaks that night. The chance of severe weather late this afternoon at Cromwell, Conn., was so strong, the PGA moved up the starting time for the final round two hours to 7 a.m. EDT. To complete the tournament by 2 p.m., players will start their final round from both the first and 10th tees. In the event severe weather should hit in the morning, the final round could be postponed until Monday. . . . An assistant to CBS golf commentator Gary McCord ran over the foot of a volunteer with a golf cart at the Greater Hartford Open. Steven Lewison, 46, is charged with second-degree reckless endangerment. . . . Tom Kite, the 1997 U.S. Ryder Cup captain, joined the growing list of players who believe that eventually the PGA of America, which runs the Ryder Cup, will give a sum to each participating player to donate to charity, as is done at the Presidents Cup. “The PGA does an awful lot of stuff but it doesn’t come directly through the player,” Kite said. “If they could give X amount to Justin Leonard to take back to Dallas, then it’s a different deal. Ultimately, that’s what I think it will come to. In this day and age they’re probably going to have to compensate the players some way.”

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In Front

Scores after Saturday’s play (Complete scores, D12):

DU MAURIER CLASSIC--Par 72

Laura Davies 72-66-69--207 -9

Dawn Coe-Jones72-65-72--209 -7

Catriona Matthew 68-70-72--210 -6

GREATER HARTFORD OPEN--Par 70

Brent Geiberger66-63-66--195 -15

Ted Tryba 72-64-62--198 -12

NOVELL UTAH SHOWDOWN--Par 72

Dave Eichelberger 66-63--129 -15

John Mahaffey 68-64--132 -12

Hale Irwin 67-65--132 -12

Gil Morgan65-67--132 -12