Bear Cub Claws His Way to Top With Mickelson

There was a familiar name on a leaderboard in Georgia on Saturday. But it wasn’t in a major, and it wasn’t the Golden Bear.

Gary Nicklaus, the 31-year-old son of golf legend Jack Nicklaus, holds a share of the lead after three rounds of the BellSouth Classic at Duluth, Ga.

With his father tuning up for the Masters at the Senior PGA Tour’s Tradition in Arizona, PGA Tour rookie Gary Nicklaus shot a four-under-par 68 to match Phil Mickelson, who carded his second successive 69. They are each at 11-under 205 with 18 holes to play.

“Phil is obviously a great player and I look forward to playing with him tomorrow,” Nicklaus said.

Kenny Perry and Harrison Frazar, who each shot 70, were two shots back at 207, with Jay Don Blake, John Huston, Steve Jones, Tom Pernice and overnight leader Joey Sindelar another stroke behind.

Nicklaus’ best finish in 35 events on the PGA Tour came three weeks ago with a 28th place at the Honda Classic.

“Certainly, he is a very good player. He has got his tour card,” Mickelson said. “I don’t think he has played to his ability this year. So it is good to see him playing well this week.”

Mickelson was sympathetic to the pressure his co-leader must be facing by following in the footsteps of arguably the greatest golfer of all time.

“If you put anybody else’s last name there, you would think he is one heck of a player,” Mickelson said. “But because the expectations are so high, you tend not to give him credit for what he accomplished.”

Nicklaus jumped to the top of the leaderboard with four consecutive birdies, starting at the 10th hole. He finished with six birdies and nine pars after bogeying two of the first three holes.

Because of a rules change, however, even if Nicklaus should win today, it will not get him an invitation to this week’s Masters at Augusta, where his father has donned the champion’s green jacket a record six times.

“My father has been such a big part of that tournament for so many years,” he said. “I’ve been sitting back watching him all these years, dreaming about one day being out there and doing the same thing he is doing.”

Mickelson, who will play at Augusta, had five birdies and two bogeys for his 69.

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With a thunderstorm interrupting play for the second consecutive day and making playing conditions tough, Tom Kite shot a one-under 71 to hold a two-shot lead over Andy North after three rounds of the seniors’ Tradition at Scottsdale, Ariz.

Kite, who started the day one stroke behind Larry Nelson, took the lead for good with a spectacular blast out of a trap that set up a birdie putt on No. 12, made five consecutive pars and birdied the last hole for the 71 and a 54-hole total of 208.

“It’s so nice to get in contention,” said Kite, a first-year player on the 50-and-over circuit who hasn’t won since the 1993 Los Angeles Open. “You know, that’s the thing--the way I’ve played poorly the last couple years--that I’ve missed so much.”

North, an ESPN golf analyst who chose to make his tour debut at the year’s first senior major, had five birdies in an error-free round of 67. Nelson shot 75 to fall to third at 211.