Tiger in Thick of Pack on Sutherland’s Heels

What has gotten into Riviera Country Club?

This heavenly golf course is supposed to be the province of the gods. If you didn’t have a name like Hogan or Snead, if you didn’t pack a strong golf resume in your briefcase, you had no business winning a tournament here.

This week it opened its gates to everyone. Elite, journeymen, rich, poor, huddled masses . . . they’re all welcome to take a crack at the 2000 Nissan Open title.

The leaderboard is filled with guys who have shuttled back and forth between the PGA Tour and the Nike (now Buy.Com) Tour over the last few years. And that includes the leader, David Sutherland.

Unlike You-Know-Who, “I haven’t won six of my last seven tournaments,” Sutherland said. “Golly, I haven’t won one tournament.”

Sutherland said Phil Mickelson’s victory at Torrey Pines last week was special because he beat the hot Tiger Woods and not “a bunch of David Sutherlands.”

So what do we have at Riviera today? A bunch of David Sutherlands.

Just to help you keep track, they have such names as Brandel Chamblee and Tommy Armour III and Kirk Triplett (whose self-described approach to final rounds is: “I try to play it the same every time. That’s why I never win.”) They’re all in the pack that’s one stroke off the lead.

It’s nice to see some familiar faces, such as Jesper Parnevik at one off the lead and Fred Couples and Lee Janzen at two behind. But they’re the occasional ornaments in this tree of unknowns.

Because Riviera is in such a generous mood this week, it even allowed the superstars to hang in despite some dreadful play. Woods double-bogeyed No. 13 for the second consecutive day, and David Duval had two double bogeys on his first four holes. Yet they’re both within three shots of the lead.

Of course, they’ll have to go through Craig Spence and Robert Allenby, among others, to get it.

At least that’s the way it appears. The standings were so jittery throughout the day that they’re probably still shifting around. Every glance at the leaderboard begged the question, “Final answer?”

Parnevik was tied for second place when he began his post-round interview session. By the time he finished he was tied for first.

“Oh, yeah?” he said when a reporter relayed the information.

Tough to tell which was more remarkable, that little turn of events or the fact Parnevik wore bright white pants and made it through his round without a mud or grass stain.

“Pretty good, eh?” Parnevik said.

The same midweek rains that brought a potential detergent challenge for Parnevik’s clothes also brought equity to the tournament. The water softened the course and took the edge away from the longer hitters. The rough has been pretty tame.

“This is a much, much tougher golf course when you have the fast conditions that we usually have around Riviera, when the greens are firm and the fairways are firm,” Parnevik said. “Now, it’s fairly good fairways and you can pretty much back up any club, from three-iron and up, you can pretty much just stop by the pin.”

Said Triplett, who bears a strong resemblance to presidential candidate Bill Bradley: “The conditions are ideal, which allows a lot of people to shoot the same score.”

And many people did. Six players are at eight under and 12 are seven under.

That doesn’t mean everything is perfect out there. The greens have been so bouncy and retained so many heel and spike marks that even the truest putts can go awry. Woods alone has had so many putts slide off the lip of the hole you can practically hear Chick Hearn say “In-and-out heartbrrrrrreak.”

Expect to see a lot of smiles during the final round, because there are a lot of guys just happy to be here.

“No matter what happens [Sunday], I feel like it’s going to be a great experience,” Sutherland said.

Do you think Woods would make a statement like that? He has been so frustrated throughout the week that we now know exactly how far he can bend his clubs across his knee without breaking them. And yet he’s still in the hunt. It seems as though everyone is.

Sooner or later Riviera has to act like Riviera, doesn’t it? At this rate, every moviegoer will be invited to the Academy Awards, the velvet rope will be lifted at the Sunset Room. Come one, come all.

No one is quite sure what to expect today. Will the rain that was supposed to be coming all weekend finally fall? Will some of these trespassers drop off the leaderboard?

Or will Ben Hogan, Sam Snead and Byron Nelson have to make a little room for David Sutherland?

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J.A. Adande can be reached at his e-mail address: j.a.adande@latimes.com.