As Doral Gets Tough, Weir Gets It Going

Mike Weir had the perfect start and perfect finish Saturday in the Genuity Championship, where palm trees swaying in the wind suddenly turned another scoring assault into a day of survival at Miami.

Weir knocked in a 40-foot eagle putt on the first hole using his three-wood, and closed out a wild, windy round at Doral with great approach shot for a birdie to give him a three-under-par 69 and a one-stroke lead over Hal Sutton.

Weir, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour but never in the United States, was at 15-under 201. Sutton’s putting deserted him on the closing holes and he had to settle for a 70.

Doral played over par for the first time this week, and only 17 players broke 70.

“That’s what you expect here in the afternoon,” said Davis Love III, whose birdie on the 18th gave him a 69 and put him in contention for the fourth tournament in a row.

“I think we had gotten a reprieve,” he said. “It was a tough day.”

Love was at 204, three strokes back and in the final group for the third consecutive tournament.

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Despite a stretch of three bogeys in five holes, Tiger Woods “squirreled” his way to a four-under 68 in the Dubai Desert Classic and is a stroke ahead of playing partner Thomas Bjorn of Denmark, who shot a 67.

Woods, at 20-under 196, had some putting problems on the manicured course in the United Arab Emirates, particularly from three feet on the 10th hole, when he three-putted. He trailed Bjorn by one stroke after 12 holes when he picked up this third bogey, missing a par putt from eight feet.

“It wasn’t one of my easier rounds of golf,” Woods said.

A tournament that once looked like a two-man show is now a real chase.

Padraig Harrington of Ireland was three strokes behind at 199 after a 64. Jeev Milkha Singh of India shot 67 and is at 200. Four others were at 201, including Ian Woosnam.

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Karrie Webb shot a seven-under 65 and second-round leader Lynette Brooky soared to a 76, leaving Webb with a five-shot lead at the ANZ Australian Ladies Masters at Gold Coast.

Webb birdied her final three holes to put her in good shape to win her first tournament of 2001. Her long driving and accurate iron play helped her to a bogey-free round and a 14-under total of 202.