A Tents Situation for Leaders

There is now a Lake Hazeltine II on the driving range. It appeared after a thunderstorm finished dumping three inches of rain on Hazeltine National Golf Club early Saturday morning, and that doubles the number of locations suitable for celebration in case whoever wins the PGA Championship today decides to take a dip.

Unless Tiger Woods does something he has never done before--come from behind on the last day to win a major--it’s going to be a Tiger-free victory party.

Woods is five shots back, but he would have been closer if he had avoided hitting his drive at the 18th just in front of the white picket fence guarding the hospitality tents.

Tiger sent the ball about 45 yards off line, which meant it was a lot closer to the artichoke dip than the fairway. He wound up with a bogey and even though it was the only one he made all day, there are still four players in front of him.

Here is a short list of the players who are playing the best so far at the fourth and final major of the year, with 18 holes to go:

* A 30-year-old guy who won a major five years ago, thus allowing his “youthful potential” license to lapse.

* A 31-year-old who once quit golf to sell car stereos and cellular phones.

* A 46-year-old former college golf coach who made it as a pro after four tries.

* A 42-year-old who won his only major 13 years ago, when Woods was 13.

You probably recognize them better by their names: Justin Leonard, Rich Beem, Fred Funk, Mark Calcavecchia.

It is possible to argue a case for each one, that a victory today would mean the most.

Beem has missed nine cuts this year, but he also won the International a couple of weeks ago. He convinced 30 investors to back him with $80,000 in 1999 after he earned his PGA Tour card at qualifying school, then won the Kemper Open in his rookie season.

This is only the fourth major Beem has played in his career, but that’s enough for him to recognize what it means if he wins. He says he knows he will “get a lot of cool stuff,” so he’s got that going for him.

Funk and Calcavecchia are at the front of the old-guy brigade, the over-40 bunch that has been overlooked while golf continues its fascination with the new breed.

Besides coaching Maryland’s golf team, Funk’s resume includes being a newspaper circulation supervisor, so presumably he knows it will be good copy if he delivers today.

Calcavecchia has won 10 times on the PGA Tour and won the British Open in 1989. He has been around so long, it’s hard to remember that his dad used to run a bowling alley back in Laurel, Neb., or that he had to go to qualifying school three times and spent four years floundering before he finally made it.

Then there’s Leonard, whose three-shot lead over Beem would look quite comfortable if not for the fact that it has been five years since he won the British Open at Troon. And that’s a long time between major titles.

It’s not as though Leonard is in the twilight of his career, but he has been in the spotlight since he won the 1992 U.S. Amateur. Two years later, at the University of Texas, Leonard won the NCAA title with a 17-under-par total that equaled Phil Mickelson’s record.

It seemed as though everything Leonard touched turned to birdie. He turned pro in 1994 and played on sponsor’s invitations and made enough money to earn his PGA Tour card without having to go to qualifying school.

In 1996, he won his first tournament, the Buick Open. And 1997 had every appearance of a breakout year. He won the Kemper Open, then took Royal Troon by storm when he closed with a 65 to beat Jesper Parnevik and Darren Clarke by three shots.

At 25, Leonard was the youngest British Open champion in 18 years, since Seve Ballesteros won at 22.

This was only the beginning, to be sure. As it has turned out, it was only the beginning of unfulfilled expectations. Leonard has won four more times in the five years since that July in Scotland and he has made nearly $13 million, so it’s not as though he has been wasting his time.

And Leonard has even come close to winning more majors. He was second to Davis Love in the 1997 PGA Championship at Winged Foot and lost out to Paul Lawrie in a three-way playoff at the 1999 British Open that Jean Van de Velde threw away at Carnoustie. Plus, he made that big putt at the 1999 Ryder Cup.

But golf expects more of those who are designated as superstars at an early age.

In his last 12 majors, Leonard has had only one top-10 finish, at last year’s PGA Championship, so the responsibility for living up to his reputation is entirely in his own hands.

Chances are, Leonard will do well, if not for his golfing talent, then for how he has prepared himself for the task. Leonard has picked up running and competes in marathons. He ran the Dallas Marathon in less than four hours.

This PGA Championship is no sprint, not in four days and 72 holes and playing through and around bad weather. So being a marathon runner should come in handy. And, maybe at 30, Leonard will show everyone that he’s in it for the long haul.