Daly in Hunt at Phoenix

On a day of swift changes in the lead and more wild cheers for John Daly, Duffy Waldorf made birdie on two of the last four holes Saturday for a four-under-par 67 that gave him a one-stroke lead in the Phoenix Open at Scottsdale, Ariz.

Getting up-and-down for birdie from about 140 feet on No. 17 gave Waldorf some breathing room, but not much.

He was at 16-under 197, one stroke ahead of Kenny Perry and Chris DiMarco, with Daly another stroke back and others still in the hunt.

Among those missing was Ty Tryon, but that was no surprise. The 17-year-old played three holes in the morning to finish his second round and missed the cut by seven shots. He had a 71 to finish at six over.

The massive, raucous gallery that drinks, cheers and occasionally watches golf doesn’t need much to get excited. Having Daly in the hunt really fired them up.

Winless on the PGA Tour since his victory in the British Open at St. Andrews in 1995, Daly hit his drive 379 yards on the final hole and spun a sand wedge four feet away to finish only two strokes out of the lead.

“It’s going to be down to the wire,” Daly said.

Everyone will be chasing Waldorf, who took the lead with an approach on the 470-yard eighth hole that grazed the cup and stopped within tap-in distance for a birdie.

Perry, who finished one stroke out of the playoff in the season-opening Mercedes Championships, had a 64 for the best round of the day and a date in the final group with Waldorf.

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Hale Irwin birdied the final hole and won the last 11 skins and a record $450,000 to win the Senior Skins Game at Wailea, Hawaii.

He made a five-foot putt on the 18th for $260,000 to win the event at Wailea Golf Club’s Gold Course for the third time.

Jack Nicklaus, who has been battling nagging back problems and has not played tournament golf since the British Open in July, collected the first seven skins for $150,000 and second place.

Arnold Palmer and senior rookie Fuzzy Zoeller finished with no skins.

Irwin’s winning total bettered the mark set by Raymond Floyd in 1995 of $420,000.

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U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen led by 13 strokes entering the final round of the Johnnie Walker Classic at Perth, Australia, after a record-tying nine-under 63.

The South African is at 15-under 201, well ahead of Spain’s Sergio Garcia and countryman Ernie Els, who are tied at 214.