Old Leader, Older Threat

It remained the Joe Ogilvie show Friday at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in La Quinta, but some players were gaining on him, one of them a portly 51-year-old with a bushy, gray mustache you could hang a swing on, who moves as deliberately as a walrus and looks enough like one to answer to the name.

Yes, it’s Craig Stadler, the Walrus, the winner of the 1980 Hope when he was 12 under par through four rounds, or close to what the cut probably will be tonight.

Stadler stands at 16 under, one stroke better than what he shot when he won the Hope 25 years ago, the first of his 13 PGA Tour victories.

Times may have changed around these parts, especially the low scores, but having Stadler tramp up and down the fairways at Bermuda Dunes and toss a seven-under 65 at the place reminded him of the good old days, but not these days on the PGA Tour.

“I have no interest in showing anybody up,” Stadler said. “I’m just out here playing and having fun.”

For most of the day Friday, the Hope was fun for nearly everyone, especially Ogilvie, who has either led or been tied for the lead all three rounds. His six-under 66 at Tamarisk featured seven more birdies, a single bogey, and added up to a two-shot lead over Peter Lonard, who shot a 64 at Tamarisk.

After his 14th-place finish at Torrey Pines that was spoiled by his closing 77, Lonard has rebounded with rounds of 67-64-64, leaving him two shots behind Ogilvie at 21-under 195.

“I just think if I’m in contention two out of the three first tournaments in America at the start of the year, well, I’m doing all right,” he said.

Ogilvie, who has a degree in economics from Duke, said he has an opinion of his value so far if he were a stock.

“Probably overrated,” he said. “I’d probably be a buy if I was at even par, but not at 23 under. There’s not a whole lot to go off if you’re 23 under par. I’d try to buy low and go high, not buy high and have it go low.”

As we have learned at this event, going low is the only accepted path to success.

The lesson has not been lost on Fredrik Jacobson, who followed up his second-round 62 with a five-under 67 at Tamarisk, including an eagle at the first hole.

“You have a chance to put some good scores up there, which can be good for your confidence early in the season,” he said. “I think it’s a great tournament and everybody gets to play at least four rounds, so players should be happy.”

Not all players, though. Perhaps the unhappiest is David Duval. If he thought missing the cut last week at Torrey Pines was bad, it’s nothing like what has happened to him so far at the Hope. At Tamarisk on Friday, Duval shot a 13-over 85 with a 49 on the back that showed four 7s. Duval, who also has rounds of 82 and 79, is 30 over par through three rounds. His 85 was close to 17 shots off the course average of 68.8.

Meanwhile, Davis Love III made a giant leap up the scoreboard. Love, playing in his first tournament of the year, shot an 11-under 61 at Tamarisk and moved from a tie for 66th to a tie for seventh at 16 under.

“It took me a while to get going,” Love said. “I think I got most of the rust off.”

And Tag Ridings had the back nine of his life. He made a double eagle on No. 12, holing a two-iron from 256 yards, then finished with back-to-back eagles at La Quinta, where he shot 66.

There are still a dozen players within seven shots of Ogilvie. Following Lonard and Jacobson are Robert Damron, Jerry Kelly and Nationwide Tour graduate Ryuji Imada, tied for fourth at 17-under 199. Kelly and Imada made the most of their time at Bermuda Dunes and shot matching 64s.

Defending champion Phil Mickelson didn’t get as much as he would have liked out of his round at the Palmer Course, but his two-under 70 kept him in the top 10 in the tie for seventh at 16 under. Stadler, Love, Billy Mayfair, Tim Clark and John Senden, who had a 64 at Tamarisk, join him.

Stadler is happy on the Champions Tour, the private playpen of the over-50 pros, but he still has the game to compete on the junior circuit. He won the B.C. Open in 2003.

In the last two years, Stadler has won two majors on the Champions Tour and says that’s where he intends to stay.

“I support the Champions Tour 100%. That’s where I’m going to be. I’ll play probably five [PGA Tour] tournaments, the AT&T;, Augusta and maybe Hilton Head, and that will be it.”

Stadler, whose son, Kevin, is also playing the Hope, tied for ninth at the PGA Tour stop in Honolulu, the Sony Open.

“I’m enjoying playing well anywhere,” he said. “It’s obviously nice to come out here and play well with the young guys. It’s not any more special, really. I still think I can compete a little bit, make some birdies. So far, I’ve done it, the last few days, anyway. It’s nice to come out here and build your ego a little bit.”