La Quinta, Calif. — Duffy Waldorf, playing the Bob Hope Classic just to tune up his game, shot an 8-under-par 64 on Friday to grab a share of the third-round lead.
Disappointed after he failed to make the cut last week in Hawaii, Waldorf considered skipping the Hope, but eventually decided that he needed to play.
"I really came here kind of just to work on my game," said Waldorf, tied with Kirk Triplett and Deane Pappas at 19-under 197 through the first three rounds of the 90-hole event.
"I struggled a bit in Hawaii and hadn't played much before that, so I wanted to get in some really good golf," Waldorf said after a bogey-free round that included eight birdies.
He still didn't decide until late last Friday to enter the Hope.
"I was hanging out in Hawaii, thinking about going to the beach, but I just wasn't happy with the way I had played," he said. "I thought, 'Well, I don't really want to play Palm Springs, but ...'
"My kids aren't happy about it, but maybe they will be by the end of the week."
Waldorf, who has won four PGA Tour events, described his third round as "eight birdies and 10 holes of survival," and still has just one bogey through 54 holes. He found that rather amazing.
Asked when he last had one bogey in 54 holes, he grinned and said, "Well, without digging too deep in my memory bank, I'd say never."
Pappas, a South African, shot a third-round 63. Triplett, whose Nissan Open victory two years ago is the only win of his 12 years on the tour, had a 64.
Kite tops MasterCard
Kaupulehu-Kona, Hawaii Tom Kite had two eagles in a course-record 9-under 63 to take a three-stroke lead in the Senior PGA Tour's season-opening MasterCard Championship.
Kite, who eagled Nos. 4 and 7 and added five birdies in a bogey-free round, hit 17 of 18 greens in regulation on the Hualalai Golf Club course.
Defending champion Larry Nelson opened with a 66. Doug Tewell, who had a hole-in-one on the 208-yard eighth hole, was another stroke back along with Bob Gilder and Jim Colbert in the tournament limited to tour winners in the last two years and major champions in the last five seasons.
Nicklaus undecided
on playing in Masters
No longer able to compete against players more than half his age, Jack Nicklaus said Friday he has not decided whether he will play in the Masters, the major championship he won a record six times.
Nicklaus, who turns 62 Monday, has been plagued with back problems and has not played tournament golf since July 29, when he tied for third in the Senior British Open.
Grewal, Wessels lead Dunhill
Johannesburg, South Africa Sandeep Grewal, the 20-year-old Englishman making his second European tour start, shot an 8-under 64 for a share of the lead in the Dunhill Championship. Grewal had a 10-under 134 total to match South Africa's Roger Wessels (66).
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