Fantastic finish awaits as the CPC heads for home

The final round of the 38th PGA Club Professional Championship is in full swing at The Ocean Course after the field wrapped up its rain-delayed third round Sunday morning. Scott Spence of Minnesota fared the best after the morning restart, as he wrapped up an even-par 72 to hold a two-shot edge after three full rounds. But several players are off to strong starts in the fourth round, setting up the potential for a furious finish to a long, dramatic day.

Bob Denney, PGA of America

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. (PGA.com) -- Scott Spence of Shorewood, Minn., wiped his brow with a towel a couple times Sunday morning, and admired a scoreboard in the distance.

"I'm proud to be on top up there," said the 49-year-old PGA Head Professional from Burl Oaks Golf Club in Minnetrista, Minn. "It gets me charged up and I want to stay there. It would mean a heck of a lot to win this event."

Spence did his part to complete three-fourths of his mission. He finished 1-under-par in his final nine holes of a rain-delayed third round on his way to an even-par 72 and a 54-hole total of 2-over-par 218. He owns the lead in a wide-open 38th PGA Club Professional Championship at The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort.

Thanks to his sinking a five-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th hole and following up with a memorable par save at 18, Spence had a two-stroke cushion over 2004 runner-up Mike Small of Savoy, Ill.; who posted a 71; Ron Philo Jr. of Marion, Mass.; and Rich Steinmetz of Perkiomenville, Pa.; making his first CPC appearance. Philo and Steinmetz each closed with 73s.

Spence hit his only bad drive in the morning on the 18th, and watched it land in the grassy dunes on the right side of the 18th fairway. He was able to dig hard and hit an approach to the side of the green.

On his way up the fairway, Spence looked down and touched a metal sprinkler head. Moments later, he pitched and saved par to give himself a two-stroke lead.

The par save was a big boost, Spence said, and so was his encounter with the sprinkler head.

"I was walking up and my lucky number is 55," said Spence, whose previous best CPC finish was a share of 15th in 1999 at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wis. "There was a sprinkler head out there, and I bent over and touched it. So, maybe that will bring us forward this afternoon.

"It was a benefit to us to have the tees up when we returned this morning," said Spence. "I started with a three-putt bogey at nine, and that took the wind out of my sails. But I was pretty positive after that all the way around."

Steinmetz birdied the 14th and 15th holes to get himself back among the leaders.

"The front nine yesterday was just a survival test and you tried to get around without making big numbers," said Steinmetz, a PGA Assistant Professional at Spring Ford Country Club in Royersford, Pa. "The back nine today, we were fortunate that they still had the tees up. I took advantage of some of the holes coming in and was able to shoot 2-under on the back. I'm looking forward to the final round."

Small, the men's head coach at the University of Illinois, was the only player under par in the third round -- a marathon 1-under-par 71 that he concluded Sunday at 9:15 a.m.

Small was 2-under-par through 13 holes before the suspension of play, and returned to his position on the 14th hole under sunny skies. He bogeyed the par-4 14th hole, but missed birdie putts on the two of the final four holes.

"You're just one or two shot swings away from a [big] number here and that's what you have to watch here," said Small. "I'm very fortunate that I bogeyed the first hole, then played pretty solid golf. I was really playing solid golf until the delay [Saturday]. I missed a couple makeable birdie chances coming in. The objective of Saturday was to get back in it, and we did it. So, you got to be happy with what you did and move on and get ready to go."

Play was suspended at 12:08 p.m. Saturday due to lightning, which then was followed by a heavy band of showers that would not leave the area the remainder of the day.

The suspension was disastrous for co-leader Alan Morin of Royal Palm Beach, Fla., who stumbled in with a 79 to fall five strokes off the pace at 223. Second-round co-leader Travis Long of Henderson, Nev., posted a 77 to fall into a three-way tie for fifth at 221 with two-time Champion Tim Thelen of Richmond, Texas, and Chris Starkjohann of Encinitas, Calif.

Darrell Kestner, the 1996 PGA Club Professional Champion, who was two strokes off the lead before Sunday, struggled in with a 77, to land at 224.

Suzy Whaley of Farmington, Conn., the lone woman professional in the field, came in with an 81, and was at 233.

The low 25 scorers earn a berth in the 87th PGA Championship, Aug. 11-14, at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J. The low eight scorers will complete the U.S. PGA Cup Team that faces Great Britain & Ireland, Sept. 23-25, at The K Club in Straffan, County Kildare, Ireland.

The 38th PGA Club Professional Championship, featuring a purse of $500,000, is presented by Titleist, FootJoy and Cobra; Buick; Club Car; and Amstel Light and Buckler. The Greg Norman Collection is the Official Golf Apparel of the CPC, while The Golf Channel is an exclusive media partner and the PGA Tour a contributing partner.

The PGA of America, founded in 1916, is a not-for-profit organization that promotes the game of golf while continuing to enhance the standards of the profession. The Association is comprised of more than 28,000 men and women PGA Professionals who are dedicated to growing participation in the game of golf.

Copyright (c)2004 PGA.com. All rights reserved.

• News Index