Rich Beem and Mark Calcavecchia never know when their best golf will show up or how long it will last.
It got them to the top of the leaderboard Saturday afternoon at the Funai Classic at Disney in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. And at this rate, it better be there in the final round if they expect a chance to win.
“It pretty much can’t get any simpler,” Beem said after his 9-under 63 took the lead when the third round was suspended by storms. “Fairway. Green. Putt. Pretty good formula for me.”
Even with Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh missing the cut, Disney was as wild as ever on a steamy, sticky afternoon filled with so many birdies that 10 players were separated by two shots, some of them with a few holes remaining when the third round resumes this morning.
Beem birdied four straight holes late in his third round, the cup starting to look so big that a 25-footer on the 17th hole felt like a tap-in. He wound up atop the leaderboard at 19-under 197, leaving himself a chance to win for the first time since beating Woods at Hazeltine in the 2002 PGA Championship.
Calcavecchia shot 31 on the front nine, including a 35-foot eagle on the fourth hole, and was tied for the lead until his only bad swing of the round on the 18th hole, leading to a bogey and a 65.
“It’s going to take something pretty low again,” Calcavecchia said. “There’s so many guys right there. You know somebody is going to shoot 6- or 7-under, for sure. Hopefully, it’s me.”
A year ago, Ryan Palmer shot 62 in the final round to come from six shots behind.
The 25 players who didn’t finish will resume the third round this morning. More bad weather is in the forecast for the final round, which bodes well for Beem.
“My best finishes this year have been rain delays,” Beem said. “I’m just hoping that Mother Nature is … real ornery.”
Mark Wilson had a 63 and joined Calcavecchia one shot behind at 198. Wilson is No. 151 on the money list, and unless he finishes in the top 10 to get into the Chrysler Championship next week, his season is over and Q-school awaits.
Carl Pettersson, who finished his second round Saturday morning by tying the Palm course record with a 61, was far more steady on the Magnolia course in the afternoon and was at 18-under with three holes to play. Pettersson also tied the tournament’s 36-hole record at 17-under 127. Also at 18-under with at least two holes remaining were Tim Clark, Tom Pernice Jr. and Geoff Ogilvy.
Champions Tour: Dana Quigley shot a 7-under 64 to take a one-stroke lead going to the final round of the SBC Championship in San Antonio.
Quigley has an 11-under total of 131 to lead Mark James, a former European Ryder Cup member and second-year player on the tour who shot a 5-under 66. Jay Haas is alone in third at 133 after a 66.
First-round leader John Harris was tied for the lead before taking a triple bogey on the par-4 17th. He finished with a 66 and is tied for fourth at 8-under with Bruce Fleisher and Don Pohl.
Quigley has been the points leader for 19 weeks in the Charles Schwab Cup, a $1 million competition that rewards yearlong consistency and performance in the major championships. He entered this week’s tournament leading Hale Irwin in the Schwab standings and the money list, with only one tournament left on the 2005 schedule.
European Tour: Jose Maria Olazabal held a one-stroke lead after three rounds of the Mallorca Classic in Son Servera, making a birdie on the 17th hole and moving in front when Paul Broadhurst bogeyed the 18th.
Olazabal shot an even-par 70 that left him at 6-under 204. Broadhurst (72) and Soren Hansen (66) shared second at 205. Bradley Dredge (67), Wade Ormsby (70) and Mattias Eliasson (70) followed at 206.
Olazabal is going for his first win in three years and trying to enhance his bid to regain a Ryder Cup spot for next year.
