DUBLIN, Ohio — For most of a warm and wacky Saturday afternoon at the Memorial, the leaderboard was filled with a “Who’s Who” of this golfing generation, five players with a combined 20 majors, 121 PGA Tour victories and 19 World Golf Championships.
Tiger Woods and Ernie Els. Davis Love III, Geoff Ogilvy and Jim Furyk.
It ended with a “Who’s That?”
Matt Bettencourt, a 34-year-old rookie who had never played a PGA Tour event until this year, steadied himself during some nervous moments on the super slick greens of Muirfield Village for a 4-under-par 68 to share the lead with two-time tour winner Mark Wilson (69).
Bettencourt, who has yet to finish in the top 20 and has missed more cuts than he has made, wasn’t expecting to be atop the leaderboard at the tournament Jack Nicklaus created.
The guys chasing him? That was no surprise at all.
“The field is so strong here,” Bettencourt said. “If you expect to win, you’re going to have to beat the best. And the best are up there.”
No one played better than Ogilvy, who was in a tie for 57th and nine shots behind until he turned in a tournament-best 63.
Two share LPGA lead
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Cristie Kerr made a big jump into a tie for the lead with Kristy McPherson at the State Farm Classic.
Four strokes back after the second round, Kerr settled for a 6-under 66 after bogeying two of the final three holes. Then, McPherson (69) stumbled at the end, bogeying her final two holes, and that left them tied at 12-under 204.
Footnotes.
Bernhard Langer shot a 3-under 69 to maintain a one-stroke lead over Gene Jones (66) after the second round of the Triton Financial Classic in Lakeway, Texas.
• Nick Dougherty eagled the final hole in a 1-under 70 to share the lead (at 5-under 208) at the Wales Open in Newport with Jeppe Huldahl (68) and Ignacio Garrido.
The Associated Press
