Two years ago, Dan Forsman was the third-round leader in the Quad Cities Open, and all he could think about was what a PGA Tour victory would do for him
Instead, the 27-year-old former Arizona State player left Oakwood Country Club with a final-round 75, $2,442 in his pocket and an experience he`ll never forget. He hopes to use that experience Sunday after shooting a 63 Saturday to take the 54-hole lead with a 10-under-par 210, one shot ahead of Brett Upper, Leonard Thompson and second-round leader Bob Tway.
”I had all these idealist images of what Dan Forsman would do and what winning the tournament would do for Dan Forsman,” he recalled. ”I was thinking if I won, it would mean the money, the Masters, the Tournament of Champions, a new car, the World Series. It you allow yourself to think about those expectations, the anxieties you put yourself through are not worth it.
”I now realize how great these players out here are, and anybody who comes in saying he`s going to win the tournament, that`s great, but they`re not being honest with themselves.”
Forsman, who started the day five shots behind Tway, made seven birdies and no bogeys on the 6,514-yard, par-70 Oakwood course. He was hitting the ball close to the hole all day, with his longest birdie putt a 15-footer on the 18th.
Upper, Thompson and Tway are not the extent of Forsman`s competition. There are 23 players within five shots of the lead.
Mark Wiebe, who won last week`s tour stop in Virginia, and Waukegan`s David Orgin and Sammy Rachels, who had a 65 Saturday, are at 202. Defending champion Scott Hoch, whose 71 was his first over-par round at Oakwood since 1981, is at 203 with former tourney champion Roger Maltby, Dan Halldorson, Jay Delsing and Dave Eichelberger.
”Tomorrow is a big day,” Forsman said after recording the lowest round of the tourney Saturday. ”I`m not thinking about winning. I`m just being a realist. I`m just trying to put myself in position to have a chance to win on the last nine holes. I`m playing one hole at a time.”
Ogrin shot a 4-under 66 to go with his earlier rounds of 67 and 69. The Texas A&M graduate went out in 4-under 31 with four birdies. On the back nine, he could only muster one birdie to offset his only bogey of the day.
”Every day, I`ve played the front well and stalled out on the back,”
Ogrin said. ”I`m trying to figure out if I`m doing anything different. I don`t think I am. It`s just that the putts don`t go in.”
Being close to the lead is nothing new for Ogrin. He tied for first at Memphis, only to lose to Hal Sutton in a playoff.
”One reporter in Memphis asked be if I`d rather be two shots ahead or two behind,” Ogrin said. ”Of course, I`d rather be ahead. But I like my position. If I go out and take care of business, shoot two or three under on the front, I`ll be there. You have to keep it going.
”Memphis helped me because I know I can do it now. There is a great barrier, self-conceived, and the great players are able to leap over it to win. You`ve got to want the lead.”
Thompson, a 15-year tour veteran, was just happy to visit the press tent after his 66. Last year, Thompson just missed keeping his tour card, finishing 126th in earnings. Upper finished 125th, $862 ahead of Thompson, and received the last card. Thompson has managed to play in 19 tournaments with sponsors`
exemptions, but has earned less than $10,000.
”It`s been awful, the worst year I`ve ever had,” he said. ”I`ve putted absolutely horrible the last four or five weeks. There was a time when you could get by with mediocre putting, but those days are gone.”
