Style is everything for Payne Stewart. Nobody looks better in knickers. Of course, nobody else wears knickers, but that’s not the point.
Saturday, Stewart wore a nice shade of green knickers, complete with matching knee-high socks. Sunday, Stewart is sure to be attired appropriately.
But Stewart’s concern shouldn’t be about what he is wearing going into the final round of the U.S. Open. It’s what he should avoid wearing coming out of it.
A noose doesn’t go well with knickers.
The Open now is for Stewart to win, or for Stewart to choke away. He carries a four-stroke lead into Sunday’s final round after shooting an even-par 70 in Saturday’s third round at the Olympic Club. At 3 under par, he is the only golfer in red numbers.
The last player to take a four-stroke lead into the final round of an Open was Tony Jacklin, who held on for the victory at Hazeltine in 1970. Of course, there’s other history at Olympic, where Arnold Palmer blew a seven-shot lead on the back nine in 1966, eventually losing in a playoff to Billy Casper.
Stewart prefers the Jacklin model.
“If I come out and play the way Payne Stewart can play, I will win the golf tournament,” Stewart said.
If he doesn’t, there are plenty of contenders. At the top of the list is the people’s choice, Tom Lehman.
The king of U.S. Open heartbreak could be back more punishment. In the no-surprise department, he is in the final pairing for the fourth straight year after shooting a 68, the lowest score in the third round.
But there’s a twist this time. Unlike the previous three years, when he lost each time, Lehman doesn’t come into the final day as the leader.
Maybe having to come from behind will do the trick for Lehman, who is tied for second with Bob Tway at 1 over.
“I don’t think (the Open) owes me one,” Lehman said. “I think I owe myself one, though.”
It could come down to a battle of the pants: Stewart’s knickers vs. Lehman’s Dockers. Or Stewart could make the entire thing moot by keeping the field at bay.
“Everything depends on how Payne plays tomorrow,” said Nick Price, who is tied with Lee Janzen at 2 over. “I can’t see someone shooting 65 or 66 on this course. If Payne shoots anything around par, it’s going to be tough to catch him.”
All the players want to be in Stewart’s shoes, if not his stomach. Only he has something to lose Sunday. Even Lehman conceded he will have fewer butterflies.
“I’m sure the rest of us will have a better night sleeping than he will,” Janzen said.
Stewart has been down this road before. He won the 1989 PGA Championship at Kemper Lakes and the 1991 Open title at Hazeltine. He will call on those experiences Sunday.
“I’ve played some good golf this week,” Stewart said. “There’s no reason why I shouldn’t play good golf tomorrow. If I let the situation intimidate me, then it’s my own fault.”
The situation might not be intimidating, but the golf course can be. The Olympic Club is getting harder by the bogey. The fairways are drying out, sending drives careening into the brutal rough. Lehman says the fairways seem like “they are an inch wide.”
The day started with seven players at even par or better, and finished with Stewart as the sole survivor. Sunday’s conditions could be tougher, meaning a four-stroke lead could be gone as quickly as two straight double bogeys.
That could play into the hands of Lehman, who is in the perfect position to put pressure on Stewart.
“You can get pretty nervous with the lead on this course,” Lehman said. “I think guys who are behind don’t quite have the pressure, and it’s easy to make a good swing when you’re feeling less pressure.”
Stewart, however, has his own preferred ending. He has already written the first three chapters. Now he needs only one more.
“I’m a big advocate of self-motivation,” Stewart said. “I’m going to tell myself, `You’ve been there before. You’re a champion. There’s no reason why you can’t do it again.’ “
