Back Nine

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. -- Some of the players at the U.S. Open wouldn't mind taking the back of their hand to the back nine at Oakland Hills Country Club.Par on both nines is 35. The average score on the first nine in yesterday's third round was 35.755 strokes. On the back, it was 37.161, and second-round leader Payne Stewart and Ernie Els contributed to that disparity.Stewart went out in 35, and came back in 41. It was 33-39 for Els, who handed the lead to Tom Lehman on No. 16 when he double-bogeyed.

It would be easy for top teams in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference to write off Morgan State. After all, coach Todd Bozeman's team opened this season by losing 13 of its first 19 games, coming off the program's worst record in six years. Just two weeks shy of the MEAC tournament, however, the Bears are officially on a roll. Point guard Blake Bozeman, the sophomore son of the coach, had a career-high 16 points to lead six players in double figures, as host Morgan State battled back from a nine-point deficit near halftime, creeping closer to the .500 mark with an 86-68 win over Coppin State.

WEST POINT, Miss. -- Jimmy Chuasiriporn left to go swimming yesterday after watching his big sister make three birdies on the front nine at Old Waverly Golf Club and make the turn at 3-under par, taking the early lead in the 54th U.S. Women's Open.When the 11-year-old returned about two hours later, Jenny Chuasiriporn made another birdie on the par-3 17th hole. Then he saw his sister's score -- 5-over par. "He said, `What happened?' " recalled their mother, Edy. "He was very surprised."What happened to the 21-year-old from Timonium in her professional debut was nothing short of bizarre, but then strange things are supposed to happen in this tournament.

Mark Reynolds entered Wednesday night's game hitting .206 with just eight homers this season. The corner infielder has homered at least 30 times each of the last three years and had a team-high 37 in 2011. But right now he is tied with Nick Markakis for sixth on the club. He's hit two since June 23. “I can't put a finger on it. I work in the cage, my swing feels good, I feel comfortable at the plate and then it just doesn't translate,” Reynolds said. “It's tough being counted on to do something and you're not doing it.” Reynolds has been maligned much of his career for shaky defense and his massive strikeout totals.

BETHESDA -- It was easy for Jeff Maggert, or anyone else, for that matter, to pinpoint his 97th U.S. Open downfall.He had started the last round in a tie with Ernie Els, two strokes back of leader Tom Lehman, then became the first to free-fall out of the four-man dogfight that emerged on the back nine at Congressional Country Club.Maggert, who wound up shooting 74 to finish fourth at 1-over-par 281, three-putted No. 13, missing a five-footer; bogeyed the 16th from green-side rough; made a double bogey with another three-putt at the 17th; then, to top it off, bogeyed the 18th.

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Phil Mickelson seemed destined for more frustration yesterday in the 68th Masters. The player known for not winning major championships - and losing a number of them - appeared headed in that miserable direction again. Something altered Mickelson's fate during the final round at Augusta National. It was the kind of divine spirit that often presents itself on the back nine, floating down from behind the Georgia pines. With five birdies on the back nine, including an 18-foot putt on the final hole, Mickelson overcame a momentary three-shot deficit to beat Ernie Els of South Africa in one of the most thrilling major championships.

FIRST - ROUND LEADERS R.W. Eaks First-year senior tour member starts fast on back nine -- birdies on 11,12 and 13 -- and front nine -- two birdies and an eagle on first three holes. Tom Watson Three-time winner on senior tour hits 12 of 14 fairways (86 percent); four birdies -- three on the back nine -- came on par 4s and 5s. James Mason Double bogey on No. 6 offsets six-birdie round. Allen Doyle Average drive of 245 is lowest among leaders. Tom Kite Plays three par-5s at 1-under.

Just a few hours after playing even-par on the back nine to finish the suspended first round, Jay Stosz claimed a spot among the overall leaders of the Maryland Amateur Stroke Play championship by dominating the same back nine at Mount Pleasant Golf Course.Stosz birdied three of the first five holes on the back for a 3-under-par 68 second round and a 36-hole total of even-par 142, giving him a lead when play was halted more than midway through the second round because of thunderstorms."The back nine here is supposed to be tough," Stosz said.

Buddy Peoples, who shared the first-round lead at 70, carved out a par-71 yesterday to build a three-stroke lead in the 25th Maryland Amateur Stroke Play championship at Mount PleasantGolf Course.Mark Farrell put up the tournament's best score, a 2-under-par 69, and jumped into contention as part of a three-way tie at 144. This enabled him to join Tom Burns and 1987 champion Bob Kaestner. All three had to complete Friday's round and, after a brief respite, turn around and play their second round.

The 84th Maryland Open Championship went to a sudden-death playoff yesterday, but a sudden phone call decided the winner. While pros Gary Mankulish and Wayne DeFrancesco were on the course at Woodholme Country Club in Pikesville, headed to their second playoff hole, Maryland State Golf Association officials received word that Mankulish's membership in the Mid-Atlantic PGA had been suspended. Pros in the Maryland Open are required to be MAPGA members in good standing, so Mankulish was disqualified, and DeFrancesco, playing on his home course, was declared winner of his third Maryland Open title.

SOUTHPORT, England - In a corner of the locker room at Royal Birkdale, all these years later, somehow, Greg Norman resumed the practice of a rare art he long since mastered - the gallant handling of a galling defeat. He packed things into a swanky green bag, stood amid a gaggle of reporters and, as on so many 20th-century Sundays exasperating enough to rate cringe-worthy, answered question after question yesterday, looking the questioners in the eye. "I'm not as disappointed as I was in the '80s and '90s, that's for sure," he said.

After making his second birdie in three holes to move to 10-under-par for the tournament, Fred Funk walked to the 13th tee at Baltimore Country Club thinking he still had a chance to win the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship. At the time, he was five strokes behind the leader, Loren Roberts. Then came a bad drive on the 452-yard par 4 into the left rough. It was followed later by a three-putt for double bogey. But things would only get worse for the former University of Maryland golf coach, as he would also three-putt for bogey on the par-4 14th hole.

The 84th Maryland Open Championship went to a sudden-death playoff yesterday, but a sudden phone call decided the winner. While pros Gary Mankulish and Wayne DeFrancesco were on the course at Woodholme Country Club in Pikesville, headed to their second playoff hole, Maryland State Golf Association officials received word that Mankulish's membership in the Mid-Atlantic PGA had been suspended. Pros in the Maryland Open are required to be MAPGA members in good standing, so Mankulish was disqualified, and DeFrancesco, playing on his home course, was declared winner of his third Maryland Open title.

History repeated itself at the 84th Maryland Open Championship at Woodholme yesterday when Moose Brown tied for first at the end of the first day for the second straight year. Brown, a Hunt Valley native, finished with a 69 on the par-71 course, tied for the lead with Rick Sovero of Sykesville. The Open features 123 amateur and professional golfers from Maryland in three days of play at the Woodholme Country Club in Pikesville. Brown, who started on the 10th hole, was 2-over parat the turn but finished strong on the front nine.

POTOMAC -- It was lonely at the top for Adam Scott yesterday at the Booz Allen Classic. Coming into the final round at the Tournament Players Club at Avenel, he was six strokes ahead of the closest man -- a margin that seemed insurmountable given Scott's excellent play. Scott followed through with a 3-under-par performance, leaving the rest scrambling for second place. Five players stood log-jammed between 12- and 8-under par as the round unfolded. One of those, the favorite if anyone was to catch Scott, was his friend Charles Howell III. With a five-hole stretch of birdies on the back nine, Howell piqued the interest of those in attendance, pulling within two shots of Scott at No. 15. Those birdies in the end were nothing more than his ticket to second place and a $518,400 check.

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Phil Mickelson seemed destined for more frustration yesterday in the 68th Masters. The player known for not winning major championships - and losing a number of them - appeared headed in that miserable direction again. Something altered Mickelson's fate during the final round at Augusta National. It was the kind of divine spirit that often presents itself on the back nine, floating down from behind the Georgia pines. With five birdies on the back nine, including an 18-foot putt on the final hole, Mickelson overcame a momentary three-shot deficit to beat Ernie Els of South Africa in one of the most thrilling major championships.

Watson's 63 puts him in tie with Wrenn, Faxon in BuickSAN DIEGO -- The scoreboard shows Tom Watson, Robert Wrenn and Brad Faxon in a tie for the first-round lead of the $1 million Buick Invitational of California.But that's not an accurate picture of the situation, Wrenn and Faxon said yesterday after they had matched 63s on the 6,592-yard North course at Torrey Pines.They nominated Watson as the leader by two, possibly three shots."Wow," Faxon said when he caught sight of Watson's score, also a 63, which Watson said was one of his best in a decade.

History repeated itself at the 84th Maryland Open Championship at Woodholme yesterday when Moose Brown tied for first at the end of the first day for the second straight year. Brown, a Hunt Valley native, finished with a 69 on the par-71 course, tied for the lead with Rick Sovero of Sykesville. The Open features 123 amateur and professional golfers from Maryland in three days of play at the Woodholme Country Club in Pikesville. Brown, who started on the 10th hole, was 2-over parat the turn but finished strong on the front nine.

POTOMAC - Duffy Waldorf finally got the better of the back nine at the TPC at Avenel yesterday. After struggling with the inward stretch in the first two rounds at the Capital Open, Waldorf used four back-side birdies to erase a pair of bogeys on his way to a 2-under-par 33. That gave Waldorf a 66 - his best score in 39 competitive rounds here - and left him at 8-under, three shots behind leader Rory Sabbatini. "Today, I obviously played my best [on the back nine], making all of those birdies," Waldorf said.

GULLANE, Scotland - From morning until night, the leaders of the 131st British Open tried to distance themselves from Tiger Woods. First it was Nick Price. Then it was Carl Pettersson and Des Smyth. And, finally, it was Ernie Els. For each run of birdies they made, Muirfield reeled them back in. Price got to 6-under with three birdies on the first five holes. Pettersson and Smyth also got to 6-under later in the day. And Els got to 8-under after making seven birdies for a 29 on the front nine, the lowest nine-hole score ever recorded here at the Open.