Back Nine

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.

WILMINGTON, Del. -- The leaderboard took a beating, as names and numbers went up and down like yo-yos during the third round of the McDonald's Championship at DuPont Country Club yesterday.Although this was a warm, sunny day, a swirling afternoon wind that gusted to 15 mph played havoc with the scoring. "It was impossible to judge and made conditions extremely difficult," was an oft-repeated comment.As it developed, one thing remained constant -- Laura Davies was never out of the lead. She fell into a tie on a couple of occasions, but such were the comings and goings of those playing ahead of her, that, despite a bogey at No. 17, she finished with a 2-over-par 73, and a three-round total of 208.This was a day when one of the co-leaders at the start, Gail Graham, could make a triple bogey on the first hole, shoot 41 for nine holes, then make a 50-foot putt at the last green to be one of three tied for second, a shot out of the lead.

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.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- Gil Morgan took his place yesterday in the lore of the U.S. Open. Actually, he nearly took two spots in the record book.The first came when Morgan, who started the third round at Pebble Beach with a three-shot lead at 9-under par, became the first player in Open history to reach 10-under.Then, after getting to an astounding 12-under through seven holes and building an amazing seven-shot lead, Morgan began an equally historic collapse.By the time it was finished, Morgan had surrendered nine shots to par and his entire lead to the field.

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.

The Woodholme Country Club pair of Sheldon Kalish and Terry Mayer burned the back nine with a 31, including birdies on the last three holes, to capture the Baltimore two-man team golf championship at Mount Pleasant.Kalish set up the late Woodholme charge when he birdied the 16th hole of the second round. Then, Mayer took over, dropping birdie putts at the 17th and 18th, giving the team a 136 total. Their individual rounds were 68 and 68, 6-under-par.The rally nipped two challenging teams by a stroke.

GRASONVILLE -- Jon Stanley, an assistant professional at the Burning Tree Club, bolted out of the middle of the pack with a competitive-course-record 66, and opened a two-stroke lead in the 71st annual Maryland Open championship at Prospect Bay Country Club yesterday.His 31-3566 round included eight birdies, five of them in a row on the front side, and was built on a vastly improved putting touch from the day before.Jack Skilling, Dennis Winters and Tom Gross kept the leader within range at 141, followed by defending champion Bob Boyd at 142.First-day co-leaders Henry Blue of Green Spring and David Newsom of Hidden Creek, each stumbled.

After a struggling start a quarter of a century ago, Piney Branch can be proud of its place in golf.It took an elaborate homecoming celebration to remind Piney Branch members how far the club has come.When the course opened in 1966, there was enough money to build only nine holes.Today the club is a full-scale facility with 18 demanding holes, a membership of 520 and a waiting list of 150.Memories of early years at Piney Branch abounded as a program, under chairwoman LaVerne Harden, included a round of tournament golf followed by 114 guests for dinner.

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- His dip into the lake last year should hav been enough to finish Raymond Floyd as a serious competitor at the Masters.He prophesied as much last year when he said he might have blown his last chance to win on his favorite course.As if he were too old, Floyd gave away a four-stroke lead with six holes to play. It was on hole No. 11, the second playoff hole, that his final demise came. He hit his approach shot into the lake left of the hole. It should have been the drowning of Floyd's Masters career.

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- The smart money in the Masters is no riding on Ian Woosnam, the little Welshman, and not just because he has the lead after three rounds. He is the best player in the world never to win a major championship, and that blank on his long list of accomplishments is driving him this week. It is just time for him to win one.There are 12 players within six strokes of his lead, among them a passel of major champions that includes such names as Watson, Wadkins and Floyd, but Woosnam stands out as the player for whom it seems most important.