LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — For years, PGA Tour players at Disney was a guarantee that birdies would fall as often as the whistle blows across the street at Thunder Mountain.
Stephen Ames gladly would have settled for a few pars Saturday afternoon.
Brett Wetterich could have lived with a bogey.
After so much volatility on the leaderboard, the final holes on the Magnolia Course turned into a grind at the Children’s Miracle Network Classic, and Scott Verplank made three pars that allowed him to surge into a tie for the lead with Ames.
“They’re hard holes now, not that there’s anything wrong with that,” Verplank said after a 71. “But they don’t fit the rest of the golf course because of that. Those are difficult holes just to make pars on. I can see that scenario becoming more common around here, versus having to birdie the last three holes.”
Ames had the largest lead of the day at two shots before three-putt bogeys from 60 feet on No. 16 and just off the green from 70 feet on the 18th. He finished with a 70 to join Verplank at 13-under 203.
The biggest blunder, and most unusual, belonged to Wetterich.
He was one shot behind Ames when he reached the 18th, where he pulled his tee shot into a hazard. He took a club to figure out if he had a shot, but during his pre-shot waggles, inadvertently moved a twig. He was given a two-stroke penalty for moving a loose impediment in a hazard, then took a third penalty shot with his drop. He wound up with a triple bogey for 72 and was three shots behind.
Wetterich walked off the course without speaking to reporters or a PGA Tour official.
Once he cools down, he might realize he still has a chance.
Then again, so does everyone else.
“There’s got to be 30 guys that have a chance to win,” Verplank said.
Verplank and Ames had a one-shot lead over five players, including Justin Leonard (70) and long-shot Tag Ridings (71), who is No. 210 on the money list and must win to secure his job for next year.
Two dozen players were separated by four shots going into the final round of the last PGA Tour event of the year.
“If you play steady tomorrow, you’ll have some birdie opportunities and be at the top of the board at the end of the day,” Ames said.
He played better than most, riding consecutive birdies on the 13th and 14th holes to a two-shot lead before his approach shots went to the opposite end of the green from where the flag was whipping in the wind.
That’s no disgrace on the Magnolia Course, at least not anymore.
The final three holes measure 451 yards, 489 yards and 473 yards, and the soggy conditions for a week of rain made it play even longer. Leonard hit 4-iron for his second shot on all three of them, dropping one shot but still staying in the picture as he tries to win for the second time or at worst qualify for the Masters.
“It wasn’t an easy day,” Leonard said. “If you could shoot a couple under, you knew you weren’t going to lose ground.”
Verplank lost ground early.
He had gone 40 holes without a bogey at Disney until making his first one of the tournament on the par-4 fifth when he blasted a bunker shot 40 feet past the pin. He chipped weakly and missed a 6-foot par putt on the next hole to fall out of the lead.
From there, it became a revolving door of leaders with five players tied at one point.
When it finally sorted itself out, Verplank and Ames were on top and will be in the final group with Tim Petrovic, who played bogey-free on the back nine and quietly posted a 68.
Also at 204 were Mathew Goggin (69) and Jeff Overton (69). Heath Slocum shot a 69 and was alone in eighth at 205, followed by a group that included Wetterich, Rich Beem (70), Stewart Cink (70) and Robert Gamez (67).
It was a huge day for Gamez, who was is 152nd on the money list and at least wants to get inside the top 150 to secure some status for next year. Even better would be the top 125 for full status, and now he’s only three shots away from the lead, knowing that a victory would sew up his job for two years.
Ridings, though, is the ultimate long shot. He was the 14th alternate when the field was set last week and got into the tournament. But at No. 210 on the money list, he needs nothing short of a victory to keep his card. Ridings was four shots behind on the back nine, seemingly sliding, but with the calamity that followed, he was right in the middle of it all.
Beem was among those tied for the lead, but made three straight bogeys for a 70. The former PGA champion is playing his fifth straight week, even though he locked up his card last week, and he’s feeling the fatigue.
After a birdie on the 13th — a hole where he made eagle 2 on Friday — Beem flashed a 2-3 with his fingers, presumably his score.
“Oh, that’s not my scores,” he said. “That’s how many holes are left (23) until I’m done.”
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