With a stronger-than-expected field here at this week’s post-U.S. Open Buick Classic, organizers were tantalized by visions of a star-studded leaderboard.
Through two rounds of this week’s Buick, though, the top of the board isn’t exactly adorned with the game’s big guns.
Along with the nondescript Jeff Maggert, Chris Perry, winner of one PGA event in his career, stands atop the rest at 6-under-par entering the weekend.
Both Perry and Maggert carded impressive 5-under 66s yesterday, leaving them one shot clear of first-round leader Stephen Ames and Duffy Waldorf and two ahead of Frank Nobilo, Tom Byrum, Lee Janzen and Fred Couples.
David Duval, ranked No. 1 in the world, nearly played his way out of the tournament yesterday, shooting a 4-over 75, leaving him at 3-over for the tournament, barely making the cut.
Other big names are in the mix, though, as two-time Buick Classic winner Ernie Els is lurking close at 3-under, and Tom Lehman, shooting a 66 yesterday, stands at 1-under, as does Justin Leonard.
Perhaps the most colorful twosome today is Waldorf and Ames.
Ames, who waited nearly six months for his visa to come through to allow him to play on the U.S. PGA Tour, followed his first-round 65 with a disastrous start, but he persevered. After beginning his second round with bogey, bogey, double bogey, Ames righted himself and played the rest of the round in 3-under to stay close to the top.
As for Waldorf, the 1992 runner-up here, the most posed question to him was what he planned to have painted onto his golf balls for today’s round. Waldorf’s wife has been known to put some serious artwork on them, but she’s not here this week.
Still, Waldorf said, “New York is rich with ideas for golf balls. There are lots of things going on here. I’ll have plenty of time to prepare for [the round] since I have a late tee time.”
Asked if he had any specific ideas, Waldorf said, “The Statue of Liberty always comes to mind. There’s the Big Apple, Broadway. I could start by writing down some of my favorite restaurants. I love Angelo’s down in Little Italy.
“I just like being in New York,” Waldorf said. “I like going to Manhattan. I don’t know how people live there, but it is sure fun to visit. I used to think I lived in the city until I came to New York. I’m from L.A. and I thought I lived in the city until I got into Manhattan and then I said, ‘Oh, this is a city.’
“I love it here,” Waldorf went on. “People have a lot of energy here whether they love you or hate you. I hear either, ‘You bum,’ or, ‘Hey, what do you got on your baaawl today?'”
Perry has one victory in his PGA career, that coming in last year’s BC Open. Maggert, who entered this year with one win, the 1993 Walt Disney World /Oldsmobile Classic, won the Anderson Consulting World Match Play earlier this season.
Both Maggert, who carded seven birdies on his final 10 holes yesterday, and Perry sounded particularly confident entering today’s third round.
“I feel like this is a good course for me,” Maggert said. “I feel like when I strike the ball well here I can do some damage. I’d like to win here before I’m done with my Tour days. Who knows? Maybe this is the year.”
Perry, who said he believes he’s on the cusp of becoming a more frequent tournament winner, would like it to be his.
“I have kind of charted this as a course I can win on,” Perry said. “I feel I can win anywhere, but especially on this course. I have confidence in my ability now.”
Now that Perry has had a taste of victory, he’s starved for more – particularly because of the respect it brings.
“What people don’t realize is you can be on the Tour for seven, eight, nine years and never get paired with certain players,” Perry said. “Being in the winner’s category – or the A category we call it – you get paired with other winners and you get to play with Tom Lehman or Tiger Woods and you get to see how those guys play.
“Even though I’m playing in my own thing, in the corner of my eye I watch the great players play to see how they perform.”
Today, Perry will be paired in the final group with Maggert, who until winning that Anderson Consulting World Match Play, had been tagged as a perennial runner-up, having finished second 13 times in his career, including at this event in 1997.