Outlook Is Sunnier for Jurgensen

Steve Jurgensen, in the Deposit Guaranty Golf Classic on a sponsor’s exemption, shot a three-under-par 69 Saturday to build a two-stroke lead going into the final round at Madison, Miss.

Jurgensen pushed his three-day total to 14-under 202 by chipping within six feet for a birdie on the 532-yard 18th hole. That followed a string of eight pars after he finished the front nine with a bogey.

“I’m lucky to be leading. I don’t see why people behind me didn’t pass me,� said Jurgensen, whose only top-10 finish on the PGA Tour was in this event last year.

Among four players two strokes behind was Don Pooley, who shared the lead with Jurgensen after two rounds. Pooley, whose last victory on tour was the 1987 Memorial, struggled with the putter Saturday and finished with a 71.

Also at 12 under were Billy Ray Brown, Steve Lowery and Brian Claar, who was paired with Jurgensen for today’s final round at the 7,157-yard Annandale Golf Club.

Jurgensen, relegated to non-exempt status on the Nike Tour after failing to maintain his PGA Tour card last year, is intent not only on the $180,000 first prize but the two-year PGA Tour exemption that goes to the winner.

“It will probably creep into my mind. But once you get over that first shot, reality hits,� Jurgensen said.

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Hale Irwin, a four-time winner on the senior tour this year, shot a four-under 68 to take the second-round lead in the Burnet Senior Classic at Coon Rapids, Minn.

The three-time U.S. Open champion had an 11-under 133 total on the Bunker Hills course. Lee Trevino was a stroke back after a 68.

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Michele Redman has a four-shot lead in the JAL Big Apple Classic, but Annika Sorenstam moved into the hunt with a 67 at New Rochelle, N.Y.

Redman shot an even-par 71 to stand at 11-under 202.

Sorenstam, who tied the tournament’s nine-hole record with a 30 on the front, was joined at seven under by Barb Mucha, who picked up a stroke with a 70 capped by two birdies over the final four holes.

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Tim Clark, a South African student at North Carolina State, took a 5-up lead through the first 11 holes and went on beat Ryuji Imada, 7 and 6, in their 36-hole final for the U.S. Public Links Championship at Lexington, Ky. . . . Six players are tied for the lead at one-under 209 after three rounds of the 98th SCGA Amateur Championship at Lakeside Golf Club. Sharing the lead are Craig Steinberg of Van Nuys, Mark Johnson of Helendale, Jim Camaione of Upland, Ed Cuff Jr. of Temecula, Jason Semelsberger of Newhall and Jason Gore of Valencia, who was also named to the U.S. Walker Cup squad.