Neumann and Hurst Stagger, but Don’t Fall Out of the Lead

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. â€”  They saved their worst for last, all right, but missed greens, missed fairways, and missed putts could not keep Liselotte Neumann and Pat Hurst from sharing Friday’s second-round lead at the Nabisco Dinah Shore golf tournament.

So what if they tripped over par and sort of stumbled home in a mess of visors?

Hurst bogeyed three of the last five holes but still shot a par 72, good enough for a four-under 140 total and a tie with Neumann, whose 71 had an even larger disaster quotient.

Neumann bogeyed the last three holes at Mission Hills and could have been much happier about it.

“I threw it away,� she said.

Maybe, but there were quite a few fairly nice golf games that went airborne in pretty much the same way Friday.

For instance, first-round co-leader Rachel Hetherington shot a 77, Sherri Steinhauer a 76, Leta Lindley a 79, Tracy Kerdyk an 82, Missie Berteotti an 81, Jane Crafter a 79, Cathy Gerring an 84, Colleen Walker an 82 and Patty Sheehan a 76.

You would have to say it was not a good day for scoring. There were 10 scores in the 80s and only three in the 60s--a 66 by Rosie Jones, and 69s by Mayumi Hirase and Meg Mallon.

The cut was at 151, seven over.

Jones is one shot back at 141, but it’s crowded right behind her. Nancy Lopez, Hirase, Lisa Hackney, Dawn Coe-Jones and Muffin Spencer-Devlin are tied at 142.

Spencer-Devlin had a chance to be closer, but she bogeyed two of the last three holes. That must have been the rule of the day.

Neumann had the kind of round that required a seat belt and an oxygen mask. The whole thing could have caused motion sickness, although it didn’t start out that way, Neumann picking up a routine birdie on No. 2.

But at the sixth hole, things started getting weird. Here’s the way it went for the 32-year-old Swede: bogey, birdie, bogey, birdie, birdie, par, birdie, par and birdie.

So through 14 holes, she just happened to be seven under, leading the tournament, serenely happy about it and playing golf hot enough to melt snow on a sidewalk back home in Finspang.

It got ugly quickly. She missed the green and bogeyed the 16th, found another bunker and bogeyed the 17th, then finished with a three-putt bogey on the par-five 18th.

“When you look at it, it was a roller coaster out there,� Neumann said. “It was just hard to keep my concentration for 18 holes. I’m not going to think about it that much. It’s over.�

Neumann said she lost her focus and started rushing the last few holes when her group was put on the clock to check for slow play.

“For me to rush it, I’ve been out here 10 years,� she said. “I should know better.�

Hurst knew better than to bogey three of the last five holes, but she couldn’t prevent it from happening.

Jones has won eight times in her 16-year career, but the closest she has come in a major was finishing one shot behind winner Hollis Stacy in the 1984 U.S. Open.

The 38-year-old from Atlanta figured she might have a good round in her when she discovered something about her swing on the range after her opening 75. And just what did she find out?

“That’s secret,� Jones said.

Well, all right, but here’s something that isn’t: Jones has given names to some of her clubs.

The 60-degree sand wedge is Fat Baby.

Sally is the other sand wedge.

The first putter Jones had was Lucy, but Lucy was retired and the replacement putter was Desi.

Then Jones put Desi away and brought in another putter--another Lucy.

“I know it’s kind of dumb,� Jones said. “But it kind of breaks up the monotony.�

Jones found another way to do that when she birdied three of the first four holes, a streak that included a chip-in on No. 4. As fulfilling as that birdie was, Jones went one better when she eagled the par-five ninth, holing a sand wedge--was it Fat Baby or Sally?--from 68 yards.

“Everything just sort of clicked,� Jones said.

As it turned out, it wasn’t a feeling very many experienced.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

The Leaders

$1-million Nabisco Dinah Shore At Rancho Mirage--Par 72, 36-Hole Scores

Liselotte Neumann: 69-71--140 -4

Pat Hurst: 68-72--140 -4

Rosie Jones: 75-66--141 -3

Mayumi Hirase: 73-69--142 -2

Muffin Spencer-Devlin: 72-70--142 -2

Nancy Lopez: 71-71--142 -2

Lisa Hackney: 71-71--142 -2

Dawn Coe-Jones: 70-72--142 -2

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COMPLETE SCORES C13