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PGA TOUR: Joe Ozaki maintains lead at Champions Tour Q-school

/noticias.info/ By Dave Senko
PGA TOUR Staff

BEAUMONT, CA -- Despite a 1-over-par 73 on Friday, Japan's Joe Ozaki (Tokushima, Japan) held onto the lead after three rounds of the Champions Tour National Qualifying Tournament at the PGA of Southern California Golf Club.

Ozaki's 54-hole total of even-par 216 gave him a two-stroke margin over Norm Jarvis (Surrey, BC, Canada), Rick Karbowski (Worcester, Mass.), Brad Fabel (Nashville, Tenn.), Bill Longmuir (Southend-on-Sea, England), Scott Masingill (Payette, Idaho) and Kirk Hanefeld (Acton, Mass.).

Hanefeld turned in the best round of the tournament on Friday when he shot a 4-under-par 68. He and Japan's Massy Kuramoto, who both shot 69, were the only players to record rounds in the 60s as gusty Santa Ana winds continued to create headaches for the third day in succession. Wind speeds ranged from 20-25 miles per hour with some sustained gusts of 30-35 miles per hour.

The scoring average jumped more than a stroke from 74.527 in the second round to 75.600 on Friday. Ozaki held a one-stroke advantage prior to Friday's round and managed to hold on despite an up-and-down round which included six bogeys and five birdies on the 7,217-yard Southern California layout.

"It was very tough playing today with the winds; it was harder than yesterday. I am very tired," said Ozaki, the winner of 32 career victories on the Japan Golf Tour. "The short putts were hard and playing downwind was also difficult. But I'm very pleased to be at even-par after three rounds."

The field will be cut after Saturday's fourth round to the low 70 and ties, plus any additional players who remain within 10 shots of the 15th position. Six players withdrew during Friday's third round, including Champions Tour veteran Howard Twitty, who withdrew early in his round to return home for a family emergency. He was tied for 12th place at the time. notas_de_prensa_archivo