Watson scuffles as Cook takes wide lead to Schwab Cup finale

Kenneth K. Lam

Watson

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Tom Watson couldn’t keep the momentum going.

He shot a 64 on Friday, and he looked primed to battle all weekend at the Charles Schwab Cup Championships in Sonoma, Calif.

But then Saturday came, and frustration set in.

Watson, Kansas City’s 60-year-old Hall of Famer, bogeyed the first hole and struggled with his touch most of the afternoon.

He settled for a 71, finishing the day at 12 under.

That puts Watson at 7 strokes off the lead heading into today’s final round.

And he’ll have to chase down John Cook, who preserved his 6-shot lead after two rounds with a 6-under 66 on Saturday.

Russ Cochran is second at 13 under, and Brad Bryant is tied with Watson at 12 under.

Things are going so well for Cook these days that not even an errant tee shot into the bunker on the 18th hole could throw him off stride. He saved par with an 8-foot putt.

“Just for my psyche and my confidence, that was a good way to end it,” Cook said. “I wanted to make that putt bad. The harder you want things, the more relaxed you have to be, (and) I was pretty relaxed over that putt.”

Cook, the Administaff Small Business Classic winner two weeks ago in Texas, had a 19-under 197 total on the Sonoma Golf Club course, the best 54-hole score in a 72-hole tournament since Jack Nicklaus also had a 197 total in the 1990 Senior Players Championship.

Cook shot a tournament-record 62 on Friday.

The 6-stroke lead is the largest after three rounds on the Champions Tour since Jay Haas had a 6-stroke lead in the 2005 Schwab Cup Championship.

| The Associated Press

Posted on Sat, Oct. 31, 2009 10:15 PM

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