Kite takes one-shot lead into final round

Tom Kite sank a 15-foot birdie at the 18th hole in Bethesda, Md., bent his knees, punched the air with a fist and waved to the crowd.

“Heck if this was the Champions Tour, they’d be giving me the trophy right now,” the 55-year-old Kite said Saturday. “Can we change this and do that right now? It’s supposed to end after three rounds, isn’t it?”

The tournament would indeed be over – and Kite would be the winner – if this were the 50-and-older crowd, but they play four rounds in the Booz Allen Classic. If he can hang on for one more day against a congested leaderboard packed with great players in their prime, Kite would become the oldest player to win a PGA Tour event.

The birdie at No. 18 broke a six-way tie and gave Kite a 5-under-par 66 and a 10-under 203 total, one stroke ahead of Ernie Els (68), Stuart Appleby (65), Adam Scott (69), Luke Donald (67), Lee Westwood (69) and Steve Elkington (69). Sixteen players were within two shots of the lead.

“I’m just happy to be here, believe me,” said Kite, who opened with rounds of 68 and 69. “I’m ecstatic with the position that I’m in. Obviously, yes, it’s going to be hard. Yes, the scores are jammed. … It’s going to take somebody, hopefully me, but somebody will come and shoot a good score tomorrow and they will be crowned the winner here. Needless to say, I’m pleased with where I am.”

Only five players 50 or older have won a PGA Tour event. The oldest was Sam Snead, who was 52 when he won the 1965 Greater Greensboro Open.

Kite is playing the PGA Tour this year on a special one-time exemption available for players on the career top-50 money list. With the purses going up, Kite’s ranking on the list had sunk into the 40s as of last year, so he knew this would be his last shot.

“This is why I came back. This is the only reason that I took this little challenge to come back and play the tour, was to challenge myself, to see if I had what it takes to contend, to see if I have what it takes to possibly win a golf tournament,” Kite said. “Needless to say, I’m enjoying the heck out of it, and I’ll be having a blast out there tomorrow.”

Kite was better than good down the stretch, making birdies on three of his last four holes on the Blue Course at Congressional Country Club, which has been surprisingly tame after a storm softened the greens early in the week. Even so, the back nine can still be brutal, but that’s where Kite made his move.

A 3-foot putt at the par-5 15th was followed by what Kite called a “highly improbable” 35-footer over a ridge in the green at No. 16. He was under a tree in the left rough with his tee shot at No. 17, but he able to get his approach to the front edge of the green to save par.

Robert Allenby started the day leading the field by two strokes, but it didn’t take long for gridlock to hit the leaderboard. So what if one of your favorite golfers isn’t near the top? Wait a minute, and he’ll be up there.

At 4:33 p.m., for example, there was a six-way tie among Appleby, Allenby, Elkington, Westwood, Donald and Ben Crane, with eight players one stroke behind. At 4:38, Kite sank the long putt at No. 16 to create another five-way tie for the lead. Seven minutes later, there was another six-way tie. Whew!

Other big names were making runs. Sergio Garcia joined the fray with a 66, and Phil Mickelson followed with his second straight 67. Both were at 8-under 205, among nine players two shots off the lead.

“There’s a lot of guys in there, a lot of great players,” Els said. “It’s anybody’s golf tournament tomorrow. You’ve got to stay steady. It’s going to be one of those classics, I guess.”

Champions Tour

Tom Watson has only 18 holes to catch first-round leaders R.W. Eaks and Gil Morgan and win for the first time on his home turf, one of the few goals that has eluded the popular Kansas City, Mo., native.

Rain washed out the second round at the Champion Tour’s Bayer Advantage Classic in Overland Park, Kan., reducing the tourney to 36 holes for the second straight year.

Watson, who’s come as close as second here since joining the Champions Tour full time in 2000, cut back his schedule to make sure he was fully prepared for this year’s tourney at the Nicklaus Golf Club at LionsGate, not far from his home.

He shot a 5-under 67 in the first round Friday, one of 15 golfers within three strokes of Eaks and Morgan.

It was the best opening round he’s shot in Kansas City.