U.S. OPEN : Bye-Bye Birdies as an Ill Wind Hits Hazeltine : Golf: Stewart, Simpson are four shots ahead of the field. Only two break par and Irwin's 70 is low score of the day.

By MAL FLORENCE

June 16, 1991 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

CHASKA, Minn. —

Payne Stewart said that the Hazeltine National Golf Club showed all of its teeth Saturday in the third round of the U.S. Open.

Stewart was referring to the wind, which was gusting from 15 to 25 m.p.h. and testing all of the field.

Stewart, who led by one shot after 36 holes, emerged from the wind tunnel tied for the lead with Scott Simpson, the former USC standout.

It is four strokes back to Nick Price and Scott Hoch as Corey Pavin and Nolan Henke, who were only one shot behind Stewart after Friday’s round, were blown away.

Stewart shot a one-over-par 73, and Simpson had a round of par-72 for a 54-hole total of 210, six under.

Only two players in the field of 65 had sub-par rounds. Hale Irwin, the defending Open champion, had a 70, and Price had a 71.

“The USGA got what it wanted,” Stewart said.

Aside from the wind, there was rain in the morning, giving away to sunshine in the afternoon.

So Stewart, the 1989 PGA champion, and Simpson, the 1987 Open champion, will be paired in today’s final round.

“I was real happy to shoot even par,” Simpson said. “Even though the wind was blowing, the course was still playable.”

But not for everyone.

The par-four 16th hole that requires a 200-yard tee shot over Lake Hazeltine proved particularly treacherous for the pros Saturday.

The hole played to almost a par five-rating and didn’t yield any birdies. There were 25 pars, 28 bogeys, and six double bogeys, three triple bogeys and three quadruple bogeys.

“It’s a most terrifying hole,” Price said, likening it to the par-three 12th hole at Augusta National.

It was a particularly frustrating day for Pavin, the former UCLA standout who is the tour’s leading money winner this year.

His game unraveled in the wind and he shot a 79. Henke, who is in only his third year on the tour, managed a 77.

Henke had predicted that he couldn’t win the tournament and he proved himself right.

“It was a tough day out there. Par was a good score,” Stewart said. “The wind was coming from a different direction and all the players knew it would be a difficult day.”

Simpson, playing his usual steady golf, had a two-shot lead over Stewart, playing one hole behind him, when he reached the 16th hole.

His three-wood tee shot missed the fairway and he wound with a bogey. Then, he bogeyed the par-three 17th hole when he three-putted, but managed to par the 452-yard 18th hole to keep a share of the lead.

The 16th hole was a nemesis for many players, but it gave Stewart a lift. He saved par with a 35-foot putt.

“That was huge,” Stewart said. “I was ready to take my medicine and get a five and it went in and motivated me.”

Stewart went on to par the 17th and 18th holes.

Unless the leaders dramatically falter, or someone in the field makes a significant move, it shapes up as a match play-type final between Stewart and Simpson.

“I’m not playing Scott Simpson,” Stewart said, “I’m playing the golf course.”

He said his style of play is not similar to Simpson’s.

“I feel like I hit my iron shots farther. He likes to work the ball one way and I like to work it both ways,” Stewart said. “He’s a great thinker, wedge player and putter. A bad shot won’t upset him and that’s the way you have to play in a major championship.”

It has been said that Open-type courses favor Simpson, a straight hitter who seldom visits the rough.

His recent Open record would bear that out. After winning in 1987, he was sixth in 1988 and 1989 and 14th last year.

Stewart has missed the cut in three of his seven Open appearances, but he finished in the top 10 in 1985 and 1986.

He has said that he’s a better player now and is not intimidated by anyone. His game seems to bear that out.

Simpson said it was a great feeling to be an Open champion, adding he put a little extra pressure on himself by winning in 1987.

Stewart is easily recognizeable on a golf course because he wears the colors of NFL teams along with his trademark plus-fours.

“No, I don’t want to wear knickers,” Simpson said, smiling, “but they look great on Payne.”

U.S. Open Notes

Brian Kamm, Fred Couples and Nolan Henke are five shots behind at 215. . . . Some prominent foreign players are not in contention. Nick Faldo shot a 73 and is at 219; Ian Woosnam soared to a 79 and is at 220 along with Jose Maria Olazabal.

Leaders

Player: Score

Scott Simpson: 70-68-72--210

Payne Stewart: 67-70-73--210

Nick Price: 74-69-71--214

Scott Hoch: 69-71-74--214

Brian Kamm: 69-73-73--215

Fred Couples: 70-70-75--215

Nolan Henke: 67-71-77--215

Hale Irwin: 71-75-70--216

Rick Fehr: 74-69-73--216

Craig Parry: 70-73-73--216