Title within golfers’ grasp

Bryce Alderton

The Toshiba Senior Classic just got a lot more interesting.

Saturday of tournament week is commonly called Moving Day, and

there was a whole lot of golfers inching their way back into the fold

after the second round at Newport Beach Country Club.

Tom Purtzer followed up his record-setting 60 Friday with an

even-par 71 and is tied at 11 under par with Morris Hatalsky -- who

shot a 66 in the second round to gain five strokes on Purtzer --

heading into today’s final round.

Keith Fergus and John Jacobs are each one shot back at 10 under

while D.A. Weibring moved within three shots of the lead with a 65.

Jacobs and Weibring each shot 65 for the low rounds Saturday.

Sam Torrance fired a 5 under 66 and joins Bruce Fleisher and David

Eger at 7 under. Craig Stadler, Vincente Fernandez, Lonnie Nielsen

and Joe Inman all are five strokes back. Stadler and Fernandez each

shot 67 Saturday while Inman followed his 64 in the first round with

a 72 Saturday.

Forty-nine players broke par on Saturday compared to 35 on

Saturday.

Fergus finished with seven birdies -- six on the back nine --

while hitting 14 of 18 greens in regulation and 10 of 14 fairways.

Fergus fired a 31 on the back nine, the best of the day.

“You make one putt and it opens the door,” said Fergus, playing in

just his third PGA Champions Tour event since debuting two weeks ago,

said of his birdie on the par-four 10th.

Purtzer birdied three consecutive holes -- Nos. 10, 11 and 12 -- to move to 15 under and threatened to break the 36-hole tournament

scoring record of 13-under set by last year’s champion Rodger Davis.

Then trouble came.

A double-bogey at the par-three 13th after a wayward 6-iron shot,

coupled with two more bogeys, left Purtzer looking for answers.

“It was a comedy of errors,” Purtzer said of the final six holes.

“Nothing felt as good as it did yesterday. I didn’t quite have the

touch with the putter.” Purtzer had 32 putts, including three

three-putts.

Hatalsky, by contrast, had 21 putts, of which 13 were one-putts.

“Putting makes up for a multitude of sins,” Hatalsky said. “I was

struggling with my swing out there. I was scrambling all day. I

relied heavily on my short game.”

Hatalsky, who has two Champions Tour victories since joining the

circuit two years ago, saved par from off the green on Nos. 16 and 17

before knocking a pitching wedge four feet from the cup to set up a

birdie putt on the 18th.

“The wind picked up the last nine holes, it was really swirling,”

Hatalsky said.

Jacobs, who birdied the final five holes Friday, was 4 under on

the final four holes Saturday, including an eagle three on the

510-yard par-five 18th. Jacobs, who has five Champions Tour victories

including last year’s Senior PGA Championship, hit a 6-iron to 20

feet and drained the subsequent putt.

Overcast skies in the morning the past two days have helped

produce lower scores, said Jacobs, who had three birdies in a

five-hole span -- including No. 10 -- during the second round.

“I looked at the leaderboard and thought I had lost my chance;

then bam, bam, bam,” Jacobs said.

Purtzer said nerves came into play, but still felt confident in

his swing.

“If I would have shot a 66 or 67, it would have been a lot more

fun [today]. Now it is back to work,” Purtzer said.

Holding a lead in any tournament is difficult, said Jacobs, who

was born in Los Angeles and attended USC.

“Purtzer didn’t play bad today,” Jacobs said. “Playing from the

lead is not easy. I wish I had Purtzer’s swing. I would rather be in

the lead and let them come and get me.” This is the first time in the

tournament’s 10-year history that multiple players have held the lead

after the second round.

* BRYCE ALDERTON covers sports. He may be reached at (949)

574-4222 or by e-mail at bryce.alderton@latimes.com.