Fuhrer Invitational: Shields has 4-shot lead at Butler CC

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Bob Friend is accustomed to playing in 72-hole tournaments with large purses, select fields and tough conditions. But after five years on the PGA Tour, he didn't think it would be at Butler Country Club, site of the three-day Frank B. Fuhrer Invitational.

Kevin Shields has not played on the PGA Tour, at least, not on a permanent basis, but he has some familiarity with winning the $25,000 first prize that is at stake in the final round of the Fuhrer Invitational. After all, he won the $125,000 event at Longue Vue in 2003, a year in which he set a record for one-season earnings in the Tri-State PGA section.

And he is in commanding position to do so again today.

Shields, a teaching assistant at the Robert Morris University Island Sports Center, is the only player under par after 54 holes and his third-round 71 yesterday gave him a four-shot lead on three players, including Friend. And he had to birdie two of the final three holes to finish at 1-under 209.

"The place is playing hard," Shields said. "The winds are swirling, they're hard to judge and the greens are as amped-up as I've ever seen greens, next to Oakmont. You can't make a serious run at [the hole]."

"Every pin is either tucked behind a knob or right next to a knob," said Friend, director of golf at Pikewood National Golf Club in Morgantown, W.Va. "And the greens are rolling like 13 [on the Stimpmeter]. It's like putting at Oakmont. Every putt is nail-biting time."

Friend, who shot 72, is tied with two West Virginia professionals -- 2002 National Club Pro champion Barry Evans and Brad Westfall of Tygart Lake Golf Course, who won the Fuhrer Invitational in '04 -- at 3-over 213.

Another shot back is Ty Roush of Riverside Golf Club in Mason, W.Va., who shot 76 and is at 5-over 215. Five more players are at 216, including Oakmont pro Bob Ford and former Montour Heights pro John Mazza, who won $30,000 in the Falling Rock Classic at the Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa a week ago.

"I'd rather be four [shots] up than four behind, especially on this course," Shields said. "I think if I shoot even par I'll be an easy winner because I don't think someone will come out of the pack with a low number. I'd rather play under these conditions than have a four-shot lead on a birdie-fest course."

Shields had a chance to win the Falling Rock Classic, a 54-hole event at Mystic Rock, when he birdied Nos. 10 and 11 to take a one-shot lead at 2 under. But Shields bogeyed three of the final seven holes to finish five shots behind Mazza.

Today, he will carry a four-shot lead into the final round, where scoring has been uncharacteristically difficult. There was only one sub-par round yesterday -- Dick von Tacky of Green Acres Golf Club shot 69 -- after 13 were posted in the first two rounds Monday, two of which were by Shields (69-69).

"Being a past champion, I don't care if I shoot a thousand because I already proved I can win this thing and I proved I can win a 72-hole event," Shields said. "But after not capitalizing on a chance seven days ago, that's a good contrast. I'd be disappointed if I don't win. You don't get a chance to play for $25,000 in a 72-hole event like this too often."

Friend has gone back to the swing mechanics he used when he first started on the PGA Tour -- he worked with noted instructor John Redman -- and the results have been very beneficial.

He was medalist in a U.S. Open local qualifier in Lake Powell, Fla., in May, won the West Penn Open earlier this month at Totteridge and shot 64 Sunday at Oakmont Country Club, his home course.

"It's not exactly pretty, but I know where the golf ball is going," Friend said. "As Paul Azinger would say, I got a horseshoe grip with a buggy-whip swing. The golf swing is built around the way you grip the golf club, and I tried to weaken my grip. I don't play that way. I always tried to grip it with a strong left hand.

"So I said the heck with this -- I'm going back to strengthening my grip again. And I'm driving the ball well again."

And it has put him in position to win his largest check since he played on the PGA Tour and several years on the Nationwide Tour.

The Fuhrer Invitational is the only 72-hole tournament staged in the Tri-State PGA section. What's more, the field is limited to an elite group of 34 professionals plus six amateurs, with no riding carts. Defending champ Nathan Smith, a former U.S. Mid-Amateur and Pennsylvania Amateur champion, could not compete because of a conflict with a U.S. Amateur qualifier.

"It's just a fabulous golf tournament," Friend said.

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