Page 16-Saturday, June 16, 1979-The Michigan Daily INVERNESS BURNS NICKLA US, WATSON: Dark horses lead Open TOLEDO (AP) - LAsrry Nelson slip- ped into a share of the lead, Tom Wat- son "shot myself right out of the golf tournament" and light-hearted Lon Hinkle beat "The Tree" in the second round of the 79th United States Open Championship yesterday. The slender Nelson, who didn't take up golf until the age of 22, composed a 3- under-par 68 and tied scrambling Tom Purtzer for the halfway lead. The jour- neyman Purtzer, winner of one title in four years on the PGA tour, had a wildly-erratic 69 in the hot, windy weather. They shared a three-stroke lead with 36-hole totals of 139, three strokes under par on the old Inverness Club course whose tight fairways, deep rough and tiny, undulating greens became a thing of teeth-grinding, hair-pulling frustration for many of the game's# 4 more illustrious performers. Chief among them were golf's two leading players, Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus. "I'm disappointed, deeply disappoin- ted, but I have no excuses," said Wat- son after shooting a 77 that put him at 152. "I just didn't have the feel and I didn't have the confidence. I playedk awful." Nicklaus, holder of a record 15 major professional titles, also had a 77 and was just a single shot better than Wat- son at 151. Nicklaus made the cut for the final two rounds today and tomorrow, but Watson didn't: '., Watseonidn't.rJUST ANOTHER DIFFICULT hole at In second, three shots off the pace, tion. Trevino was surprised yesterda stood Hale Irwin, the 1974 Open chain- fairway, which he was driving onto, a pion. Irwin burned Inverness for a 68, f.atwythicoihwedrvergTomtoWa leaving him at even-par 142 for 36 holes. left. At this point, however, Tom Wa "I played very well," said Irwin, a missed the cut with a 77-152, his first e former Open champion and a man with a history of playing his best on golf's round of par 71, Player had another 7 tougher courses. "No matter where the and Bean, a runaway winner in Atlant leaders are, I'm well pleased with my last week, fell out of a share of the lea position.r, in this one with a struggling 76. Bill Rogers was next at72-143. Keith Fergus and Hinkle, the othe Two shots further back, a 145, were two men who were tied for the lead a Tom Weiskopf, Jerry Pate, Lou ter Thursday's play, had 77s and wer Graham and Jim Colbert. Graham, at 147. one of four men tied with Purtzer for But Hinkle had some fun. the lead at the end of the first 18 holes, It involved the eighth hole and th shot a 75. Weiskopf, Pate and Colbert hastily-planted tree the sponsoring U. had 74s. Golf Association erected to cut off hi Heading the group at 146 were Andy avenue to a shortcut on the hold, b Bean, South African Gary Player and playing down the roughly parallel 17 Ben Crenshaw. Crenshaw managed a fairway. OpengolfeTs 'treed' off by newly planted obstacle TOLEDO (AP)-Controversy continued to swirl around the United States Open Golf Championship yesterday as at least one player took the shortcut through an adjoining fairway to play the eighth hole. The governing U.S. Golf Association, embarrassed after six players took the shortcut up the 17th fairway to play No. 8 Thursday, ordered a tree plan- ted next to the eighth tee. A 25-foot Black Hills spruce, 16 feet in diameter at the base, was planted about 45 minutes before the first player teed off yesterday at the Inverness Club Even so, Joe Kunes defied the USGA and elected to play the shortcut despite the tree, hitting his tee shot into the 17th rough. However, the third-year touring pro from Tifton, Ga. took four shots to reach the green of the 528-yard, par-5 hole via the shortcut. He settled for a bogey six. A USGA official said of Kunes' decision, "It's not in the spirit of the game," Lon Hinkle, one of five golfers tied for the first-round lead at one-under par 70, was one of the six players who elected to play the shortcut Thursday. Half of the six who tried it made birdies. The spruce, dug up from another part of this 76-year-old golf course, was planted 30 feet in front of and to the left of the eighth tee by an Inverness ground crew. L/ Toledo's Inverness Golf Club, right? Wrong, if the reaction of Lee Trevino is any indica- y to see a large spruce planted in the rough between the U.S. Open course's eighth nd the 17th. USGA officials planted the tree overnight to deter shortcuts on the dogleg tson (insert) could care less about that maneuver. Golfing's sensation of the late '70's ary departure in 30 tournaments. '3 a d er if- e e S. ds y th SPORTS OF THE DAILY Uleagueless DETROIT - The University of Detroit has decided against joining six other basketball-oriented universities in a new conference that will begin playing a round-robin schedule this fall. The university's announcement came yesterday just as the other schools - Loyola (Ill.), Butler, Evansville, Oklahoma City, Oral Roberts and Xavier (Ohio) - declared formation of the City Athletic Conference. IN ADDITION to the fall round-robin schedule, the conference also will play a post-season tourney next season. Detroit Athletic Director Larry Gericiotti said the Titans were not joining the conference because it had been determined the school "lacks. traditional rivalries - common ground, if you will - with too many of the proposed institutions. "Under those conditions," he said, "the drawing power of the league would probably be less than that of our present independent status." -UPI Cash 'stable' DETROIT - Former Tiger first baseman Norm Cash is in "stable" condition after suffering an apparent stroke nearly two days earlier, officials at Detroit's Henry Ford Hospital said yesterday. ALTHOUGH CASH is resting comfor- tably, a hospital spokesman said there is "evidence of paralysis on his right side." "Stormin' Norman's Tiger spanned fifteen years. He retired after the 1974 season with a career batting average of .271. In 1961, he led the AL In batting with a .361 mark, and home runs with 41. Karzen bows out IOWA CITY - Michigan's women's tennis ace Kathy Karzen advanced to the consolation finals of the AIAW National Championships before she bowed to Ann Layman of New Mexico. KARZEN ROARED back into the finals with two wins, after losing her first-round contest to Brigham Young's Wtendy Barolow, 6-3, 6-2. A trio of California teams dominated the meet. California won the title ahead of second-place Stanford and third- place UCLA. AUGUSTA PRESSURE AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP)-One of the things that makes the Masters a great golf tournament is the toughness of the Augusta National Course, according to Arnold Palmer. "When you start out on the back nince knowing you have to play well, then you know why Augusta is a great course," Palmer said. "If you make a mistake, particularly on the final .round, the pressure will get to you and destroy you.