Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 20, 2001
Rain ruins Huston's day
LAKE BUENA VISTA -- John Huston's year easily could be summed up by what happened Friday on the 14th hole at Disney's Palm course.
Eight under for the round and headed for a possible low score, Huston stood on the tee of a reachable par 5, another birdie in sight. Then it started raining. Hard. Instead of an easy two-shot par 5, Huston suddenly was playing into the wind. His tee shot found the water. And a potential 62 or 63 became 66.
Huston was tied for 15th, but could have been better. And that's how the year has gone. Huston is 110th on the money list and is playing in just his 19th event.
"I have no concerns about this year," said Huston, 40, who lives in Clearwater. "I'm going to play and do the best I can and look forward to next year. ... I wish (this season) would have been over a month ago. It makes you appreciate when you do play well. I struggled with my back the first part of the year, didn't play well, got a bad attitude, took time off. Now I'm feeling good and I need to play. But that's not going to happen until next year."
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Pat Marcune has been one of the biggest attractions, and he's not a professional golfer. Marcune, 44, is a member of the New York City Police Department who took a spot in the pro-am when another amateur backed out and donated his $8,500 spot. Marcune has spent the past month working near the World Trade Center disaster area.
During the first two rounds, pros are paired with amateurs, and Marcune had to be talked into playing by his wife. He was paired with Shaun Micheel, who was tied for ninth.
"You can only look at something like that for so long," Marcune said of the New York scene. "She said, "You better go.' I feel a little guilty about being here while they're searching for my friends."
ALL WORK, NO PLAY: Mark McCumber, who last month joined the Senior tour, made his fourth cut in four years, shooting 66. "It's going to be a blast," he said. "The only problem is it messes up my Magic Kingdom schedule."