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By BOB HARIG and DARRELL FRY
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 21, 2000
PALM HARBOR -- It didn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary. John Huston shot 73 Friday on a difficult Copperhead course, one that caused its share of high numbers and aggravation during the second round of the Tampa Bay Classic.
But to hear the Safety Harbor resident tell it, he was fortunate to do that well.
"I played horrible," said Huston, who opened the tournament with 66. "I could have shot 85. I just had no feel for anything. I was getting up on the tee and having absolutely no idea where it was going.
"I almost got through it to where I shot a decent score, if I hadn't finished bad the last three holes. It was a miracle I was even par through 15."
Huston, who bogeyed the 16th and 17th holes to finish 2 over, said it had nothing to do with back problems that forced him to withdraw from last week's tournament in Las Vegas.
"I had no clue, it was ridiculous," he said.
At 139, 3 under par, Huston was seven shots behind leader Carl Paulson. "I was getting it around, but it would take some sort of miracle turnaround. ... I'll go home, and hope it's gone."
GATOR ON PROWL: Chris DiMarco, a former University of Florida golfer who won his first PGA Tour event last month at the Pennsylvania Classic, put himself in position for another victory with a 69 that could have been better.
DiMarco birdied the first five holes of the back nine before stumbling with double bogey at 16 and bogey at 18. Still, DiMarco said, "If you would have told me 69, I would have stayed home," he said.
"I certainly gave myself a lot of chances out there, I'm doing a lot of right things. It's a matter of bringing it all together."
Other than a 4-foot putt at the 10th hole, none of DiMarco's five straight birdies was from close range.
"There were certainly no gimmes in there," he said. "I'm sitting really good. I'm hitting it good. I've made two double (bogeys) this week or I'd be a lot closer. It's just a matter of putting myself in good position."
THANK YOU: An airline lost Joe Durant's clubs earlier this season. And as far as he's concerned, they can stay lost.
Opening the season with his old clubs, he missed the cut in his first five events. "I was about ready to quit," he said, joking.
Then, flying through Atlanta on his way to the Honda Classic in south Florida in March, the airline lost his clubs.
"They still don't know where they are," Durant said after shooting 2 under 69 for a two-day total of 137, five back of the leaders.
He has been playing with an almost identical replacement set, and has posted three top-10 finishes (New Orleans, Milwaukee and Las Vegas), including a $114,750 payday Sunday.
"I don't know if it was the clubs or what," he said. "It really doesn't matter."
DRIVING AWAY: Casey Martin, who is fighting in court for his right to use a golf cart, missed the cut by five strokes at 72-76-148. It's the 14th time this season he has missed the cut, and the fourth time in his past five events.
IT WAS WORTH A TRY: Of the four players who got into the field through qualifying at Fox Hollow on Monday, only one made it to the weekend.
Despite shooting 2 over 73, Garrett Morrison made the cut with a two-day total of 142.
Karl Zoller (7-over 78 for 156), Sean Pacetti (5-over 76 for 151) and Dick Mast (2-over 73 for 146) missed the cut.
NOSE DIVE: Steve Pate slumped from 66 to 79 and missed the cut by two strokes. ETC: Bob Tway and Woody Austin were the only players to make eagles Friday. Tway did it at the par-5 11th and Austin at the par-5 14th. Laser printers are awarded to spectators for every eagle during the tournament. ... Play was delayed for 10 minutes because of fog. ... There were 75 players who made the cut at 143, 1 over par. Among those who missed by a shot were Scott Hoch, Charles Howell, Peter Jacobsen and Corey Pavin. Of the 40 previously completed PGA Tour events that had a 36-hole cut, only nine were higher than 1-over par. Three were major championships. ... Because of an odd number of players left in the field, Omar Uresti will be the first off this morning at 7:44. He will have the option to play with a non-competing marker.