RENO - The residents/members of Montreux Golf & Country Club could well decide via a vote on Sept. 15 the fate of the Reno-Tahoe Open.
The PGA Tour has a contract to have the RTO at Montreux next year, and Montreux member Mark Bayer isn't sure if the vote would trump the contract or not.
"Absolutely and unquestionably I want it to stay here," Bayer said in the media room during third-round action. "I think it's great for the community (of Montreux) and the area. Montreux Development Co. couldn't do any better.
"They (resident/members) perceive it as the season being a short season because of the snow. Some of them only live here in the summer. It takes a week off their summer."
Bayer pointed out that many members are retired, and the PGA Tour won't let Montreux members take their carts onto the course. Carts have to stay on the path, and that means a lot more walking on already a hard-to-walk course.
Bayer is trying to start a little campaign to educate the residents and members the good the tournament does in terms of charities it supports.
GLASSON BACK TO EARTH
After his tournament-record 62 on Friday, Bill Glasson was wondering which golfer would show up for Saturday's third round.
Unfortunately, it was the Glasson from the first round. The veteran struggled on the back nine with double-bogeys on No. 13 and No. 16 en route to a 1-over-par 73 in the third round. His 206 is 11 shots behind leader Vaughn Taylor.
Glasson shot a 2-under 34 on the front, but still trailed Taylor by a whopping six shots. He parred the first three holes on the back, but went double-bogey, birdie, par and double-bogey over the next four holes which took him out of contention. He is in a nine-way tie for ninth place.
GOOD PUTTER AT EARLY AGE
Todd Fischer came into the seventh annual Reno-Tahoe Open tied for seventh in putting average.
The Reno resident, who relocated from the Bay Area last December, said there is a reason why he's so good around the green.
"My father played," Fischer said. "He had his golfing buddies and they had their kids. We would go to the golf course (Castlewood Country Club) every Saturday and Sunday morning with them. We didn't have anything to do except putt and chip and learn the game that way. That's what we did to stay out of trouble all day until they were ready to go home."
EAGLES ALL AROUND
Montreux has yielded 27 eagles thus far, 16 on the front and 11 on the back. Fourteen of the 16 on the front have been at No. 5, a 518-yard par-5 (six) and No. 9, a 616-yard par-5 (eight).
Ten eagles were recorded on Saturday, five on No. 9, three on No. 17, one on No. 4 and one on No. 5.
Dean Wilson knocked in his second eagle of the week, holing out from 112 yards on No. 5, the 367-yard par-4. Brenden Pappas eagled the 584-yard par-5 11th when he drilled a 45-foot putt. Patrick Sheehan eagled the 429-yard par-4 18th when he holed out from 125 yards. Mario Tiziani eagled the 616-yard par-5 9th with a magnificent 289-yard approach shot that finished 8 1/2 feet from the hole.
Scott Gutschweck chipped in from 14 yards out on No. 9, Jesper Parnevik chipped in from 38 feet on No. 17, Harrison Frazar also eagled No. 17, two-putting from 13 feet after reaching the green in two. Chris Anderson eagled 17, sinking a 3-foot putt after a 281-yard approach shot into the green. Danny Briggs eagled No. 4 with a 26-foot putt and Mark O'Meara eagled No. 5 when he holed out from 102 yards on the 367-yard par-4.
FACTS & FIGURES
Mario Tiziani is married to PGA Tour veteran Steve Stricker's sister. One thing about Tiziani is his persistence. A pro since 1995, Tiziani has been to the qualifying school 12 times, but he has made it to the final stage just once (2004) ... Californian Spencer Levin has had a nice gallery the last two days. He's at 3-under 213 after 54 holes and will cash his second check of the season in five attempts. He got into the RTO on a sponsor's exemption ... The 355-yard par-4 9th is the shortest par-4 on the course, but it did some major damage the past two days. On Friday, Paul Azinger took a 9 on the hole, which caused him to miss the cut. It wasn't much kinder Saturday. Jonathan Kaye had birdied five straight holes when he came to the 13th, and he took a double-bogey 6 and dropped seven shots off the lead. Glasson dropped to 10-under with that first double bogey... The 7th hole, a 220-yard par-3 played the toughest, averaging 3.306. The easiest hole was the par-5 ninth which played to a 4.542 average.
