BANDON, OREGON (APRIL 19, 2005) -- Nowhere in golf is the ability to improvise more important than on a links course, as Brad Mombert found out in the third round of the amateurgolf.com Two Man Links Championship at Pacific Dunes.

Mombert, 24, who played college golf at the University of Oregon, is paired with fellow Bend, Oregon resident Jay Audia in the Championship Division. After his team suffered a double bogey at No. 2, Mombert was looking for a big drive at No. 3, a par five. But his into-the-face-of-the-wind drive's hook got grabbed so hard by a gust that it wound up in the fairway bunker on the adjacent 12th hole. With a hedge of gorse separating the fairways of the two holes, it can seemed like another world in the 'wrong fairway,' but chipping out wasn't an option.

"I only saw one play from there," explained Mombert. "Hit it up the 12th fairway and try to cross back over from there."

Mombert's shot, struck solidly from the bunker, found the 12th green. ("It would have been an awesome shot if I was playing the 12th," he said) and from there he took relief, wedged over the gorse to 8 feet, and made the putt for a routine birdie four.

That kind of creativity led to 3 more birdies for Audia and Mombert, on Nos. 5, 9, and 16, plus an eagle 3 on the 18th, where Audia chose a putter from the large dune to the left of the green and judged the speed so perfectly that the group felt like they were watching Tiger on No. 16 at Augusta as the ball trickled down the slope and made it's final revolution into the cup.

"We were looking for the Nike logo as it dropped in, but we all laughed as we realized it was a Callaway," joked Audia.

That eagle allowed Audia and Mombert to cap off a day that didn't start so well with a fine 3-under-par 68 and a four stoke lead heading into Wednesday's final round of the 72 hole championship. They are trailed by Erik Hallgrimson of Los Gatos, California and amateurgolf.com Founder Pete Wlodkowski, of Carlsbad, California, who shot 2-under par 69 at Pacific Dunes on Tuesday to stand at 2-under-par 212. Floridians Scott Hurley and Brian Johnson are another 4 shots back at 216.

In the Net Division, the team of Oregon-transplant Kevin MacGillivray (Portland) and Ken Griffiith of Rocklin, California didn't suffer too much from 'post low number lettdown' as they managed a respectable 3-under-par net 68 on Tuesday after their jaw-dropping 61 on Monday at Bandon Dunes. MacGillivray and Griffith could have made the lead insurmountable with another low number on Tuesday. Although they have an 8-stroke lead, they have a few demons to exorcise, as they lost a similar lead in this event last year.

Judging by their high level of focus (the two can be often found at the range after each round), smart money is on MacGillivray and Griffith to close the deal this time.

Father and Son team Jim and T.J. Tarbell of Colorado fired the low round of the day in the Net Division, a 6-under-par 65 at Pacific Dunes. The round was highlighted by T.J's gross birdie (with a stroke) on the treacherous 13th hole, a par four along the Pacific Ocean that played into a strong headwind. A wise intervention by their caddie helped the cause. "I was going to hit a 4-iron, but my caddie gave me the 3-iron," said Tarbell. "I hit it 15 feet past the pin and made the putt." His father, Jim, was still in the hole, but "quite pleased" to pick up two strokes.

Jack Robinson and Gil Wymond have a good poker hand going, as they have fired consecutive rounds of 72-73-74 to stand at 219 and stand just a stroke clear Gordon Pogorelc, of Centralia, Washington, and Scott Howard, of Fox Island, Washington, who fired a 72 on Tuesday to get to 220 at the 54-hole point.

CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION
POS	FIRST	LAST	CITY	ST	RD1	RD2	RD3	TOT
1	Jay	Audia	Bend	OR	70	70	68	208
	Brad	Mombert	Bend	OR
2	Pete	Wlodkowski	Carlsbad	CA	72	71	69	212
	Erik	Hallgrimson	Los Gatos	CA
3	Scott	Hurley	Coral Springs	FL	72	75	69	216
	Brian	Johnson	Coral Springs	FL
4	Bill	Roberts	Edmond	OK	72	73	72	217
	Brad	Kropp	Edmond	OK
T5	John	Holt	West New York	NJ	68	72	78	218
	W. Geoffrey	Waldau	Salisbury	NC
T5	Gregg	Hemphill	Ladera Ranch	CA	71	70	77	218
	Jamie	Diez	Ridgewood	NJ
7	Steve	Robinson	Belmont	CA	70	74	76	220
	Jay	Weiss	Santa Clara	CA
T8	Philip	Dunn	Fort Bragg	CA	72	76	74	222
	Hank	McCusker	Mendocino	CA
T8	Skip	Pankewich	Ft. Worth	TX	77	71	74	222
	Brian	Coates	Oceanside	CA
10	William	Hines	Greenville	SC	75	75	76	226
	Bentley	Hines	Atlanta	GA
11	Brad	Klaus	Menlo Park	CA	76	79	77	232
	James	Farrey	Belmont	CA
12	Matthew	Rutter	San Diego	CA	76	83	79	238
	Michael	Mosebrook	San Diego	CA
13	Sherman	Haggerty	El Dorado Hills	CA	74	72		WD
	Frank	Dall	El Dorado Hills	CA
NET DIVISION
POS	FIRST	LAST	CITY	ST	RD1	RD2	RD3	TOT
1	Kevin	MacGillivray	Portland	OR	67	61	68	196
	Kenneth	Griffith	Rocklin	CA
2	Stephen	Janachowski	Mill Valley	CA	70	67	66	203
	Greg	Leograndis	Larkspur	CA
3	Jeff	Freitas	Leesburg	VA	69	68	68	205
	Geoff	Brandquist	Leesburg	VA
T4	Al	Richardson	Santa Clara	CA	70	71	66	207
	Jim	Thurman	Clayton	CA
T4	Jim	Tarbell	Larkspur	CO	74	68	65	207
	TJ	Tarbell	Larkspur	CO
6	Charles	Mazzola	Oakland	CA	67	72	71	210
	George	Gilio	Newbury Park	CA
T7	Tom	Terry	Leesburg	VA	69	71	71	211
	Rob	Tidgewell	Leesburg	VA
T7	George	Stevens	Washington	DC	71	69	71	211
	Michael	Stevens	Studio City	CA
T7	Tim	Burke	LaVerne	CA	72	70	69	211
	Norm	Boucher	Rancho Cucamonga	CA
T7	Scott	Blackley	Leesburg	VA	68	75	68	211
	Rick	Mix	Herndon	VA
11	Gary	Pilc	Boston	MA	69	71	73	213
	Kevin	Baum	Princeton Junction	NJ
12	Mike	Ballard	Denver	CO	76	72	78	226
	Mark	Balent	Parker	CO
13	Michael	Tiret	Mill Valley	CA	78	72	80	230
	Richard	Goldstein	Pleasanton	CA
SENIOR DIVISION
POS	FIRST	LAST	CITY	ST	RD1	RD2	RD3	TOT
1	Jack	Robinson	Modesto	CA	72	73	74	219
	Gil	Wymond	Modesto	CA
2	Gordon	Pogorelc	Centralia	WA	75	73	72	220
	G. Scott	Howard	Fox Island	WA
T3	Brian	McGuire	Vancouver	CAN	71	77	75	223
	Norm	Duncan	Vancouver	CAN
T3	Jim	Deveney	Manchester	MA	76	75	72	223
	Jesse	Cunningham	Palm Beach	FL
5	Ross	Hamilton	Fairfield	CA	69	77	79	225
	Rex	Massier	Concord	CA
6	Bayne	Boyes	Vancouver	CAN	81	85	80	246
	Edward	Pearce	Vancouver	CAN

U.S. Open Local Qualifying Results

U.S. Senior Open Qualifying Results

LIVE SCORING: The Giles Invitational Mid-Amateur Tournament

Nathan Franks outlasts creators and contenders to win The Q at Myrtle Beach

Who are the youngest players to ever compete in the US Open?