Putts Are a Problem For Fading Marino

Since taking the lead at the AT&T National after the first round, Steve Marino has endured two frustrating days at Congressional Country Club. The University of Virginia and W.T. Woodson product followed his 5-under-par 65 on Thursday with an unremarkable 70 on Friday. His even-par effort led to a late session on the driving range to work on his swing. Although he hit the ball better yesterday, his putting let him down, no more so than on No. 16, where he had a 10-foot putt for birdie and wound up three-putting for bogey. Marino finished with a 72 for a three-day total of 207.

"Today I hit the ball great; I just putted terrible, couldn't get any putts to go in," Marino said. "A lot of the shots I hit close, but I was above the hole so I had really quick, breaking putts. They were tough putts, but I could have made some of those. Overall, it was pretty frustrating. . . . If I play a great round tomorrow, there's a slim chance I could win. I'm just going to try to put it behind me and try to play well tomorrow."

A Shriek and a Spat

An overly enthusiastic Marino fan caused an incident on No. 16. When Marino landed his ball 10 feet from the pin, Dave Wisemiller, 28, of Centreville whooped with more spirit than Jeff Maggert, playing in the twosome in front of Marino, appreciated.

Maggert was already in a bad mood after bogeying No. 16. When Wisemiller shrieked in the midst of Maggert's backswing, that apparently was the last straw. Maggert came over from No. 17 and confronted Wisemiller, who reportedly had been warned several times by one of the caddies to control his outbursts. Maggert then asked security to remove Wisemiller.

Wisemiller said he later filed a complaint against Maggert with tournament security for threatening him. Maggert was seen discussing the matter with PGA Tour tournament director Mark Russell after signing his scorecard. Maggert was unavailable to comment.

Rice Visits as a Fan

For the second straight year, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, a budding golfer, visited the AT&T National as a fan, this time spending time with several Marines on what tournament officials had dubbed Marine Corps Day. During a round of media interviews, Rice said that her handicap is around a 21, that she's lucky if she plays once or twice a month, that her strengths are driving and putting, and that she usually forsakes golf carts because "one of the things I love about golf is that I'm out and I'm walking in the open air, which is really unusual."

Earlier this spring, President Bush made headlines by telling reporters he had given up golf as a wartime sacrifice. Rice, who played a round with family members on Friday, said that Bush "really feels strongly about having people sacrifice," but that "Cabinet secretaries and the President can all do exactly what they wish."

"All of us are trying to stay in shape in these tough jobs," she said.

Rice remains friendly with tournament host Tiger Woods from their shared Stanford connections. She didn't name a favorite in his absence, but visited Friday night with several players at the White House and watched a handful of different players yesterday. She named several well-known courses she hopes to visit after her government assignment ends, and described her policy position on the age-old issue of mulligans.

"I try for only one, and after that I count it as a stroke; one per 18," she said. "Well, except for the first hole, when we have a 'hit until you're happy' rule."

Armour at Home in D.C.

Next to Fred Funk, no player has played in more PGA Tour events in the Washington area than Tommy Armour III.

Armour has been coming to the Kemper Open/FBR Capital Open/Booz Allen Classic/AT&T National since 1982 and has appeared in 20 tournaments, three fewer than Funk.

"I like to come here," Armour said. "I like the area, always enjoyed coming here. There's nothing in particular except I enjoy it."

Armour's affection might be attributable to his play here. Yesterday, he shot a 3-under 67 to move into a tie for third place at 202.

Taylor's Bogey-Free Day

No one had a bigger improvement from the second to the third round than Vaughn Taylor.

After shooting a 3-over 73 on Friday, the fourth-year PGA Tour player carded a bogey-free 64 yesterday, coming within one stroke of tying the course record.

"I just kept it in play," Taylor said. "I seemed to have been hitting some tee shots bad . . . just some untimely, bad shots [on Friday]. But today, I played well all the way around. I still hit a few bad shots, but hung in there and got it up and down."

A Putter Not Worth Saving

While nearly everyone was taking advantage of the soft greens yesterday, Brian Davis was laboring with a peevish putter. The Englishman made bogey on five of his first six holes, including a double bogey on No. 6. He ended his 6-over 76 round with a double-bogey on 18. All week, Davis struggled with his putting, and yesterday was no different. He needed 32 putts in the third round and 96 total. Davis was so disgusted with his putter that as he walked off the course he signed it and gave it to a young boy in the crowd.

Staff writer Dan Steinberg contributed to this report.