Ogle Introduces Himself to U.S. With 2-Shot Pebble Beach Lead : Golf: His 69 at Spyglass Hill puts him at 205. Forsman’s 64 breaks course record at Spyglass.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Brett Ogle, a 28-year-old Australian playing on the PGA Tour for the first time, has said that people in the United States don’t know him.

That relationship may change.

Ogle maintained his lead in the AT&T; Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on Saturday by shooting a three-under-par 69 at Spyglass Hill, the most difficult course of the three-course rotation.

He is 11 under par for the tournament with a 54-hole score of 205 and has a two-stroke lead over Billy Ray Brown, who is surprised to be playing after undergoing wrist surgery six months ago.

Dan Forsman is also in a surprising position. After rounds of 73 and 71, he merely wanted to make the cut.

Forsman shot a course-record 64 at Spyglass, breaking the previous record of 65, set by Bobby Clampett when he was an amateur in 1980.

Forsman’s round left him at eight under for the tournament, three strokes behind Ogle. Gil Morgan, with a 69 at Pebble Beach, is also at eight under, along with South African-born Trevor Dodds.

Morgan has bittersweet memories here. He was the U.S. Open leader for three rounds last June at Pebble Beach before faltering.

Ogle, who has won 10 tournaments worldwide but is a rookie on the PGA Tour, was unflappable Saturday.

He had six birdies and three bogeys, along with a remarkable shot on the 16th hole. His ball was covered with mud on a bank above the hole, but his 20-yard wedge shot rolled into the cup for a birdie.

“If the wind doesn’t blow 50 miles an hour tomorrow, I have a chance to stand up,” Ogle said.

Weather conditions were near perfect Saturday, sunny with virtually no wind. But rain and strong winds are forecast today.

Asked if he was a bad-weather player, Ogle smiled and said: “I had five years in Europe. Need I say anything more?”

Ogle’s gallery grew Saturday, which seemed to please him.

“I think it’s good for golf to see young players do well,” he said. “We need some fresh blood on the tour.”

Brown said he “blew out” his left wrist last August while playing in the World Series of Golf in Akron, Ohio. He had surgery to repair cartilage damage.

Brown said he has played in only a few tournaments since and was “awful” at the Tournament of Champions last month at the La Costa Resort, where he was 16 over par.

“I’m (just) surprised that I’m here,” the 29-year-old pro from Houston said.

Brown shot a 69 at Pebble Beach, with four birdies and a bogey, and hit 17 greens in regulation.

He was playing in a foursome that included comedian Joe Pesci and Mark McGwire of the Oakland Athletics.

Brown marveled at how far McGwire, a renowned slugger, hit the golf ball: “He hit it so far, he’s in a class with (John) Daly.”

As for Pesci, Brown said: “He couldn’t get off the tee.”

Brown said the crowd following his group was unruly at times, but he wasn’t bothered because he was playing so well.

Forsman, 34, who has four tour victories in a career that began in 1983, said that Spyglass has always been a difficult course for him.

“I think my best recent score there was a 75,” he said. “The greens at Spyglass are small. They are all elevated and undulated.”

Forsman started on the 10th hole and had three birdies through nine holes. Then, he had five birdies on his back nine, including two that came on putts of 22 and 12 feet.

“I was in a zone when I got to six under (par), and my partners left me alone,” Forsman said.

Forsman said his best competitive round was a 62 at Indian Wells in Palm Desert, a much easier course than Spyglass.

He added that he wasn’t very confident when he got up Saturday: “I said to myself, ‘Dan, go home for a while, you don’t have it.’ ”

Golf Notes

Brett Ogle, the third-round leader, said he is a man on a mission. “I wrote to eight American tournament sponsors asking to play last year and never got in one,” he said. “Some wrote me back and said they were monitoring my progress. Now they’re all over me to play this year because I’ve got a ticket.” The “ticket” was tying for first in the tour qualifying tournament last fall, guaranteeing him entry in events this year. Ogle noted that, while he wasn’t allowed to play, Washington Redskin quarterback Mark Rypien was given a sponsor’s exemption to play in the Kemper Open. “He gets $10 million for whatever he does. We’re trying to make a living out here,” Ogle said.

The cut was at one-over-par 217, with 69 players advancing to the final round today at Pebble Beach. . . . Prominent players who did not make the cut included Jack Nicklaus, Curtis Strange, Paul Azinger, Corey Pavin, Jeff Sluman, John Daly and Mark Calcavecchia. . . . Andrew Magee and Jim Vickers lead the pro-amateur division at 189, 27 under par. Actor Jack Lemmon kept his record intact by missing the cut for the 21st time. . . . Trevor Dodds, who shot a 70 at Spyglass Hill, played on the Hogan tour last year.

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Scores

A look at how they stand after 54 holes at the $1.25-million AT&T; Pebble Beach National Pro-Am:

LEADERS

Brett Ogle 68-68-69--205 Billy Ray Brown 70-68-69--207 Dan Forsman 73-71-64--208 Gil Morgan 69-70-69--208 Trevor Dodds 70-68-70--208 David Frost 66-72-71--209 John Flannery 70-69-70--209 Mark Brooks 67-70-73--210 Fred Funk 69-69-72--210 Lee Janzen 71-67-72--210

OTHERS

Payne Stewart 72-70-71--213 Fuzzy Zoeller 69-72-73--214 Tom Kite 72-74-69--215 Mark O’Meara 71-76-69--216 Tom Watson 71-75-71--217 Davis Love III 68-78-71--217 John Cook 70-76-71--217