Gamez still struggling

Dean Juipe

Friday, Oct. 15, 1999 | noon

With a sour expression, Robert Gamez plucked his ball out of the cup and flung it into the pond behind him.

Settling for par on the final hole of the Las Vegas Country Club was not what he initially had in mind, nor was the 68 he later signed for on his scorecard.

"This course is playing so easy I felt like I shot over par," he said Thursday after his second round in the Las Vegas Invitational. "It would be one thing if there was some wind or something, but there's not. Four under just isn't that good of a score on a day like this."

Combined with his opening 68, Gamez is at eight under par through two days of the five-day marathon. "It's not over yet," he said of his chances to get back in the hunt, although, in some respects, that remark could also stand as his approach to his pro career.

Written off by some after losing his tour card last year, Gamez has spent 1999 playing on various exemptions and attempting to regain the form that allowed him to win two PGA Tour events during his rookie year, 1990.

But since that auspicious debut he has been plagued by inconsistent play and injuries. A car accident at the Kemper Open in 1998 resulted in an injured right hand, which, he said, he didn't fully recover from until two months ago.

"It's been tough," he admitted. "I was just feeling confident again when the car accident occurred, and that set me back a full year. It's been hard to stay positive through a lot of this, but I'm feeling good now."

Gamez, 31, is a Clark High School graduate who has played 20 events on the 1999 PGA Tour (as well as five on the Nike Tour). But his winnings ($66,061) have been minimal and he's No. 214 on the tour's money list.

If he fails to crack the top 125, he will return to the second stage of Qualifying School later this fall in an attempt to become exempt and reacquire his playing privileges for 2000.

He's scrambling to get back to where he was and improve upon his $2,460,500 career earnings.

"The injury threw my whole game off," he said. "But I've spent the year concentrating on the regular tour and trying to make enough good scores to make some money.

"It's been frustrating for the most part, yet I'm so much more confident than I was even a couple of months ago. Going into this week I was feeling good about my game and excited to be playing at home.

"I came here expecting great things."

He said his downfall through two days of the tournament is "hitting the ball too straight" because he plays for a draw, and his failure to sink enough putts to keep pace with a red-hot field.