TULSA, Okla. - Boo Weekley is no golf historian. He didn’t pay any attention to the sport growing up, didn’t consider any of the game’s legends to be his idol.

So when he arrived at the 18th green Saturday with a chance to tie the record for the best score in a major at 63, he didn’t have any idea what was riding on his 30-foot putt.

“Really?” he said, when told he’d had a chance at the record. “That’d have been nice.”

Weekley’s putt ended up well short, and he missed again to finish with a bogey and a 5-under-par 65.

Weekley said he read a lot of break in the first 20 feet of the putt and was trying to get it on top of a ridge and let it roll out toward the hole.

“I moved my big head and kind of flubbed it a little with the putter,” Weekley said.

But even if he had known what was at stake, Weekley said he probably wouldn’t have changed his approach.

“If it was going to go in, it’s going to go in,” Weekley said.

Weekley’s round pushed him to even par after three rounds, where he was tied for sixth and seven strokes off the lead.

Of the three majors he’s played this year — including the U.S. Open at Oakmont and the British Open at Carnoustie — Weekley said he thought Southern Hills was the only course where a record-breaking 62 might be possible, but still not easy.

“You sure ’nuff got to be on,” Weekley said in his Florida Panhandle drawl, a day after Tiger Woods lipped out a putt for 62 at the 18th green.

Weekley said he isn’t driven by the chance to win majors and instead only wants to earn enough in the next decade or so to be able to retire early. He enjoyed shooting 65 at a major, but said “what would be funner if I’m sitting at the house catching about a 10-pounder.”

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Weekley is unfamiliar with the rules of the FedEx Cup playoffs, couldn’t tell you where he is in the Presidents Cup rankings and doesn’t know a whole lot about the Ryder Cup.

But he’s finished in the top 35 at the past two majors, and is in position for an even higher finish this time.

“I’m learning more about how to accept just making pars,” Weekley said. “Pars ain’t bad for you. Even making a bogey ain’t bad for you sometimes.”

SMALL’S BIG SUMMER
Even after his round fell apart on the

back nine, University of Illinois golf coach Mike Small was still the top club professional remaining in the field.

He shot an 8-over-par 78 while playing partner Ryan Benzel, the only other club pro who made the cut, finished with an 80. The two started the day tied at 3 over.

Small said there wasn’t a chance to spark up any kind of competition.

“I’ll tell you what, you book around there pretty fast in this heat. We didn’t have time to talk,” Small said. “We were just doing our thing.”

Small formerly played on the PGA Tour and has qualified for three U.S. Opens and four PGA Championships. He made the cut at the 2005 PGA Championship at Baltusrol before shooting an 80 in the third round, and he missed the cut by one stroke last year at Medinah.

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“I always seem to sink to the bottom on the weekend,” Small said. “I’m trying to figure out, ‘Why is that?’ It’s ridiculous.”

Small won the Illinois Open on Wednesday before coming down to Southern Hills, adding another busy week to a whirlwind summer.

He’s held two golf schools, summer camps, recruited for four weeks and played in the U.S. Open. When he gets back, he’ll hold fundraisers for the program and open a new golf practice facility when alumnus Steve Stricker returns to hold his annual golf tournament.

“He can really give a lot of insight to kids that are coming there to school and help them out in that direction if they’re looking to maybe turn pro later on in life,” said Stricker, who shot 69.

“You can’t beat Illinois for a school and they’re starting to get up to the times with their practice facilities and all that kind of stuff, so the future looks bright for them.”