Toledo maintains three shot lead

Seeing his name atop the leaderboard is something new for Esteban Toledo, and he likes the view.

Toledo shot a 5-under-par 67 today to stay in front of the field after two rounds in the B.C. Open. Coupled with his opening 64, Toledo was at 13-under 131, three shots ahead of defending champion Brad Faxon and Canada's Glen Hnatiuk.

Another shot back were Brian Gay, Scott McCarron and Dick Mast, who bogeyed his first hole of the day before rallying with two eagles to finish with a sizzling 64.

Surprising Bob Heintz was at 136 after a solid 65, tied with Michael Allen and Grant Waite at 8 under. Heintz, a three-time Ivy League champion at Yale who quit the game briefly four years ago to pursue a career as a financial analyst, has made only four cuts in 20 tournaments this year.

Jerry Kelly also stormed into contention with a 63 that included eight birdies on the front nine. After his best round on tour, Kelly was tied at 7 under with Carl Paulson and Richard Zokol.

Play, which was delayed 3-1/2 hours by a midafternoon rainstorm, was suspended at darkness with 30 players still on the course. They will complete their rounds Saturday morning. Among those were Allen with four holes to play, McCarron with three, Hnatiuk two, and Waite one.

The severe thunderstorm, with wind gusting to 40-45 mph, halted play at 3 p.m. and threatened to force tournament officials to suspend play. But the storm, which dropped a half-inch of rain on the firm En-Joie Golf Club course, lasted a little less than an hour and players were able to go back out about two hours before nightfall.

Faxon was at 3 under for the day after 11 holes when the storm hit and added three more birdies afterward en route to a 66. The softer conditions proved a boon.

``This area hasn't gotten any rate lately, so it was pretty nice. There was no wind, the greens were smoother,'' said Faxon, whose 35-foot putt for birdie on No. 18 stopped at the lip of the cup. ``We got a really nice break those last few holes.''

Before the deluge, Toledo had made another strong showing after faltering early in the cool morning air. Clear skies Thursday night sent temperatures into the low 50s and the Mexican native had trouble getting the stroke back that had produced nine birdies the day before.

``I started kind of off this morning (on the back nine),'' he said. ``It was a little chilly and I missed three putts the first three holes and then I three-putted on No. 13. And then we were on the clock (for slow play) that early, and that kind of got my rhythm off.''

A 10-foot par putt on No. 14 got him back on track. He followed that with a birdie on the tough No. 15, a 432-yard par-4 that has an elevated green that slopes toward the massive water hazard that guards the frontside. That helped keep him in his uncustomary spot atop the field for the second straight day and only the second time in five full years on tour.

``From then on, I just kind of relaxed a little more,'' he said. ``That putt (on 14) kind of got me going. On the front nine, I started making putts, started making great shots. I was telling my caddie, 'I just got to hang in there or else I'm going to fall away.'

``He asked me if I had the butterflies on the first three holes, and I told him no. I never felt nervous.''

Neither did Kelly, who had no reason to - he was 2 over and 10 shots behind starting the day. That changed in a hurry as he began his string of birdies, seven of them in a row after missing a 10-foot birdie putt on No. 2.

When Kelly drove into the right trees on the par-5, 565-yard No. 5, played a bad shot out of the rough and still managed a 15-foot birdie putt, he knew something good was afoot.

``That kind of let me know that things were going pretty well,'' said Kelly, whose 8-under effort on the front nine equaled a PGA Tour record shared by several players. ``That was a very tough birdie. I got myself way out of position.''

Then came a crucial mental error that seems to happen to every player who gets close to the dream of breaking 60.

``I started the back side, and I said, 'Three birdies and I shoot 59.' That's a mistake,'' said Kelly, who had two birdies and a bogey on the back nine. ``I got ahead of myself. Anybody who tells you they don't think about it is crazy. That's kind of one of golf's ultimate milestones, and I had it easily within my reach.''

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