Paulson increases lead to two

Dennis Paulson and Skip Kendall got a jump on the field in the second round of the Buick Classic.

Playing in the first two groups today, Paulson and Kendall were off the course and on top of the leaderboard well before the wind and sun-dried greens sent scores soaring.

"I'm an early riser. I like an early tee time, except on the weekends,'' Paulson said after shooting a 3-under-par 68 to increase his lead to two strokes over Kendall at 9-under 133.

Paulson, who lost a playoff to Duffy Waldorf in last year's tournament, teed off on No. 1 at 7 a.m., while Kendall, who matched Paulson's 68, was in the first group on No. 10.

"I hope it dries out a lot,'' Kendall said of the Westchester Country Club course, drenched by nearly 3 inches of rain Tuesday. "That's better for my game than having it play wet and soggy.''

Joey Sindelar, in the second group off the 10th tee, was three back at 136 after a 68. David Duval, also an early starter, was another stroke behind after a 67.

Waldorf, playing in the afternoon group, shot a 72 to drop into a six-player group at 138.

"Westchester has a way of dealing out some pain,'' said Waldorf, who was a stroke behind Paulson after the first round. "The wind became a pretty big factor.''

Davis Love III and Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez, also one back after the first round, followed their opening 66s with 74s.

Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els, the 1996 and 1997 Buick Classic winner, were six back at 139. Mickelson had a 69 and Els shot a 70.

"Playing this golf course when the wind is blowing is not all that easy,'' Els said. ``I really played very well to shoot 69.''

Scott Gump shot a 64, the best round of the tournament, to jump from 111th to 11th at 139. He had five straight birdies and seven in an eight-hole stretch.

Masters champion Vijay Singh, also a two-time Buick Classic winner, was at 141 after a 71.

Paulson had a brief run-in with a tournament volunteer on the 2nd hole after hooking his tee shot into the thick rough.

"He said something like, `You're going to have fun with this one,''' Paulson said. ``I'm dead behind a tree in 6 inches of grass. It's not that hard. I've just got to pitch out sideways.

"You love having these people out here there to help you out, but they try to be witty sometimes and say something that's kind of cute. It just didn't go over very well at 7:30 this morning.''

After pitching to the fairway, he hit a wedge shot to the green and two-putted for bogey.

"The lie was perfect for what it was, because if I had a decent lie, I might try to pull something off and get up by the green,'' Paulson said. ``It was just a smart bogey. I could have made a really stupid double or triple.''

Paulson also bogeyed No. 4 to drop to 4 under, but regained the lead midway through the round with three straight birdies.

He made a 17-foot putt from the fringe on No. 8, a 10-footer on the par-5 9th, and closed the run with a 5-foot putt on No. 10. After six straight pars, he birdied the final two holes.

With its deep rough and tight fairways, the course is a good primer for next week's U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.

"It's the hardest short course we play on tour by far,'' Paulson said of the 6,722-yard tree-lined layout. ``They don't need to be 7,300 yards to be good. The greens and the rough are its defense.''

DIVOTS: Shigeki Maruyama, the Japanese player who shot a 58 on Monday during U.S. Open qualifying in Rockville, Md., shot a 73 for a 143 total. ... Sergio Garcia, the 20-year-old Spanish star, shot a 70 to make the cut by a stroke at 144. Tom Lehman, Jose Maria Olazabal and Jean Van de Velde missed the cut. ... South Korean rookie K.J. Choi eagled the par-4 17th, holing a sand wedge shot from 115 yards. He shot a 69 for a 142 total. ... Steve Lowery eagled the par-5 ninth and 18th holes. He shot a 69 for a 139 total.

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