Benepe pulls two shots clear

Former PGA Tour player Jim Benepe carded a four-under 66 on Friday to take a two-shot lead at nine-under 131 heading into the weekend at the Buy.com Fort Smith Classic. South Africa's Tjaart van der Walt fired a 64 to grab a share of second place at seven-under with Chris Couch, Tim Clark, Joe Daley, Andrew Morse and Anthony Painter.

Benepe, 36, won the 1988 Western Open in his very first start on the PGA Tour. He didn't have much luck after that win, however, as he went on to miss the cut in 65 of his next 100 starts.

"I wasn't even competitive," said Benepe, who gave up golf in 1993 and made a living selling insurance and real estate over the next few years. "I knew I might shoot even-par or a couple over. It wasn't a whole lot of fun."

Benepe took advantage of his exempt status as a past champion to play in the Western Open in 1996, '97 and '98, but each time he missed the cut. He qualified for the Australian Tour in the summer of 1998 and made 13 of 14 cuts, with his best finish a tie for 11th at the 1999 Schweppes Coolum Classic.

His latest attempt to compete on the PGA Tour came at last month's B.C. Open, where he shot 76-74 over the first two days to miss yet another cut. In his only Buy.com Tour appearance this season, Benepe was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard after the opening round of the Monterrey Open in March.

"My primary goal here was to make the cut and I've done that," Benepe said. "It's just a free run for me now. Nobody expects me to do well. It's so new to me. I haven't been this high up on the leaderboard in a long time."

Benepe, who was tied for second after a 65 in the first round, started on the back nine on Friday. He rolled in a 20-footer for his first birdie of the day and tallied two more along with a bogey to make the turn in two-under 33.

He made it to 10-under par with birdies on the third, seventh and eighth holes but finished with a bogey at the ninth.

Hershey Open winner Paul Gow, who was part of a six-way tie for the lead after round one, shot an even-par 70 at Hardscrabble Country Club on Friday and is three shots off the pace with David McCampbell and John Kernohan at minus-six.

Gary Webb, the 1999 Fort Smith Classic champion, recorded a pair of 71s over the first two days to miss the cut, which fell at one- under-par 139.

No player in the history of the Buy.com Tour has ever won the same event in successive years.

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