Lowery holds on to slender lead

Tom Scherrer upstaged the headliners and Steve Lowery rushed to stay atop the leaderboard.

Scherrer, playing with John Daly and Lee Janzen, shot a 6-under 66 today to move within two strokes of the lead after two rounds of the Southern Farm Bureau Classic.

Lowery, the first-round leader, managed to squeeze in a 67, finishing just as play was suspended because of darkness, to remain in the lead at 13-under 131.

Jim Carter shot a 64, the best round of the day, to move into second at 132.

Pete Jordan matched Carter's 64 to tie Scherrer and Billy Andrade at 133.

Jim Gallagher Jr. provided the shot of the day with a double-eagle on No. 5. He shot a 65 for a 135 total.

In a tournament that is short on marquee names, Janzen and Daly have drawn the largest galleries at Annandale Golf Club. Scherrer ended up putting on the best show for the 100 or so fans following the pair of two-time major winners.

The 30-year-old player, in just his third season as a PGA Tour regular, enjoyed the attention, even though it wasn't always directed toward him.

Scherrer hit a 7-iron that left him 2 feet from the hole on the No. 13, leading to one of his seven birdies. The appreciative crowd responded with calls of ``Good shot.''

``I said 'What do you expect, we have four majors in this group, we're not a bunch of stiffs out here,''' said the soft-spoken Scherrer, who was as proud of his quick wit as he was with his impressive play.

Scherrer entered the tournament 34th on the money list, well ahead of both of his more popular playing partners. He laughed at the suggestion that he was currently the best player in the group.

``Money list-wise, but they both have had unbelievable careers and have done things I would love to do,'' he said.

Daly, who won the 1991 PGA Championship in 1995 British Open, shot a 70 and is 6 under for the tournament. Janzen, a two-time U.S. Open champ, also shot a 70 and is 7 under.

Lowery took his first bogey of the tournament on No. 4, but made up for it with six birdies and was mostly just happy to complete the round.

``We wanted to try to get done .... so we wouldn't have to get up in the morning and finish and have a long wait for the third round,'' he said.

Local favorite Gallagher gave the 25 friends and family members who made the 2 hour drive from Greenwood, Miss., where the Indiana-native lives with his wife, something to remember on the par-5, 522-yard fifth hole

He punched a low 6-iron on his second shot 188 yards out of the rough that hit the stick and dropped into the cup.

``I don't think anybody saw the shot,'' Gallagher said. ``I heard it.'' He said there were no indentations near the hole so it must have gone in on the fly.

He also made a 90-foot birdie putt on No. 14.

Jordan, who came in 126th in earnings, set himself up to get off the bubble with two good rounds in the tour's season finale. The top 125 on the money list receive full playing privileges for 2001.

``Well, I'm trying not to look ahead,'' said Jordan, who went through Q-school last season to earn his card.

On the opposite end was Dan Foreman, who came in 125th, and finished at 2-under 142.

Thirty players will complete the round Saturday. With the average score just under 70 on the 7,199-yard course, the cut is projected to be 4 under.

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