Weather intevenes again as Kite & Nelson lead

The horrible weather during the second round of the Tradition didn't affect Tom Kite and Larry Nelson much.

Both reached 8-under-par today before darkness forced them off the course. Kite finished 14 holes and Nelson 15.

"The guys that played later definitely had the break in terms of tee times. Guys that had to play this morning had a rough go of it," said Kite, who hadn't teed off when lightning caused a 1-hour, 40-minute suspension of play. After play resumed, he finished one hole before rain stopped play for another 2 hours, 17 minutes.

"Then they blew the siren and we came back out and I started off with a birdie on the second hole," Kite said.

He and Nelson, who birdied his final in deepening twilight, were among the 21 players unable to finish.

Of the 53 who did, early starter Jim Ahern was the best for the second day.

But Ahern, who shot 7-under 65 the first round, struggled. He had a double bogey and two bogeys in the first seven holes and carded a 75 for a two-day total of 4-under 140.

That was still enough to give him sole possession of third on the leaderboard, behind only Kite and Nelson.

John Jacobs was two shots behind Ahern, with George Archer, Joe Inman and Ed Dougherty at 143.

Bob Eastwood, Walt Morgan, Gary McCord and Bruce Fleisher, the only two-time winner in nine events this season, were at 144.

Kite, a Senior PGA rookie who won 19 times on the regular tour, hasn't found the success he enjoyed there. He finished ninth, 20th, 12th and 47th in his first four tournaments.

"I've been there before, but it's been a while, and this really feels good," Kite said about his chances in the season's first Senior major. "My putting has been rock-solid, I'm hitting the ball really well and I'm in good position."

His approach shots were steady all day - the longest of his three birdie putts was from 12 feet, and he dropped 7-iron shots 6 feet from the pin on No. 2, and 3 feet away on No. 10.

But the 7-iron let him down on the fourth hole, a par-5 where Kite made his only bogey of the tournament. The ball went over the back of the green, and Kite left himself a 12-foot par putt when he chipped back. Instead, he two-putted.

Nelson, who began the round 4-under, bogeyed the first hole in the gloom of an approaching thundercloud and also bogeyed No. 10, but offset them with six birdies in 13 holes.

The effects of the weather on early starters were apparent on Morgan, who was tied with Kite a shot behind Ahern when the round began. In a terrible stretch from the fourth hole through the seventh, he lost six shots by scoring bogey, bogey, bogey, triple bogey-6.

"These storms kept popping up out of the blue," said Brian Henning, the Tour's vice president of competitions. "The first time the storm came in the east. That was pretty evident, and you could see it coming. Then we got them out and suddenly a storm popped up from the south, and there was nothing to indicate it whatsoever."

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