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Yokoo takes halfway lead
Kaname Yokoo doesn't have
a flashy smile or wear extravagant hats like some of the more popular Japanese
stars. He'll settle for the 36-hole lead in the National Car Rental Classic.
Yokoo, a PGA Tour rookie
who made it through qualifying school on his first try, made another breakthough
Friday at Disney World with a 7-under 65 that gave him a one-stroke lead over
Jerry Smith.
Yokoo was at 131. Keeping
the lead will be far more difficult, especially with the low scores the Palm and
Magnolia courses have yielded over the first two days. The cut was 139, the lowest
in the 23 years of stroke play at Disney.
Still, Yokoo has been better
than everyone else -- Davis Love III, David Toms, Vijay Singh and even Tiger Woods.
``If I can keep playing
like I played today and yesterday, then I have a chance,'' Yokoo said through
his interpreter. ``I'm afraid to go to sleep. My swing might change.''
The greater fear is glancing
over his shoulder at the cast of characters behind him. Love made a birdie from
the trees on the 18th hole for a 66 that left him two strokes back, along with
Jose Coceres of Argentina.
Woods blistered a 360-yard
drive on the 18th at Magnolia. Even though he had to settle for par, some tinkering
with his swing Thursday evening showed signs of paying off, and a 67 left him
only five strokes out of the lead.
``By Sunday, he might be
caught up to me,'' Yokoo said of Woods.
Yokoo, who has won each
of the past three years on the Japanese tour, secured his PGA Tour card for next
year with a tie for sixth in the Texas Open three weeks ago, his best finish in
America and his third top 10 of the year.
He will be paired Saturday
with Smith, a 37-year-old from Iowa who is 120th on the money list and is grinding
to finish the year in the top 125 on the money list.
``You're always sort of
aware, and everybody asks you about it,'' Smith said after his second straight
66. ``I've really tried to just say, 'Hey, I don't care what happens.' It has
played out very well for me. I've gotten myself back into the number, but I've
got three weeks left. There are only 125 guys that are going to stay.''
Love played his second bogey-free
round, a 65 capped off by an unusual birdie on the 18th at Magnolia. He hit one
of his few poor drives that hit a spectator in the back and landed in the rough,
leaving him a 6-foot wide gap between the trees.
He chased a 5-iron through
the trees and it hopped up to the green, leaving him 10 feet for a birdie.
``I've been hitting a few
sand wedges about 40 feet from the fairway. Maybe I needed an obstacle to go around
to get it that close,'' Love said.
Woods just needed a few
putts to fall.
Asked the distance on the
drive at No. 18, Woods replied, ``All I know is I hit a shot in there pin-high
and missed the putt.''
``That's the way it is sometimes,''
Woods said. ``You hit good shots and don't make a putt, hit a bad shot and make
a bomb.''
Coceres, who won the week
after the Masters, had a 65 and was tied with Love at 133. Toms (68), Singh (68),
David Peoples and Brian Wilson were another stroke back.
This has been a breakout
year for Japanese players.
Toru Tanaguchi finished third at the Match Play Championship in Australia. Toshi
Izawa tied for fourth at the Masters, the highest finish by a Japanese player
in the history of Augusta National.
The biggest stars are Shigeki
Maruyama and his dynamic smile. He captured the Greater Milwaukee Open to become
the first player from Japan since Isao Aoki in 1983 to win on the PGA Tour, and
the first ever to win on the mainland.
Then there's Shingo Katayama
and his cowboys hats. He starred at the PGA Championship and tied for fourth.
``They are both really well-known.
They have had good success in Japan,'' said Yokoo, who is No. 186 in the world
rankings. ``But I think once the Japanese people see me in the newspaper tomorrow
morning, they will be prettysurprised.''
Divots
Patrick Macune, the New
York police officer who has been sifting through rubble at the World Trade Center
since the terrorist attacks, made an eagle on the 14th hole of the Palm Course.
His team finished at 18-under par, tied for 15th. ``Everybody down here has been
absolutely wonderful to me,'' he said. ``I'm just a regular Joe Citizen, and they're
treating me like some kind of star.'' ... Mark McCumber, who joined the Senior
PGA Tour this year, made his first cut of the year and was at 135, four off the
lead. ... Yokoo said he has no problems with the food in America. ``We most go
to Japaneserestaurants,'' he said. ``I also like P.F. Chang's.''
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