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Hughes ties course record on way to lead

Bradley Hughes fired a second-round, eight-under 63 on Friday to grab a one-shot lead at nine-under 133 in the rain-delayed second round of the Kemper Open.

Lee Porter and Frank Lickliter share second place at eight-under 134, while six players are tied at minus-seven.

A thunderstorm delayed play for almost three hours on Friday with 43 players still on the course. Those golfers will return to the course to finish their second rounds Saturday morning with the 36-hole cut to follow. The third round will begin Saturday afternoon as scheduled.

Hughes' eight-under 63 matched the course record at the TPC of Avenel, which was established in 1991 by Ted Schulz. The mark was later equaled by David Toms in 1992, Davis Love III and Corey Pavin in 1995, Stuart Appleby in 1996 and Michael Clark II last season.

Hughes started on the back nine Friday and opened with an eagle-three at the 13th. He added two birdies in a three-hole span to go out at four-under 31.

The native Australian was then halted, along with everyone else, when the thunderstorms soaked the course.

"I was hot on the first 10 holes and the rain delay could've stole that," said Hughes, who has five international wins, "But I was fortunate to go out and play well again."

Hughes carded four additional birdies after the layover and did so with his sunglasses still on even with the dwindling light.

"I took them off and the ground looks so wavy; it looks like everything had extra hills," Hughes said. "I had to keep them on. I'm so used to wearing them. I've worn sunglasses playing for seven, eight years."

Porter birdied three holes on his first nine, the back nine at the TPC at Avenel, and parred out for a 68.

Lickliter went four-under over his last six holes Friday to join Porter in second place.

First-round co-leader Chris DiMarco, Jeff Julian, Dan Forsman, Kazuhiko Hosokawa and Phil Mickelson completed their rounds and are at seven-under. Brent Schwarzrock is also seven-under but he has completed only 13 holes.

Mickelson birdied four of five holes at the turn, but dropped two shots with back-to-back bogeys at his 16th and 17th holes.

"I feel as though I've lost four to six shots per round when I should have been able to separate myself from the field," said Mickelson, who has only one win in seven top-three finishes. "I feel like the last few tournaments I should not have let anybody even have a chance to catch me. Not just on Sunday, throughout the week."

Appleby, who also started the day tied for the lead, is part of a group tied for 10th at six-under par. Justin Leonard and Robert Allenby are also part of the group, three shots behind the leader.

J.J. Henry, the third co-leader after the first round, is still on the course but is struggling. He is two-over through 12 holes and sits at minus-four for the tournament.

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