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Riley, Kaye & Mattiace
share lead
Chris Riley had two eagles
and four birdies in an erratic 4-under 67 Friday to take a share of the lead in
the Michelob Championship with Jonathan Kaye and Len Mattiace.
``It was kind of an up and
down day,'' said Riley, who had a double bogey on the second hole and two bogeys.
Kaye and Mattiace were far
steadier, Kaye with a bogey-free 67, and Mattiace by rebounding from a first-hole
bogey with a six-birdie 66.
The leaders were one better
than defending champion and first-round leader David Toms, who followed his 64
with a 70; local favorite Carl Paulson, who had a 66; and Neal Lancaster, who
shot a 69 to get to 134.
Riley, though, was clearly
the odd member of the leaders.
He had the double bogey
after plugging his tee shot under the lip of a bunker on the par-3 second hole.
He got those two strokes back when he chipped in from 50 feet for eagle on the
next hole, then made birdie on the fourth.
He followed each of his
other bogeys with birdies, then capped his scoring by chipping in for eagle from
20 feet on the par-5 15th.
``It was one of those chips
that you expect to make,'' he said.
Mattiace had to overcome
anger at himself after hitting into two traps and making bogey at the par-4 first,
but had time to simmer down while waiting on the second tee and put the mistake
behind him for the day.
``I berated myself a little
bit inside and then let it go,'' he said, focusing on his game and not even look
at the leaderboard on the course.
``I think when you are playing
well, you want to let the flow go. You want to let your momentum and your positive
thoughts and your confidence take you to how ever many under you can shoot. I
did that.''
Kaye, 5 under at the start
of his round, shot a bogey-free 67 on the 6,853-yard River Course to also reach
the midpoint at 9-under 133.
``I had a few that I left
out there, but I made a couple of good pars when I had to,'' Kaye said. ``I really
didn't make too many putts.''
The key, he said, came on
the first hole when his caddie gave him the wrong distance, by 12 yards, on his
second shot to the par-4 green. The shot flew the green, leaving Kaye with a tough
up-and-down for par.
He chipped within 5 feet,
saved par and then sailed through.
Paulson admitted to some
tension while warming up on the range, but said his caddie helped settle him down.
The weather, he said, could
make things interesting.
``It's going to be kind
of nasty this weekend and looks like it is going to be a grinder's weekend,''
said Paulson, who grew up in Virginia beach, about 50 miles away from Kingsmill.
``I'm pretty happy about that.''
After two near-perfect days,
weather forecasts for Saturday and Sunday call for temperatures in the 60s and
a stiffer wind off the James River.
Six players were two back at 135, including Charles Howell III, whose 65 was the
lowest round of the day. The others were Jimmy Green, Greg Chalmers, Kirk Triplett,
Michael Muehr and Esteban Toledo.
Toms, who made it around
the course with just 22 putts on Thursday, wasn't quite as sharp Friday, making
only one as long as 10 feet.
``Somebody dipped it in
a bucket of ice water,'' the PGA champion said of his putter after using it 27
times. ``The holes where I have made bogey, I had opportunities to make par with
less than 10-foot putts.''
Curtis Strange, who lives
at Kingsmill and is the only player to have played in all 21 events held here,
followed an opening 68 with a 71.
Ty Tryon, the 17-year-old
making his professional debut, followed an opening 76 with a 72 and was among
those heading home for the weekend.
The cut at 1 under kept
two-time winner David Duval around, but only because he made a 12-footer for birdie
on his last hole. For several other big names, Saturday and Sunday will be chances
to watch some football.
Scott Hoch, who had made
the cut all 18 times he's played here, missed it by following a 71 with a 72.
Justin Leonard, who won last week in Texas, shot a 73 for a 145 total. Jim Furyk
missed by one shot at 142.
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