Gove rides hot start into lead

Jeff Gove went five-under over the first four holes Friday on his way to an eight-under 64 and the lead after 36 holes of the Buy.com Omaha Classic. His two-day total of 13-under-par 131 left him two shots clear of Rodney Pampling, who carded a second-round 67 at The Champions Club.

Scott Petersen (67), Patrick Sheehan (69), Brian Bateman (70) and Heath Slocum (70) finished two rounds at 10-under 134, while Rob McKelvey (66), Tom Carter (68), John Elliott (69) and David Kirkpatrick (69) were at minus-eight.

Gove, who was three strokes off the pace after capping his first round with an eagle, roared out of the gate Friday with a birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie start that lifted him to 10-under. He tacked on birdies at the sixth and ninth holes for a front-nine score of seven-under 29.

Despite bogeys at 12 and 16, Gove managed a trio of birdies on the way in to match his position from three weeks ago, when he led after two rounds of the Wichita Open.

"It's a great score. I'm very happy with how I played," said Gove, who wound up with a season-best tie for second in Wichita. "I just tried to stay tough on every shot. I would much rather be leading than chasing."

Gove is seeking his third victory on the Buy.com Tour. He captured the Tri- Cities Open in 1995 and the Knoxville Open in 1999.

Pampling, two back at the start of the day, began at the 10th with a bogey but reeled off three straight birdies from the 15th. He birdied the second, fourth and fifth holes before dropping a shot at the sixth, a stroke he reclaimed with a birdie at the ninth.

"I played actually quite well today considering there was a lot of wind," Pampling said. "Jeff posted a very good round early in the day. I don't know what the conditions were like out here early but he obviously posted and gave us something to chase."

Slocum, already a two-time winner this season who can get bumped up to the PGA Tour with one more victory, said he hasn't been thinking about his chances to earn the second "battlefield promotion" in Buy.com Tour history.

"You maybe get yourself into contention coming down the last couple of holes on Sunday [the thought] may creep in there," he said. "As of right now for sure it's not. I'm just trying to make as many birdies as possible and keep the bogeys to a minimum."

In 1997, Chris Smith became the first player to win his way onto the PGA Tour when he captured the Omaha Classic for his third title of the season.

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