Morgan just misses out on a 59

Walter Morgan beat the score he was going for and just missed golf's magic number.

Morgan, 61, tied the Senior PGA Tour record with an 11-under 60 Saturday -- just missing birdie putts on the final two holes -- and moved within two shots of co-leaders Tom Jenkins and Morris Hatalsky after two rounds of the Canada Senior Open.

``I wasn't really thinking about shooting a 59,'' he said. ``I was just trying to shoot my age.''

Morgan had 12 birdies in bettering the Essex Golf and Country Club record of 63 tied by Jenkins in Friday's opening round of the $1.6 million event sponsored by AT&T.

He matched Isao Oaki's senior tour record of 10-under 60 in the second round of the 1997 Emerald Coast Classic and had two chances to match golf's magic score -- 59.

Morgan left an 8-foot birdie putt on the lip at No. 17 and then barely missed a 13-footer for birdie on the final hole.

``I was just playing one hole at a time -- fairways and greens, pars and birdies,'' he said. ``I read the greens a lot better today than yesterday. I've made 10 or 11 birdies in a round before, but never 12.''

Morgan, who had an opening-round 73, had one blemish on his scorecard Saturday -- a bogey on the par-4 14th. He had birdie runs of four consecutive holes, three straight twice, and two in a row once.

Three players have shot a 59 on the PGA Tour -- Al Geiberger, Chip Beck and David Duval -- while Annika Sorenstam is the lone player to do it on the LPGA Tour.

Morgan has three wins as a senior, the last the Ameritech Senior Open in 1996. His previous low round was a 64 at last year's SBC Senior ClassicClub and in the 1997 BellSouth Senior Classic.

Jenkins and Hatalsky were both at 11-under 131, one stroke in front of Bruce Lietzke, who had a 62 Saturday, and two in front of Morgan and Bruce Summerhays, who had a second-round 65 on the 6,703-yard course.

Hatalsky's second-round 64 featured eagles on Nos. 10 and 13, both par-5s.

``The eagles really jump-started me,'' Hatalsky said. ``A low score is there to be had tomorrow if the conditions are the same as today. There are a lot of good players out there. It should be a real horse race tomorrow.''

Jenkins had two bogeys in his 68 Saturday.

``The guys shooting 60 and 62 used up all the birdies ahead of us,'' he said. ``I still have something left in the tank.''

Leitzke, who the 1982 Canadian Open on the PGA Tour, had his best round as a senior and matched his career-best with the 62.

``I wasn't surprised by any of the low scores today,'' he said. ``This is a perfect golf course for the senior tour to play on. We like traditional courses like this.''

Gar Hamilton of Oakville, Ontario, remained the top Canadian, in a tie for sixth at 134 after a second-round 69.

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