Price & Toledo lead at halfway

Nick Price, long one of the PGA Tour's best ball-strikers, putted his way to a share of the lead in the Colonial.

The 45-year-old Price shot a 5-under-par 65 Friday in the rain-delayed second round to share the lead at 6-under 134 with Esteban Toledo, who overcame eight bunker shots for his second 67.

Play was suspended because of darkness with 19 players, including defending champion Sergio Garcia, still on the course.

Price needed just 26 putts to complete the round.

``My putting is so much better. It's more consistent,'' he said. ``I need to take my putting up a notch like I have the last two days. When I putt well, I really have a chance to win. And I feel like I'm putting at that standard now.

``I feel like my all-around game now is probably as good as it's ever been, it just lacks a bit of fire. I don't know what that fire is, but one thing is I'm not one of the longest hitters out there anymore.''

That's not a necessity on the historic 7,080-yard Colonial layout, where even in the swirling gusty wind, shotmaking and putting are at a premium.

Esteban dropped two shots on the front nine, even with pars on five of the six holes where he hit into bunkers. He then had the day's best back nine, a 4-under 31 that ended with a 7-foot birdie putt on the 427-yard 18th.

``I was hitting good shots, but the winds were blowing different directions and the ball was blowing all over the place,'' said Esteban, who missed the cut in four previous Colonial appearances. ``I stayed patient.''

Steve Flesch and Bob Tway, who like Price teed off in the first section of players after a 3 1/2 -hour rain delay, were a shot back at 5-under 135. Flesch had a 67, and Tway shot a 68.

Glen Day, Kenny Perry, Brian Gay and Bob Burns were all at 136. First-round leader Bob Estes, who had an opening 5-under 65, finished his 72 just before play was suspended and was three strokes back with Hal Sutton.

Garcia, after an opening 76, was 10 over with just two holes to play when play resumes Saturday morning.

David Duval, the last player other than Tiger Woods ranked No. 1 in the world, had a triple bogey and two double bogeys while shooting 43 on the back nine. He finished with a 78 for a 5-over 145 total, two strokes above the projected cut.

There were 74 players at 3-over or better. That included Tim Herron and J.J. Henry, both in the last group that started Friday and with five holes to play.

Duval started his round among nine players tied for second place at 3 under, and was still there before his triple bogey at the 609-yard 11th. He avoided reporters after his round.

Price had only one bogey, when he hit his tee shot at the 188-yard 16th into the right bunker and then two-putted from 7 feet. He got that stroke back -- and the lead -- when he made a 15-foot putt on the 427-yard 18th.

Price had three birdies from holes Nos. 11-14, putting a 30-footer off the fringe at 11th, knocking a 9-iron to 3 feet on the 433-yard 12th, and a pitching wedge to 6 feet on the 457-yard 14th.

Price hasn't won since the 1998 Fed-Ex St. Jude Classic, the last of his 15 wins in the 1990s that tied Woods for the most in the decade. He has 16 PGA Tour wins and 24 international victories.

Preferring to spend more time at home in Florida with his wife and three children, Price is in just his 10th tournament of the year. He's made the cut every time and finished in the top 10 five times.

While the No. 1 player in the world in the first half of the 1990s, Price won three majors and a Players Championships. He won two PGA Tour money titles and was twice the player of the year.

Price won the Colonial in 1994, the same year he won the British Open.

Flesch, who has never won on the PGA Tour, had a bogey-free round.

``It was a good scrambling day out there. I made some really good saves,'' the left-hander said. ``My putter saved me a lot. The most satisfying part about it for me is that I've been struggling putting a lot lately, and I made some good par saves out there.''

Flesch missed the green at No. 4, a 246-yard par-3 that was playing into the wind, but chipped to 8 feet. He then got up-and-down out of the sand on the 470-yard fifth with a 4-foot par.

Tway, who hasn't won since the 1995 MCI Classic, got to 7 under after birdies on four of his first 10 holes. But he hit his drive through the fairway at No. 3, at 476 yards the longest par-4 on the course, and hit a tree before finishing with a double bogey.

``I hit what I thought was a great drive ... I hit a great shot, but misjudged the wind and got in trouble,'' Tway said. ``The wind was opposed whatwe are used to and a lot of holes played differently.''

Divots

Only Ben Hogan has won consecutive Colonials, and he did it twice. Garcia will be just the eighth defending champion since 1974 to miss the cut. ... Rocco Mediate was disqualified after he missed his 4 p.m. tee time. ... Billy Andrade didn't have a par on his first five holes Friday. He started with consecutive birdies, then had a bogey before two more birdies. He finished with a 70 for a 2-under total. ... Gay played good even though he felt miserable. His 66 Friday came after he stayed up the previous night with fever. ``That's probably the worst I've ever felt for a tournament round,'' he said.

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