Jacobsen leads by one at Greater Hartford Open

Peter Jacobsen posted a three-under 67 on Friday to take the outright lead after the second round of the Greater Hartford Open. Jacobsen finished 36 holes at 10-under-par 130, one stroke clear of Jay Haas.

Suzy Whaley finished her first start on the PGA Tour with an eight-over 78 on Friday. The 36-year-old finished at 13-over-par 153 for the tournament and left with nothing but smiles as the second woman to play on the men's tour this season.

"I had the best time," said Whaley. "I absolutely loved every minute of it. I enjoyed it. It was just a pleasure to be here and be a part of it."

Whaley, the club pro who earned an invitation to the tournament after winning last year's PGA Connecticut Sectional, picked up a bogey and two double-bogeys over her first nine holes.

She hit a three-wood to 10 feet at the first to set up her second birdie of the tournament. Whaley added two bogeys and a double-bogey the rest of the way.

"For me, I think the greatest benefit of the world is every single young girl that was here today, including my own daughters watched me tee off with two men like it was not anything different than it should be," she said. "And I feel like I showed people that you can achieve anything if you just work extremely hard and your dreams are possible. My girls know that now."

Jacobsen shared the lead with Haas after the opening round and the veteran duo remained neck and neck throughout the day on Friday.

Haas jumped out of the gate with a birdie at the first to reach eight-under but Jacobsen caught up soon after with a birdie at the 14th. Jacobsen then added a birdie at the 17th to make the turn at nine-under.

Jacobsen, who won this event in 1984, collected back-to-back birdies starting at the second to move to 11-under and open a three-shot lead over the field.

The 49-year-old found trouble with a bogey at the very next hole and fell back to minus-nine with a bogey at the fifth. Jacobsen salvaged what he could with a tap-in birdie at the sixth, which was ultimately good enough to give him the outright lead after two rounds.

"I played well today," said Jacobsen, who has not won on the PGA Tour since 1995. "I drove the ball just as well as I did yesterday. Overall, I'm very happy with my game and how well I played."

Haas reached nine-under with a birdie at the fifth and held a share of the lead with Jacobsen after a birdie at the sixth moved him to 10-under. He stumbled with a bogey at the eighth, however, to finish one shot off the lead.

"On the weekend, you know, I don't know when the last time we were paired together coming down the stretch and both having a chance to win," Haas said of his third-round pairing with Jacobsen. "We were paired together at Memphis this year, and I shot 64 in the first round there playing with him. I enjoyed playing with Peter, I enjoyed talking. I'm sure there won't be a shortage of that tomorrow."

Darron Stiles fired a seven-under 63 to finish two shots off the lead at eight-under-par 132. He was joined by Paul Goydos and Willie Wood in a tie for third.

J.J. Henry, Craig Barlow, Brian Henninger and Robert Damron finished one shot further back at seven-under-par 133.

Two-time defending champion Phil Mickelson had to battle hard to survive the 36-hole cut. Mickelson was dealt with six bogeys in his second round but managed three birdies for a 73 to make the cut on the number at even-par 140.

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