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Morgan and Doyle lead
into the weejend
Allen Doyle knows he doesn't have a textbook swing. But it has served him well,
and he's not about to change now.
Doyle used his short, choppy stroke to shoot a 4-under 67 and grab a share
of the lead after two rounds at the Senior PGA Championship on Friday.
Doyle said results, not style, is all he cares about.
"When I caddied, there was an old pro who told me two things," he
said: "One was, 'Don't take lessons from someone who can't beat you.' And,
two, 'If you could drive the ball straight and chip and putt, it will shock you
how well you will play.'"
Doyle has had success following that advice. He had 13 top-10 finishes last
year, and 25 in 2001. Overall, he has won seven titles, including the 1999 Senior
PGA Championship.
"I never see anybody about the swing," he said. "I go to the
range, I hit balls and I do makeshift things until I get the ball doing what I
want it to do."
He and Morgan both are at 4-under 136 for the tournament.
Morgan shot a 66 and needed only 28 putts, including a 3-foot birdie putt on
the final hole, to tie the course record at Aronimick Golf Club. Seiji Ebihara
of Japan also matched the record Friday.
Doyle, who won the Senior PGA title in 1999, had seven birdies and four bogies
on an up-and-down afternoon.
"If someone told me at the beginning of the day that I'd have seven birdies,
I'd have questioned their sanity," Doyle said.
John Jacobs also shot 67 and was a stroke back at 137. Tom Kite, Mike San Filippo
and Ebihara were two strokes back. Kite shot 68, while San Filippo had a 70. Defending
champion Fuzzy Zoeller was among a group of four at 139.
The 66 by Morgan and Ebihara tied the course record set by John Barnum, Bob
McCallister and Cary Middlecoff in the 1962 PGA Championship.
Craig Stadler, who qualified for the event after turning 50 on June 2, was
three shots back despite problems on the greens. He's putted 66 times in the two
rounds but was within striking distance.
"I've been struggling with my putter the last 10 years," Stadler
said. "I've been having a lot of trouble with the 15- to 20-footers, misreading
nearly every one."
Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer missed the 7-over cut. Nicklaus carded his
second straight 5-over 75. Palmer shot 80 to finish at 159.
"I just didn't play very well," Nicklaus said. "That's basically
what I didn't do. I was just terrible."
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