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Haas vaults into lead with 61

Jay Haas shot a 61, the second 11-under round of the day, to take a one-shot lead as scores went low Thursday on a sunny, windless day at the Bob Hope Classic.
Haas, who won the Hope in 1988, rolled in a 3-foot putt on No. 18 for his third birdie in a row and the best round of his 26 years on the tour. He went to 16-under 128 through 36 holes of the five-day tournament.

Second-year pro Pat Perez also shot a 61, but that was merely good enough to put him in a tie for third place.

Harrison Frazar's second-round 62 left him one shot back of Haas, and first-round co-leader Stephen Ames had a 67 and was tied with Perez and Joe Durant at 14 under. Durant, the tournament champion two years ago, had a 63.

The 61s were only two shots off the PGA Tour record of 59, set by Al Geiberger in 1977, equaled by Chip Beck in 1991, and matched again by David Duval when he won the Hope in 1999.

Duval, this time making the Hope his first event of the year, ballooned to a second-round 78 after an opening 65.

Defending champion Phil Mickelson had a 68 and was 10 shots off the lead.

Haas' 61 came on the same 6,930-yard PGA West course where Duval shot his closing 59 four years earlier. Perez, who birdied his first six holes and 10 of the first 11 before getting pars on five consecutive holes, played at the 6,972-yard Bermuda Dunes Country Club.

Four different courses are used for the first four days of the tournament, with the low 70 players and ties playing for the title at PGA West on Sunday.

Davis Love III, making his 2003 debut, shot a 64 that left him at 131 with Mike Weir, who also had a 64 and Rod Pampling, who shot 66.

After 36 holes of the 90-hole event, 25 players were at 10 under or lower.

The 49-year-old Haas chipped in from 18 feet for a birdie to start his round. He went on to birdie the next three holes and made the turn with a 31, then made a pair of long birdie putts on the back nine on his way to a 30.

Perez, 26, shot an 8-under 28 on his first nine holes, then had a 33 over the next nine.

A member of Arizona State's NCAA champions in 1996, Perez missed the cut in 16 of the 30 PGA Tour events he played as a rookie last year but still ranked 40th on the earnings list with $1.45 million.

His highest finish is a pair of seconds, last year at San Diego and at Pebble Beach. He led going into the final hole at Pebble Beach, but took a triple bogey, and Matt Gogel beat him by three shots.

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