Keith Fergus vaults into lead with 65

Keith Fergus shot a 7-under 65 Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over Mark McNulty after two rounds of the Champions Tour's SBC Classic.
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Fergus, a former golf coach at Houston and three-time winner in 14 years on the PGA Tour, had six birdies and a bogey on the Valencia Country Club course for a 7-under 137 total.

McNulty shot a 66 to move to 138, two strokes ahead of Gary McCord (66) and D.A. Weibring (69). Mike Reid was in fifth place at 141 after a second-round 71, and 62-year-old Isao Aoki, the first-round leader, followed an opening 69 with a 73, dropping to 142.

"It was fun out there today," said the 51-year-old Fergus, who coached at Houston from 1988-94. "I love this course. I like the rough and I like that they don't shoot a lot of low scores. It's a course where you have to be precise to score well."

Fergus birdied the first hole, but made bogey at the fourth. He added a birdie at the fifth and picked up two more strokes with consecutive birdies at Nos. 9-10. After missing a six-foot birdie try at the 10th, he went on to make birdies at Nos. 11, 12, 15 and 16.

"I just wish I had finished with a birdie on that last hole," Fergus said. "But overall, I was very happy with the way I played."

Fergus originally played the PGA Tour from 1977-86 and then qualified through Q-school again in 1995 and played the circuit full time through 1998. He was also a two-time winner on the Nationwide Tour in 1994.

"The time off was good for me," Fergus said. "But I always felt like I wanted to come back. I had to make sure I was 100 percent committed and willing to put in the time it takes. These guys can really play out here."

Fergus last held the lead going into the final round at the Nationwide Tour's Louisiana Open in '95. He finished second in that event.

"I was in contention this year in Hawaii, but Hale Irwin ran me down," said Fergus, who finished tied for 15th in the opener at Turtle Bay. "Now, I'm in contention again and I'm excited about trying to win this tournament."

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