Ben Curtis leads with record score - Booz Allen Classic 2006

Jose Coceres broke his arm playing in a pickup soccer game four years ago, nearly ruining his golf career. Three months ago, he played in a charity soccer game to help raise money for a family whose house had burned down.

And, even though he's near the top of the leaderboard in the Booz Allen Classic, Coceres has soccer on his mind again. Weather permitting, his round Saturday was expected to end an hour or so before Argentina's game against Mexico in the World Cup.

"Big moment," said Coceres, the only Argentine on the PGA Tour. "That is my team, my country."

Coceres, Ben Curtis and Jeff Gove were set to tee off at 9 a.m. as officials scheduled an early start to the third round to beat the bad weather forecast for the day. Curtis led Coceres by one stroke, with Cove four off the lead after the second round Friday.

Curtis, wearing the burgundy and gold of the Washington Redskins as part of his NFL sponsorship deal, liked the idea of getting back on the course for a quick start.

"When you don't play until 2 in the afternoon, you have all the time in the world to think about it," the 2003 British Open champion said. "So it's better to just get up and go through your normal routine,"

Curtis followed his first-round 62 with a 65 on the TPC at Avenel, putting him at 15 under and setting a tournament record for two rounds. He saved par from greenside bunkers on back-to-back holes before his final birdie.

"I got off to a little shaky start. I didn't feel real comfortable with the swing at the beginning," Curtis said. "I hit one out of bounds at 13, but after that, I got the putter going."

Coceres shot his second 64 as he seeks his first PGA Tour victory in five years.

Gove carded a 68 and was one stroke ahead of Brett Quigley (63) and John Huston (65) as low scores continue to dominate on a course that looks relatively easy following last week's U.S. Open.

"At the U.S. Open, a guy wins a tournament at 5 over," said Quigley, whose 63 was the best round of the day. "And to be honest, the greens were terrible. When we get good greens, it's like going from putting out of the rough last week to putting on a marble tile. Perfect. The greens are that good."

Coceres doesn't come close to crushing the ball off the green, but he didn't miss a single fairway Friday and made all 16 of his putts from less than 10 feet.

Coceres said he lost some 40 yards off his tee shot after recovering from the broken arm. The injury threatened a promising career that included two PGA Tour victories in 2001. He dropped to 182nd on the money list last year.

This year, Coceres has split time between the United States and Argentina. This is only his fourth tournament in 2006, and he got in only because so many other players dropped out. He's been frustrated over his inability to secure a single sponsor exemption, and he spoke enthusiastically of merely finishing in the top 10 this week so that he can automatically qualify for next week's Buick Championship.

"I get a lot of confidence," Coceres said. "This is very good for me for next week."