| Williamsburg,
Va, 9th October 1998
- David Duval, much more relaxed and self-assured than the player who won
here last year, shot a 4-under-par 67 today to take a one-shot lead after two
rounds of the Michelob Championship. Once
most notable as the player who didn't win with seven runner-up finishes before
his playoff triumph last year, Duval has won a tour-high six times in the past
year and become a constant contender. In
20 events this season, he's finished in the top 10 10 times. "When
you've done well and won some golf tournaments, it's a lot easier to go out and
play like I have these two days," said Duval, who was at 10-under 132. He
won last year with a 13-under total. "I
think the main thing is I've gotten a little easier going because I've proven
that I could win. I don't have that burden. I don't have it being asked every
week, so I don't have to worry about it." First-round
co-leader Phil Tataurangi and Frank Lickliter, who started the day one shot back,
were tied for second at 133. Lickliter and Brian Claar both got to 10 under, but
Lickliter bogeyed No. 18 and Claar made a triple bogey on the par-4 finishing
hole on the 6,853-yard River Course at Kingsmill. "I
just picked the wrong time to hit a low snap hook," said Claar, whose tee
shot landed in the pond to the left of the closing fairway. "It's
like taking a no-hitter into the ninth and losing." Claar
is one of five players three shots back and tied for fourth. Others in the group
are Kirk Triplett, Gary Hallberg, Bradley Hughes and Steve Pate. Lickliter
tried to go at the stick on No. 18, but hit his 4-iron approach into the deep
rough, left himself about a 10-foot par putt and missed. "I
made bogey trying to make birdie," he said. Tataurangi,
who shot a 68, stands 165th on the earnings list and needs a pay day of around
$70,000 in one of the three remaining events to retain his tour card. He said
it's hard to play without thinking about that, too. "I've
been thinking about it all year, really," the New Zealander said of the exemption
that goes to the top 125 on the tour's money list. "If you haven't got exempt
status and haven't gotten your money up early in the year, it's certainly on your
mind. You have to go out and play and play well." Duval
never had to worry about his card. He finished 10th and 11th in prize money his
first two years, but knows pressure from the questioning that dogged him everywhere
until he finally got that first career victory. "It's
been a lot harder for him because of the position he's in," Duval said of
Tataurangi. "There's a lot more riding on it. I don't know if he finished
at nine under or 10, but what he shot was better than what I shot." DIVOTS:
The wind did a 180 Friday, blowing in the opposite direction and completely changing
the course. "The first few holes weren't a lot of fun," said Duval,
who bogeyed his first hole. ... Tataurangi said he started playing golf at age
7 in New Zealand, using cut down women's clubs and playing with "three old
ladies" every Sunday. It took him about a year to graduate from that group
and move up to a 9-hole course nearby where the greens were surrounded by fences
to keep the sheep away. ... Asked how he would respond if he was tied for the
lead on the 72nd hole with a player who needed to win to retain his tour exemption,
Duval said, "best of luck at Q school." ... Among the former champions
not making the even-par cut were Ted Tryba (1995, 144); Jim Gallagher Jr. (1994,
148); and Mike Hulbert (1991, 143). Besides Duval, the closest former winner to
the lead is Scott Hoch (1996), six shots back. ... Kingsmill resident Curtis Strange,
one shot off the lead after an opening 66, had a 74 Friday and is eight shots
back. | 
