With the sun
setting and temperatures cooling rapidly, Stephen Ames of Trinidad moved to 6
under par today to take the lead early in the second round of the rain-delayed
B.C. Open.
Ames
overtook first-round co-leaders Peter Jacobsen and Bradley Hughes by fashioning
a 4-under 68 in the first round, then carding birdies on two of the six holes
he completed in the second round before darkness fell.
"It's
tough. It makes for a long day," said Ames, who has only played 12 tournaments
this year because of visa problems and missed the cut in his last three. "And
tomorrow is going to be another long day again because we're going to finish,
make a cut, and go back out and play again."
Hughes and Jacobsen each shot 67s in their first and only round of the day. They
were tied with Russ Cochran, who had completed six holes on the second round when
play was halted.
Phil Mickelson, Lanny Wadkins, Chip Beck, defending B.C. Open champion Chris Perry
and Brandt Jobe were another stroke back. Perry and Jobe also used the second
round to move into contention. Perry, who had an opening-round 70, was 2 under
after nine holes of the second round while Jobe picked up three strokes in the
eight holes he completed.
Rain forced postponement of the first round on Thursday after about two hours
of play. Play resumed at 8 a.m. Friday, and by the afternoon the golfers were
playing under blue skies and puffy white clouds, Hurricane Floyd seeming like
just a bad dream.
Despite conditions that were soggy in places and a steady wind that often gusted
to 30 mph, Hughes and Jacobsen gained a one-stroke lead over Mickelson, Beck,
Wadkins and Ames, whose bogey on No. 18 cost him a share of the first-round lead.
Mickelson, who was 1 under
starting play at No. 6, took the early lead with four birdies over his first seven
holes. He dropped back when his drive on No. 18 found water and he finished with
a bogey.
"I obviously
feel a little rusty," said Mickelson, coming off a two-week layoff with a week
to go before he plays in the Ryder Cup. "But it's not too difficult to pick up
my rhythm and timing. The key is in and around the greens, and I think I did pretty
well."
So, too,
did Hughes, who was playing in the B.C. Open for the fourth time. He said the
narrow, tree-lined En-Joie Golf Club course reminded him of the one he played
growing up in Melbourne, Australia.
"The
other years I was just plodding along," said Hughes, whose 25-foot putt on the
par-4 11th capped a three-birdie string and put him at 5 under. "It's nice to
get out to a good first round because that's been one of my bad themes this year.
It's nice to be playing well, and not having to play twice today will be good."
The second group didn't
have that luxury. It began the second round immediately after finishing the first
around 4 p.m.
Tom
Lehman and Steve Pate, also members of the U.S. Ryder Cup team, did not fare well
in the only round they played. A double bogey on the par-4 15th dropped Pate to
a 1-over 73. Lehman skied to a 75 with two bogeys and a double bogey to go with
one birdie. They and Mickelson are using the tournament as a tuneup for the Ryder
Cup, which begins next Friday in Brookline, Mass.
"I
had a real rough day," said Lehman, who remained confident that his game would
improve. "But my goal is to get better day by day and be playing well on Sunday.
This course is narrow, so I think it's a good tuneup."
Although Hurricane Floyd soaked the course Wednesday night and all day Thursday
with 4 inches of rain, conditions were amazingly good on Friday. And with sunny
skies forecast for the weekend, officials still hoped to squeeze in the full four
rounds by sundown Sunday.
The format Friday was to continue through the weekend, which meant that the third
round would be completed Sunday morning and the final round would begin at noon.
The scenario seemed to
confound Jacobsen, a three-time runner-up here, including last year.
"Personally, I don't quite
understand why we're doing this," said Jacobsen, who started the day on No. 11
and quickly bogeyed 13 and 14 before recovering. "In my mind, we washed one day
out, so we should do a three-round tournament, which would give us a chance to
have a leader each evening.
"But
now we're going to have some guys play 27 or 31 (holes Saturday), so you're never
going to know who's leading the tournament until Sunday. It's confusing."
