In danger of
having to return to qualifying school, Bob Friend stayed true to his retooled
swing today and made seven birdies for a tidy round of 65 in the Buick Challenge
and a two-stroke lead over Justin Leonard.
In the serene setting of Callaway Gardens -- a far cry from 30,000 people who
were four-deep down every fairway last week at The Country Club -- Leonard and
a couple of other Ryder Cup stars showed little sign of a letdown.
Leonard rode the kind of
momentum Friend could use right now. No, he didn't make any 45-foot putts and
he wasn't mobbed after any of his five birdies. But he managed to keep his mind
on the Mountain View course and get into position to win a tournament for the
first time this year.
"I
wouldn't say I'm surprised, but I'm very pleased," Leonard said. "It was a good
round today, and it makes it easier to focus on the rest of the week."
Joining Leonard in the
pack at 5-under 67 were Frank Lickliter, Frank Nobilo, Scott Gump, Harrison Frazar,
Cameron Beck and Stephen Ames, who had the 54-hole lead last week in the Texas
Open but struggled to a 73.
Steve Pate, who contributed two points to the American victory in the Ryder Cup,
was in another large group at 68, while Davis Love III was at 70. The only other
Ryder Cup player at Callaway Gardens was Jeff Maggert, who had a 73.
John Daly, in his first tournament since admitting that he has started drinking
again, had a 72 and said he was feeling good about his game -- and his life.
"It's just part of life,"
Daly said when asked why he got off the wagon.
Defending champion Steve Elkington had a 75. While Elkington has won twice at
Callaway Gardens in seven appearances, he also has missed the cut four times.
Leonard, Love and Pate
are among those still trying to bag a victory this year. Leonard's best chance
came in the British Open, getting into the four-hole playoff thanks to the follies
of Jean Van de Velde, but wasted any chance of winning by hitting in Barry Burn
on the 18th.
Since
missing the cut in the PGA Championship, Leonard has directed almost all of his
attention toward the Ryder Cup.
"There
are some goals I want to accomplish," Leonard said. "The past three to four weeks,
I haven't been thinking about them. Now, it's time to shift gears."
Friend can appreciate that.
Just last year, he was twice on the verge of his first career PGA Tour victory.
One of those was the Canadian Open, in which Billy Andrade made a 30-foot par
putt on the 72nd hole to get into a playoff he ultimately won.
While trying to rebuild a swing, Friend has plummeted to 164th on the money list.
Unless he starts making up ground quickly, he could find himself in that November
pressure-cooker known as Q-school.
He's showing a pulse, however.
Last week, he three-putted seven times and finished eight strokes back in San
Antonio. With his accuracy off the tee and great play with his short irons, three-putts
never factored into the equation on a clear, breezy day at Callaway Gardens.
"I'm finally hitting the
ball great," Friend said. "Now I just have to eliminate the mistakes I made last
week."
Only one
of his seven birdie putts was longer than 12 feet. He missed only one fairway.
And the only time Friend even flirted with a bogey was at the par-3 16th, which
he handled by blasting out of the bunker to three feet.
"It's
been a trying year, especially after what happened last year," he said. "It hasn't
gone the way I wanted. But out here, one week can make a year."
Leonard was also precise with his irons, and the putter that came to life on Sunday
in the Ryder Cup remained a big weapon. He had to make an 8-foot par putt on his
first hole, then cruised the rest of the way to a 67.
What has kept Leonard from winning is one round, on any given day during the week.
It could be poor putting on Thursday, marginal shotmaking the next week. Maybe
this will be the week he puts it all together.
Then again, Leonard had on his lap a copy of Sports Illustrated with his celebration
of that 45-foot putt on the cover.
"If
I don't win, it will still have been a wonderful year," he said.<
DIVOTS:
Luke Donald of England got off to a smashing start in his PGA Tour debut by holing
out from the first fairway for eagle. Donald, the NCAA champion from Northwestern,
finished with a 73. He was honoured Thursday night with the Fred Haskins Award
as the top college player in 1999. ... Chip Beck is at it again. Having made the
cut three straight weeks, he had a bogey-free 69 on Thursday. ... While John Daly
says he is "welcome any time" at Callaway Golf's test canter and still likes their
clubs, he played the first round with a Titleist driver and 3-wood. ... David
Toms and Grant Waite were the only players in the field to make birdie on all
four of the par-5s.
