PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. Maybe Payne Stewart's hard luck at Pebble Beach is about to end. Maybe David Duval's unbelievable play is going to continue.

Two times a runner-up in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and without a victory since the Houston Open in 1995, Stewart started eagle-birdie-birdie at Poppy Hills for an 8-under-par 64 today.

Stewart was at 133 after two rounds, three strokes ahead of PGA champion Vijay Singh and Frank Lickliter.

"I want to win golf tournaments again," Stewart said. "And I've got to get myself in position to win the golf tournaments."

He did that with a bogey-free round on another picturesque day on the Monterey Peninsula. But even Stewart realises that the leaderboard shuffle doesn't begin until Saturday, after everyone has played all three courses in the rotation.

And having Duval nipping at his plus-fours isn't the most comforting thought these days.

Trying to win for the 10th time in his last 30 tournaments, Duval had a three-putt bogey on his 17th hole but still managed a 7-under 65 at Poppy Hills. That put him in a group at 137 that included Craig Stadler and Fred Couples.

"I've always felt that if you want to do well at this tournament, you have to pick up some ground here," Duval said. "I left several out there today that I should have made, just shots that had no business being where they were."

Chris Warren was also at 137 after a 66 at Spyglass Hill. His 31 on the back nine tied the record last matched by Peter Jacobsen in 1994. Jacobsen, one off the lead to start the second round, struggled to a 75 at Spyglass, which put partner Jack Lemmon in jeopardy of missing the pro-am cut yet again.

Couples got the loudest roar of the day with a chip-in eagle on the 18th at Pebble Beach for his 65. Davis Love III was another stroke back at 138 with a birdie-birdie finish for his 65 at Pebble Beach, where it was so calm that the only sound that could be heard was the big surf crashing into the rocks along the 18th.

Duval also knows what it's like to be a runner-up in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, only his experience is a little more recent. He was second to Jacobsen in 1994 in his rookie season, and finished one stroke behind Mark O'Meara two years ago.

O'Meara is the only five-time winner at Pebble, but he'll have some work to do Saturday. He was at 1-under 143, while Tiger Woods was at 141.

Stewart finished second in 1986 when rain washed out the final round, and he was runner-up the next year when Johnny Miller closed with a 66.

"Does this place owe me one? I think you create your own destiny," Stewart said. "Obviously, in the near misses that I have had, I didn't play well enough to win. So be it. I'm going to see what I can do this week."

Of course, any talk about bad breaks and close calls for Stewart is short-term memory.

His last good chance to win was last year in the U.S. Open, when he took a four-stroke lead into the final round at Olympic Club and finished one stroke behind Lee Janzen.

Janzen had a ball mysteriously drop from a tree during his round of 68. Stewart had a perfect drive land in a divot on his way to a 74.

"You've been out here long enough to know that you need some breaks to win golf tournaments," Stewart said. "And as long as I can put myself in a position to win, then I'll get my share of the breaks. And I will win more golf tournaments."

Duval hasn't needed many breaks to win his load of tournaments lately. After winning four times last year, he won the season-opening Mercedes by nine strokes, then recorded the first final-round 59 in PGA Tour history to win the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

"It's not hard to get yourself back into it today," Duval said. "I made up some ground. Tomorrow, I'm just going to play and see what happens."

DIVOTS: The fifth hole isn't the only change at Pebble Beach. A day after Bill Murray dragged a woman from the gallery and flung her into a bunker by the 18th green, officials replaced the ropes by the bunker with a 4-1/2-foot chain-link fence. ...Payne Stewart's equipment contract with Spalding ended last year, and he doesn't have another one. He is carrying a plain bag that he bought for $130 at an Edwin Watts golf store in Orlando, Fla. "If a sponsor does come along, I prefer them to put their name on this bag because this is a really nice bag," he said. ... Craig Stadler is 70th in the world ranking and needs to play well this weekend and next week in San Diego -- he thinks -- to qualify for the Match Play Championship. "Normally when I don't play, I move up. A couple of top 15s, I lose 20 spots," he said of the rankings formula.