George
Archer rode his extra-long driver and renewed desire to a three-stroke lead today
halfway through the Senior Tour Championship.
Archer followed an opening 68 with a 67 and stood 9-under par on The Dunes Golf
& Beach Club. Christy O'Connor was tied with first-round co-leader Bruce Summerhays
and Jose Maria Canizares in second at 6-under.
O'Connor shot a 67, Summerhays a 71 and Canizares a 65, the tournament's low round.
Archer had an even
bigger lead, with seven birdies in 15 holes to go to 11-under. But bogeys on the
16th and, like O'Connor and Summerhays before him, the 18th dropped Archer back.
Even those late
mistakes couldn't take the smile off Archer's face. He came in fighting a cold
the past two weeks, but tied the event's low 36-hole score set here previously
by Jim Albus and Rocky Thompson in 1994 and three golfers in 1997.
"I've done everything good
this week -- hit some good drives, irons, made some putts," he said. "Can I win?
It could happen."
There are others who will have a say in that.
Canizares had five birdies on the back nine to move up. Hale Irwin, the defending
champion, recovered from his opening 73 with a 67 and was five back along with
two-time winner Ray Floyd, Hugh Baiocchi, and this year's money champ, Bruce Fleisher.
A year ago, Archer
saw himself with a long fishing pole instead of driver. He had won 30 tournaments
and almost $9 million in more than three decades, but found himself way down most
leaderboards. "I asked myself, 'Why am I still doing this?'," he said. Archer
gave himself a month last summer to figure things out.
Soon, he discovered his answer -- a driver with longer-than-normal 48-inch shaft
that he says perfectly fits his 6-foot-5 frame. His drives flew 10 to 25 yards
farther and Archer won his first event in three years, the 1998 First of America
Classic.
"It's
fun to have a chance to do well and be in position to win," he said. "It's not
enjoyable to finish 48th or 26th."
Archer was a shot behind Summerhays and Fleisher at the start Friday, but struck
quickly. He grabbed the lead with birdies on the third, fourth, and eighth holes
and extended it with birdies on Nos. 10, 11 and 15.
"Then
the lights went out," Archer said. He missed a short par putt on the 16th and
hit a tree on the 18th hole to lose another stroke.
Archer said there was too much golf left to act the front-runner. But Canizares
said Archer smooth swing and good mental state make him dangerous.
"Everything for him is so easy,"
Canizares said. "All the time, he plays good."
O'Connor's run from 1-under to 8-under gained most of the early attention. However,
he was stung with double bogey on the 18th hole with a drive into the left rough,
a wedge that spun back off the green and a 6-foot bogey putt that slid to the
side.
Summerhays,
who shared the lead Thursday with leading money winner Bruce Fleisher, plodded
along most of the round and was happy with his spot.
"You
can't really get too excited about anything really, until the last nine holes
of the last day," Summerhays said. "If you're there, try to put it in gear."
That's Archer's plan, too.
Archer, who turned 60 on Oct. 1, said this week he was anxious for 2000 because
he wanted to join the eight golfers who won Senior events past their 50s.
He may only have to wait
until Sunday.
"Golf
is a real fun game when you're driving the ball well and chipping good," he said.
