Dissatisfied with his play of late, David Frost wasn't sure he would even enter the FedEx St. Jude Classic. He did so only because he felt he needed the practice.

Some practice.

Frost fired his second straight 63 today, tying a PGA Tour record with a two-day total of 126, good for 16-under par and a four-stroke lead over Hal Sutton.

He credited his good play to a tip given to him on the driving range at his club in Dallas just before he departed for Memphis on Wednesday. A friend, he said, told him to "turn through the ball. Don't hang behind it."

"I got to my hotel room at the end of the night ... and I made a couple of swings. No club. I just felt this flow through the ball," he said. "I even said to my wife, 'What does this look like? Does it look a bit floppy?'

"She said, 'No , it looks all right.' "

Frost said he hit some practice balls Thursday morning using the swing, then teed off and hit a drive down the middle. He's been using the swing since and, combined with a less-intense focus while playing, has seen great results.

"The more you can just let yourself be at ease, not get uptight, the more your game will be able take off," said Frost, who tied for 67th in the Memorial Tournament last week and is 119th on the PGA Tour money list.

Five other golfers have shot 126 for the first two rounds of a PGA Tour event. Among them is John Cook, who set his mark in the 1996 St. Jude, also played at the par-71 Tournament Players Club at Southwind.

Frost did not play St. Jude that year, but recalled watching it on television and thinking, "How the hell can a guy shoot those scores?"

"I obviously didn't expect to shoot two 63s," he said. "Last year, I shot two 71s and missed the cut. So I was just trying to improve on last year's two 71s.

"I'm very happy with the way I've played the last two days. Hopefully, it will just snowball over the next two days."

Sutton, who was tied for the lead with Frost and Tom Lehman after one round, shot a 4-under 67 and was alone in second at 12-under.

Sutton's only bogey of the first two rounds came when he three-putted his final hole today. Still, he was pleased with his play and feels he can catch Frost.

"There's only one thing I've got to say: He (Frost) ain't got but one way he can go," Sutton said, winking. "It's hard to keep that pace. That's awfully good playing for David. My hat's off."

Lehman shot a 68 despite suffering from flu-like symptoms that sent him straight to bed after his round.

"As I started feeling worse, I began to play worse," said Lehman, who still expected to play Saturday.

With Lehman at 11-under were P.H. Horgan III and Jerry Kelly. Among the group at 10-under were Ted Tryba and Emlyn Aubrey, both of whom shot record-tying 29s on the front nine.

Once again, heat was a factor. The high of 92 was exacerbated by the humidity and there also were two delays because of lightning -- 15 minutes in the morning and an hour in the afternoon.

Sutton said the delay may have hurt him.

"I had just made a 20-footer to make eagle (on No. 3) and at that point you're kind of wanting to go," he said.

Sutton, who started his round on the back nine, matched par over his final six holes after the delay, including the bogey on No. 9.

Defending champion Nick Price shot even par and was at 7-under, while 1997 champion Greg Norman barely made the cut at 4-under after shooting a 1-over 72.

Davis Love III was in a group nine shots back and Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal was 10 off the pace.

AP