Els In Driver’s Seat After 63 At Buick
Golf
Ernie Els, stringing together brilliant streaks with a little luck, opened a four-shot lead over Dan Forsman in the Buick Open with a second-round 63 at Grand Blanc, Mich., on Friday.
Els had a 13-under-par total of 131. Forsman, whose last victory on the PGA Tour came in the 1992 Buick Open, shot 67 for 135.
John Morse, Chris Perry, Brad Fabel, Lanny Wadkins, Hal Sutton and Allen Doyle were at 136. Fabel, winless on the PGA Tour, and Doyle each shot 67. Morse, a former University of Michigan golf captain, Perry, Wadkins and Sutton shot 69s.
The powerful Els, clearly gearing up for a run at his third major title in next week’s PGA Championship, pitched in twice - once for an eagle - at Warwick Hills Country Club, about 60 miles north of Detroit.
“It’s not often you can turn a round like that, you know,” Els said. “Yesterday, I let a 63 become a 68. Today, I turned a 68 into a 63. So, I’m happy about that.”
Els, who won his second U.S. Open and the Buick Classic on successive weekends in June, began the round at 4-under, six strokes behind surprising first-round leader Sonny Skinner. Skinner shot a 76 and was at 138.
Ben Crenshaw says he will undergo foot surgery after playing in the PGA Championship next week and will miss the rest of the season.
LPGA
Pat Hurst spent her afternoon hacking out of the sand on the way to a 3-under-par 69 and a one-stroke lead in the LPGA Friendly’s Classic at Agawam, Mass.
“Just making a sand save helps your confidence a lot,” Hurst said after reaching the tournament’s midway point at 5-under 139.
Chris Johnson, co-leader after the first round, shot a par 72 over the Crestview Country Club course and was at 140. Dottie Pepper (70), Karrie Webb (72), Kristi Albers (69), Nancy Harvey (68) and first-round co-leader Joan Pitcock (73) were at 3-under 141.
Tracy Hanson of Rathdrum, Idaho, is five strokes behind after shooting 71. Clarkston’s Robin Walton made the cut by one shot, with a second-round 74 for a total of 149.
Senior tour
Jose Maria Canizares of Spain, a veteran of the European PGA tour playing in only his fifth senior tournament, shot a course-record 8-under-par 64 for the first-round lead in the $1 million Northville Long Island Classic in Jericho, N.Y.
Canizares, 50, entered the tourney with a sponsor’s exemption and repaid the favor with an eagle and seven birdies on the 6,842-yard Meadow Brook Club course.
Hubert Green, winless in his rookie season after 26 years on the PGA Tour, shot a 65. Lee Trevino, the 1994 and 1995 Northville winner who has only two wins since then, shot a 66.
Walker Cup
Those who have played in the Walker Cup say the significance of the event hit them during the opening ceremony in Scarsdale, N.Y.
For 14 of the 20 players in this weekend’s competition at Quaker Ridge GC that moment came Friday when the flags of Britain, Ireland and the United States were raised.
It was then they realized that playing in the Walker Cup gives them something in common with Francis Ouimet, Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.
“This is the pinnacle of amateur golf,” U.S. captain Downing Gray said about the biennial team event. “It is an opportunity they’ve been afforded and I want them to suck in everything.”
The competition starts today and concludes Sunday.
Women’s Amateur
Robin Burke and Silvia Cavalleri converted solid play around the greens into berths in the championship match of the 97th USGA Women’s Amateur Championship at Brae Burn Country Club in Newton, Mass.
Burke, of Houston, defeated Heather Graff of Kennewick, Wash., 3 and 2 and Cavalleri, of Milan, Italy, defeated Andrea Baxter of Eagle, Idaho 2 and 1.