Murphy’s Course-Record 62 Leads Nfl Classic By 5 Strokes

Bob Murphy birdied the first five holes en route to a course-record 10-under-par 62 and a five-stroke lead after Friday’s opening round of the $950,000 Cadillac NFL Golf Classic at Clifton, N.J.

The 62 matched the lowest score on the Senior PGA Tour this year and the 10-under was the lowest below-par figure this year.

Murphy had nine birdies, holed an 8-iron from 134 yards for an eagle on No. 16 and had one bogey on the 6,816-yard Upper Montclair Country Club course in matching his best competitive score.

Murphy just missed a 7-footer for birdie on the par-5 18th.

In the Cadillac NFL Golf Classic also at the Upper Montclair Country Club, Baltimore Ravens tight end Brian Kinchen shot a 1-under 71 to lead a group of 12 qualifiers into the championship round.

Kinchen finished with the only subpar round among the 26 current and former NFL players trying to advance to today’s championship round.

Under a blazing Texas sun and flogged by gusting winds, Rocco Mediate fired a 4-under 66 and caught Wayne Levi at the midway point of the golden anniversary MasterCard Colonial at Fort Worth.

Levi had a 68 and clung to a share of the lead at 134, 6 under for two trips around the majestic old Colonial Country Club course. Former Pullman resident Kirk Triplett shot 74 and is at 2-over 142.

In Thame, England, Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain kept his lead after two rounds of the wind-chilled Benson and Hedges International, shooting a 2-under 70 for a 138 total. Colin Montgomerie, Bernhard Langer and Jon Robson were two back.

Nothing illustrated the tough conditions better than the 13 Padraig Harrington took on the par-5 17th. The winner last week of the Spanish Open, the 24-year-old Irishman dumped four balls into the water.

“I lost count of how many I had taken and I had to ask my caddy how many balls we had left in the bag,” said Harrington. “I’m delighted to be going home. … I need the break. I’ll be back in time for tea.”