Second Round Is A Breeze For Elkington
The safest place when a gentle morning breeze turned into an annoying afternoon wind in the Players Championship was in the clubhouse - exactly where leader Steve Elkington was hanging out.
By the time Elkington finished at 9-under-par 135, shots that plopped close to the pin early Friday were finding bogey-making rough on the Stadium Course of the TPC at Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
Taking advantage of ideal playing conditions early, Elkington made five birdie putts, all from 20 feet or less, and shot a 69 to finish 36 holes one stroke ahead of Larry Mize and two better than Tommy Tolles and David Edwards.
“Obviously, teeing off early this morning, the conditions of the course were perfect,” Elkington said. “It’s gotten a little breezy out there now and the course is starting to dry out a little bit.”
Mize and Tolles also took advantage of the soft course and morning breeze, Mize shooting a 68 and Tolles a 67. Edwards survived the breezy afternoon with a 70.
British Open champion Tom Lehman, one of the few others to handle the afternoon wind; Craig Parry; and Davis Love III, who had a 66, were at 138. Ernie Els, Fuzzy Zoeller and former Pullman resident Kirk Triplett were in a group at 139.
Masters champion Nick Faldo and Greg Norman were at 143. Tiger Woods was at 144 after shooting a 73, only his second above-par score in 21 rounds this year. Defending champion Fred Couples was at 145. All four played in the windy afternoon.
“Serious change,” Lehman said, raising his eyebrows as he described the weather.
“The wind has been strong all afternoon. I feel like I spent all day trying to get up and down,” he said after missing nine greens and using only 25 putts. “I felt like 71 was a pretty good score.”
It was an excellent score. The morning players shot a cumulative 61 strokes over par while the afternoon players were 114 over par - a 53-stroke difference.
Robbins leads Dinah Shore
Kelly Robbins, a model of consistency on the LPGA tour the past four years, shot a scrambling 67 Friday to move in front after two rounds of the Nabisco Dinah Shore at Rancho Mirage, Calif.
Robbins’ 5-under-par round put her 7-under for the tournament, the women’s first major championship of the year.
Two-time Dinah Shore winner Betsy King, who went into a tailspin last year after making the LPGA Hall of Fame by winning her 30th title in 1995, charged into contention with a 67 that left her one shot behind Robbins. King won the tournament in 1987 and 1990.
Clarkston’s Robin Walton shot a 76 and Tracy Hanson of Rathdrum, Idaho, had a 73, to both finish at 149, making the cut.
Marsh’s ace gets him lead
Graham Marsh had a hole-in-one on the 17th hole, helping him to a 5-under 67 and a first-round tie with John Jacobs in the Southwestern Bell Dominion Seniors tournament at San Antonio.