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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Leonard in front


Co-leader Justin Leonard acknowledges the gallery after putting for birdie on the 16th at the Colonial.Co-leader Justin Leonard acknowledges the gallery after putting for birdie on the 16th at the Colonial.
 (Associated PressAssociated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Associated Press

Justin Leonard looked as if he was on his way to another record round at the Colonial. Then he stumbled and had to settle for a share of the lead.

With a 6-under 64, Leonard ended the second round at 6-under 134 and as co-leader with fellow Texan J.L. Lewis in Fort Worth, Texas.

Leonard, who had a closing 61 in last year’s Colonial, was 7 under through 11 holes in the second round Friday. Then he had consecutive bogeys.

Still, he managed to complete his lowest round of the season on a day when wind gusts of up to 25 mph made for more Colonial-like conditions.

“I’ve been struggling the last few months and showing signs of playing well at times,” Leonard said. “So to go out and shoot a round like I did today, it feels pretty good. Hopefully, this is the beginning of some good play.”

The eight-time PGA winner has missed just one cut in 13 tournaments. But Leonard hasn’t finished better than 25th since tying for ninth at the FBR Open on Feb. 1.

First-round leader Craig Perks (71) overcame a 4-over start through five holes and was within one stroke of the lead at 5-under 135.

Perks was tied with Robert Gamez (64), Jeff Maggert (69) and Steve Flesch (69). Zach Johnson, Lee Janzen and Stewart Cink were at 136.

Weibring leads Allianz

D.A. Weibring settled in comfortably and shot a 6-under 65 for a two-stroke lead in the opening round of the Allianz Championship.

A 40-foot putt for birdie on No. 10 and 30-footers on 3 and 12 highlighted his bogey-free round at windy Glen Oaks in West Des Moines, Iowa, which played much tougher than in the tournament’s first three years, when it was held in the drier, firmer conditions of late summer.Tom Wargo, a notoriously slow starter, had an eagle and five birdies in a 67 that gave him sole possession of second place.

Morgan has four-shot advantage

Becky Morgan spent another day in the fairway, taking a four-stroke lead halfway through the Sybase Classic in New Rochelle, N.Y.

The 29-year-old native of Wales had her usual driving accuracy in a 7-under 64 that gave her an 11-under 131 total, four shots in front of Grace Park, Young-A Yang and Amy Hung.

Morgan led the LPGA Tour in driving accuracy last year at 83.4 percent and is second this year in that statistic, improving to 85.5 percent.