FORT WORTH, Texas — From its Ben Hogan trophy room to its status as the longest-running event at its original site, the Colonial Country Club is among the most venerable stops on the PGA Tour. This week, the ol’ course is playing like a pitch-and-putt.
Steve Stricker shot his second straight 63 on Friday, giving him a 14-under-par 126 total that set records for 36 holes and for any consecutive rounds at the Crowne Plaza Invitational — yet was barely enough to top a leaderboard filled with players taking advantage of light wind and pillow-soft greens.
Tim Clark, Vijay Singh and Sean O’Hair shot 64s and were lined up right behind Stricker: Clark was one shot back, Singh one more and O’Hair yet another.
Jason Day (65) was 10-under, Woody Austin (68) was another stroke back, and Ryan Palmer (63) was 8-under.
“The weather, for two days in a row — well, all week since we’ve been here — has been unbelievable,” Stricker said. “Wind is what this course needs to get difficult, but we haven’t seen it yet. . . . I kind of like what’s going on right now.”
Leaderboard crowded
WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Champions Tour newcomer Olin Browne, Lonnie Nielsen and Bruce Vaughan are tied for the lead at 4-under after the opening round of the Principal Charity Classic.
Eleven others were within one shot of the lead, including Nick Price, Fred Funk and Tom Kite.
Footnotes.
Jeev Milkha Singh and Michael Lorenzo-Vera shot 5-under 69s to share the second-round lead at 8-under 136 at the European Open in Ash, England.
• David Lingmerth aced the third hole and won his match in the semifinals, helping Arkansas defeat Georgia 3 1/2-1 1/2 and advance to today’s NCAA Division I men’s team championship against Texas A&M in Toledo, Ohio. The Aggies defeated Michigan by the same score in the other semifinal.
The Associated Press
