The weather took some shots away from J.C. Snead. Then it gave one back.
Snead hit a 403-yard drive on the par-4, 450-yard 14th hole of the Cochise Course at Desert Mountain in Scottsdale, Ariz., beginning a string of three birdies in the last five holes, and went on to lead The Tradition at the midpoint by one shot over Raymond Floyd.
Snead’s second straight 69 and total of 6-under-par 138 didn’t look like much, but it was enough to bring him from four shots back in the year’s first senior major. Considering the erratic gusts of 25-40 m.p.h. that whipped the 6,891-yard mountainside layout, it was a masterpiece.
By comparison, first-round co-leaders Ed Sneed and Hale Irwin shot 75 and 76, respectively.
Jack Nicklaus, who designed the course, carded a 74, and Jim Colbert had a 76. Only nine of 78 players broke par, and the wind badgered Ken Still into a 14-over 86.
PGA BellSouth Classic: Neal Lancaster got away with a lot of bad shots in the second round at Marietta, Ga. British Open champion John Daly didn’t get away with one horrible hole.
Lancaster survived with a 2-under-par 70 to share the 36-hole lead with Gene Sauers, but Daly missed the cut after using a dozen shots on the par-5 No. 8, his 17th hole of the day.
Sauers recorded a 68 to share the lead at 7-under-par 137.
Lancaster and Sauers held a one-shot lead over Nick Price and David Duval, following 70s for each.
Daly was three shots off the lead before No. 8, which he declined to talk about later.
Twelve Bridges LPGA: Reigning U.S. Open champion Annika Sorenstam took a one-stroke lead in the second round of the $500,000 tournament in Lincoln, Calid.
Sorenstam led Caroline Pierce and first-round leader Emilee Klein after finishing with a 5-under-par 66. Her two-day total stands at 135.
