Don Bies fired his second straight 66 Saturday to take a two-shot lead after two rounds of the Showdown Classic.
That's Don Bies, rhymes with trees, not Rives, rhymes with leaves, McBee, rhymes with tee. McBee, the first round leader with a 64, shot a 70 Saturday and is two shots behind Bies. Got that straight?For two days, these lesser-known seniors with the confusing names have taken over the leaderboard, while the better-known guys have stayed close, nipping at their heels.
Mike Hill, is tied for second with McBee at 134, while Lee Trevino and George Archer are tied another shot back at 135.
Those five players should fight it out for the $52,500 first prize in Sunday's final round. No one else really has a legitimate shot at winning.
Bies, McBee and Hill will play together in the last threesome for the second straight day, teeing off at 1:20 p.m. Trevino, Archer and Dick Rhyan, who stands at 137 after a 68, will play in the second-to-last group at 1:10 p.m.
Barring some sort of catastrophe, like say a hurricane or tornado, the tournament record of 9-under-par 207 will easily be broken Sunday. In fact the consensus among the leaders was that a 16-under-par total (200) will be needed to win.
"I need a 65 tomorrow," said Trevino as he relaxed with his fellow pros in the locker room, watching the final group finish on TV. "Don Bies is playing well and will shoot 69 or 70. If the weather stays like it is, 16-under will win it."
Bies said, "I'd certainly like to be 16-under tomorrow. I think I'll have a good shot at it if I shoot 68."
McBee said, "I'm going to have to shoot 66 to win tomorrow."
Hill was the only one to disagree, saying he'd take a 68 which would put him at 14-under total. "That will put me within one, one way or another."
For most of Saturday's second round, which was again played under near-perfect conditions, the lead danced between McBee, Bies, Hill and Archer.
McBee kept his lead from the first round through the completion of the front nine until Archer, with a red-hot 31, caught him at 10-under. Archer bogeyed 12 to fall out of the lead for good, but Hill jumped into a tie with McBee with an eagle at No. 13.
Bies grabbed a share of the lead for the first time with an eagle at No. 16 after McBee bogeyed 14. Hill also birdied there and he and Bies were on top at 12-under. But Hill bogeyed the last two holes, leaving Bies by himself at the top.
"It's been two good days of golf for me," said Bies, a soft-spoken 52-year-old from Seattle. "The most important thing is that I haven't made a bogey in 36 holes."
Bies ranks 23rd on the money list with his best finish being sixth place at the Tournament of Champions in January. Bies' best round of the year before this week was a 67 at the NYNEX Commemorative in New York and now he's come through with two straight 66s. Is the Jeremy course that easy?
"The course is in excellent condition," he said. "I like it here, but I really don't know why I play it that well."
Bies changed to his long putter on Friday after going with the smaller putter for five weeks. But he said that wasn't the reason for his great play.
"I've putted well, but not spectacular," he said.
Bies played the easier nine in just 2-under, but came through with birdies at 10 and 15 before his eagle at 16, when he rifled a 5-iron within six feet of the pin and sank the putt.
He had a chance to go to 7-under at 17 when he hit a 5-iron to within four feet. But he missed the putt and missed a chance to match his second-round 65 of a year ago.
McBee had his problems with consistency, starting off birdie, bogey, birdie, par, bogey, par, birdie. "I got a little tentative out there with the wind," he said. "I just made too many mistakes."
Hill didn't seem to be upset by his bogey-bogey finish. "There's a lot of guys who hit worse than I did. I don't know how you can be too upset. They don't shoot you if you make bogeys."
Trevino said he played decently but never got things rolling.
"I just didn't get the irons close today, that was all," he said. "I got four birdies and no bogeys and the only time I came close to a bogey was on No. 12. I had a lot of two-putts today."
Walt Zembriski, Dale Douglass and Rocky Thompson all fired 69s to finish the day at 139, along with John Paul Cain.
Utahn Bob Betley fired an even-par 72 and stands in a tie at 140 with Chi Chi Rodriguez, who recovered from his 73 with a 67 Saturday.
Billy Casper, Charles Coody and Orville Moody are all tied at 141, while defending champion Tom Shaw, Lou Graham and Phil Rodgers are all 142.