Davis Love III and Tom Watson took advantage of relative sedate conditions and light winds to advance to the top of the leaderboard Friday in the second round of the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
While the bulk of the vast gallery - along with hundreds of clicking cameras, autograph seekers, confusion and congestion - flocked to Poppy Hills to watch the celebrity amateurs, Love and Watson played a few miles away at Pebble Beach, one of three Monterey Peninsula courses used in this unique event.And they made the most of the opportunities provided by what Watson described as "very little wind; pretty easy scoring conditions."
Love, author of a 60 in his last tournament, reeled off a string of four consecutive birdies in a 6-under-par 66 that put him through 36 holes at 135, nine under par.
"I feel like I'm right there, from just playing great," said Love, who finished second and third in two previous starts this season.
Watson, 44, and determined to break a non-winning string that goes back to 1987, had a 67 and was at 136.
"I'm playing well, well enough to win," Watson said. "Now, we'll just have to see what happens."
And Watson, playing at the site of his 1982 U.S. Open triumph, had a forecast of what that might be.
"I'm going to win this year," he said. "I'm not going to guarantee it like Jimmy Johnson, but I'm confident I'm going to win."
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In Key Biscayne, Fla., Jay Sigel never played for a paycheck before, and Lee Trevino has been doing it most of his life. The difference meant 11 strokes Friday.
Trevino shot a 5-under-par 66 for a one-shot lead in the Royal Caribbean Classic, the first full-field event of the Senior PGA Tour.
Sigel, a two-time U.S. Amateur champion making his professional debut, struggled to a 77.
"There's no question in my mind that he has all the tools," Trevino said. "It depends how he takes having p-r-o in front of his name now."
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In Lake Worth, Fla., Lisa Walters shot a six-under-par 66 Friday to take a one-shot lead after the opening round of the Palm Beach Classic.
Katie Peterson-Parker and Dawn Coe-Jones tied for second by shooting 67 at the Wycliffe Golf and Country Club.