ORLANDO, Fla. -- Davis Love III caused an eruption Friday in the Bay Hill Invitational, and it wasn't just with the 6-under 66 that pulled him into a share of the lead.
Disgusted by a buried lie in the bunker on No. 17 in which he did well to blast out 45 feet by the hole, Love broke a sprinkler head with his sand wedge that caused water to gush into the bunker and really turn it into a beach.Then he struck paydirt.
Love holed the long par putt, then made a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th to join Tim Herron at 9-under 135 going into the weekend.
"I just got frustrated and lost my patience," Love said. "Suffice to say that I'm embarrassed. I better win this week because Arnold Palmer might not invite me back."
With birdies on all of the par 5s, Love put himself in position to win Palmer's tournament, which would be long overdue.
He blew a chance to win Bay Hill in 1989 when he and Tom Kite double bogeyed the 72nd hole and Kite won in a playoff, and he finished two strokes behind Ben Crenshaw in 1992. A year ago, Love was in the final threesome for a 36-hole final with Ernie Els and Tiger Woods, which Els won handily.
"I'd love to win this tournament just because it's Arnold's tournament," Love said.
With more sunshine and little wind forecast for the weekend, the final 36 holes will be played over two days this time -- and the list of contenders runs much deeper.
Andrew Magee, feeding off confidence from his runner-up finish in the Match Play Championship, made two 40-foot putts in a round of 67 that left him one stroke behind at 136. Resurgent Tom Lehman got into contention for the first time since a shoulder injury with a 68 that put him at 137.
Among those within five shots of the lead are Vijay Singh and Lee Westwood at 139, and Colin Montgomerie, Payne Stewart and Justin Leonard at 140.
Defending champion Ernie Els, in danger of missing the cut, had a 67 and was still in the hunt at 141, along with 1997 winner Phil Mickelson.
Tiger Woods will be around for the weekend but only because of Matt Kuchar.
Woods had a 72 for 2-over 146 that ordinarily would have been one stroke short of making the cut because he was tied for 71st. But Kuchar is an amateur, and the cut is for the top 70 "professionals," so everyone at 146 made it.
SENIOR LEGENDS: At St. Augustine, Fla., the weather was good, the format was two-man, best-ball and the course was young and untested.
In other words, life was beautiful for Gil Morgan and Hubert Green in the Legends of Golf on Friday.
The pair combined for an 11-under-par 61 to take a one-stroke lead over David Graham and Jay Sigel after the first round of the seniors event, sponsored by Liberty Mutual.
John Mahaffey and Tom Wargo shot 63 to finish another shot back. At 65 were the teams of George Archer and Simon Hobday, Jimmy Powell and Orville Moody, and Al Geiberger and Tom Shaw.
LPGA-STANDARD REGISTER: At Phoenix, Tracy Hanson dodged most of the pitfalls that derailed others during Friday's second round of the Standard Register Ping and opened a one-shot lead on Karrie Webb and Lorie Kane at 9-under-par 135.
Hanson shot a 69 on Friday after an opening 66 left her one shot off the lead.
She was one of the few who tamed the 6,435-yard Moon Valley Country Club course, where par was reduced and several greens were rebuilt in the offseason.
Defending champion Liselotte Neumann was glaringly absent after the weekend field was trimmed to 71. Neumann, who beat Rosie Jones in a playoff last year, had a second-round 72 after her opening 82, and missed the cut of 2-over 146.
Jones' 36-hole score was 147, taking the other playoff participant out of the tournament.
U.S. Women's Open winner Se Ri Pak, who won three other titles last year as a rookie, and Patty Sheehan, whose 1993 victory in Phoenix gained her entry into the LPGA Hall of Fame, were at 148 and also missed the cut, as did Danielle Ammaccapane, a two-time Phoenix winner, who came in at 151.
Helen Alfredsson was at 138, with Tina Barrett at 139, and Laura Davies and Kim Saiki five shots behind Hanson. Davies won four consecutive titles at Moon Valley until Neumann broke the string in 1998.