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Hoch shows his Ryder Cup boss some good form

LAKE BUENA VISTA -- Several weeks ago, Scott Hoch told Curtis Strange, captain of the U.S. Ryder Cup team, that he was going to play well for him at the matches.

"I guess my timing was off," Hoch said Friday.

Playing with Strange during the first two rounds of the Disney Golf Classic, Hoch, 46, shot 64-65, two shots behind second-round leader Chris DiMarco. Two weeks ago, he finished second at the Michelob Championship.

"I played good over there (at the Ryder Cup) and didn't get anything to show for it," said Hoch, who went 0-3-1 at the Ryder Cup playing for Strange, a former teammate at Wake Forest. "I didn't play poorly at all, but my record would not indicate that. It was just all in who you play. I finished second (at the Michelob Championship) and I'm not sure I played as well there as I did in England."

NOT QUITTING: At age 44, and concluding a disappointing season, Hal Sutton is not ready to call it a career. In fact, he's looking forward to next season. Sutton, 150th on the money list, shot his best score of the year, 67, in Thursday's first round, then added 71 Friday to make the cut at 138. The Disney Classic is his last official event of the season.

"I still like what I do," said Sutton, likely to be the next U.S. Ryder Cup team captain in 2004. "I'll probably still play 25 (events) next year. At my age, you can't play 15 and stay very competitive. I haven't been very competitive this year. The more you play, the better chance you got of keeping your body ready."

Sutton said he plans to put his clubs away for the most part in the offseason and try to get into shape. A disorder, sleep apnea, caused him to gain weight.

"It's better, but my main thing is to lose the weight I gained from it," he said. "That's going to be my goal in the offseason. I'll work on my game some but it's getting a lot better, so I don't have to work as hard as I've been working. It's much better than it has been."

RECORD WATCH: DiMarco's 17-under 127 total broke the 36-hole tournament record of 128 set by Tim Simpson (64-64) in 1990 and tied by Steve Flesch (63-65) in 2000. DiMarco also established a tournament record low for consecutive 36 holes, bettering the mark of 128 set by Simpson and matched by John Huston in 1992 (third and fourth rounds) and Flesch. ... The 36-hole cut of 6 under is the lowest in the history of the PGA Tour. The best was 5 under, set at the 1971 Phoenix Open and tied three times, including last year at the Disney Golf Classic. ... DiMarco needed 21 putts in his round of 63 and has 44 through two rounds. The PGA Tour record for fewest putts in a 72-hole tournament is 93, set by Kenny Knox at the 1989 MCI Heritage Classic and tied by Mark Calcavecchia at this year's Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic.

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