Golf

Monty battles, clings to slim lead

SAN FRANCISCO - Colin Montgomerie and John Daly would seem to have little in common except for their names atop the leaderboard at the American Express Championship.

Montgomerie plots his way around the golf course, and while Friday was a battle with jet lag, he scrambled well enough for a 1-under 69 at Harding Park that left him one shot clear of Daly and David Howell of England, with Tiger Woods and five others another shot behind.

Daly swings for the fences, and he drove the green on a par 4 for the second straight day, this time the 336-yard 16th as Woods was lining up a birdie putt ahead of him.

Montgomerie won last week on the European tour for the first time in 19 months and carrying the confidence that comes with trophies across eight time zones to San Francisco.

He was four shots worse Friday than his opening round, yet he felt even better about his chance to win for the first time in the United States. He refused to let a scrappy round get away from him, and he turned a big mess into a little one on the 18th by making a 4-footer for bogey that put him at 7-under 133.

"Overall, that's as good a round of golf as it was yesterday," Montgomerie said. "It was more of a battle today. I didn't get off to the flying start I did yesterday, so it was tougher, very much tougher. I'm as glad with that round today as I was yesterday, so I'm still in contention."

Harding Park, the municipal course with a $16 million makeover, has proven to be a worthy test through two rounds. It allows for good scores, dishes out bogeys with the slightest mistake and has so far kept anyone from running away from the field.

The result was 13 players within three shots of the lead, and 29 players only five shots behind.

One of them is Woods, who thought this might be his day to shoot to the top. He was wild off the tee at times, but not on the 344-yard seventh hole, when Woods noticed the tees about 25 yards up. He ripped his driver through the fog and knew it was good when he heard a gallery standing six-deep behind the green roar. The ball landed softly on the green 12 feet away to set up an eagle, and when he birdied the par-5 10th, he was tied for the lead.

But there were too many mistakes - missing the green with a lob wedge and a 9-iron - and he had to settle for a 68 that left him at 135 with a large group that included Mark Calcavecchia (68), Jim Furyk (67) and 23-year-old rookie Sean O'Hair (67).

"I turned a really good round into an OK round," Woods said. "Today I thought was my opportunity to do what Monty did yesterday. I made quite a few mistakes."

LPGA: Dawn Coe-Jones, who hasn't won on tour since 1995, shot a 5-under 66 to take a two-stroke lead over seven players after two rounds of the Longs Drugs Challenge in Auburn, Calif.

Cristie Kerr, who led by four strokes after an opening 62, had a second-round 75 that included a quadruple-bogey 9 on the 485-yard 15th, and was four strokes behind the leader.

Brittany Lincicome of Seminole followed her first-round 72 with a 4-under 67 that lifted her into a tie for 28th at 3-under 139.

CHAMPIONS TOUR: Doug Tewell, one of nine players to complete the first round of the rain-delayed Greater Hickory Classic in Conover, N.C., has the clubhouse lead at 2-under 70.

Gil Morgan and Don Pooley were one hole from knocking Tewell out of the top spot when plays was to resume this morning.

Morgan and Pooley were 4 under through 17 holes when play was stopped after daylong showers eventually overwhelmed the fairways at Rock Barn Golf & Spa.

Keith Fergus (14 holes), John Bland (12 holes) and Wayne Levi (10 holes) were also 4 under when played was called for the day.

EUROPEAN PGA: England's Stuart Little birdied three of the last four holes in a 4-under-par 67 and shared the lead with South Africa's Michael Kirk after two rounds of the Abama Open de Canarias in Tenerife, Canary Islands.

[Last modified October 8, 2005, 01:26:19]