Davis leads way

Like the temperature at the beach when the sun goes down in early

spring, scores were dropping fast Saturday in the second round of the

Toshiba Senior Classic at Newport Beach Country Club.

Australian Rodger Davis, one of the more popular and colorful

players on the PGA European and Australasian tours, has never won in

the United States, but hopes to change that today as he takes a

two-stroke into today’s final round of the PGA Champions Tour event.

A winner of 33 titles worldwide, Davis led the way in blitzing the

golf course for a second straight day as he carded a 7-under-par 64.

Not only is it the first time the 51-year-old has enjoyed a lead on

the Champions Tour after 36 holes, he established the best 36-hole

total in tournament history with a 129, breaking the old mark of 130

by Terry Mauney two years ago.

Davis leads the field of 81 players by two strokes, ahead of

first-round leader Jim Ahern, who shot 67 in the second round to move

to 11-under 131. David Eger and 2001 Toshiba Senior Classic champion

Jose Maria Canizares are tied for third at 10-under, ahead of

defending Toshiba Classic winner Hale Irwin and John Jacobs, who are

tied at 9-under.

Larry Nelson, who continued his remarkable second-round success at

Newport Beach, posted another 64 to battle his way into possible

contention today at 8-under. Nelson, tied with Wayne Levi, fired a

tournament second-round record 63 two years ago and added a 64 last

year in the second round.

Prior to this year, there were only six rounds of 64 or better in

the tournament since 1996 at Newport Beach, including the two by

Nelson. This year, however, already there have been three rounds of

64 or lower -- Ahern in the first round Friday and Davis and Nelson

Saturday.

In the previous eight Toshiba tournaments, only three players who

have led or been tied for the lead after 36 holes have gone on to win

the event. [Jim Colbert in 1996, Allen Doyle in 2000 and Hale Irwin

last year. Doyle’s win came when the final round was rained out.]

After 38 players finished with rounds in the 60s on Friday, a

total of 37 players did so on Saturday. Surprisingly, the scoring

average for the day (70.137) was close to Friday’s (70.173). A total

of 56 players finished with rounds of par or better each day.