Sports

Monday was a great time for Bob Friend to break out of a seasonlong slump. He posted rounds of 69 and 68 on the first day of the Frank B. Fuhrer Jr. Invitational at the Pittsburgh Field Club and takes a three-shot lead into this morning's third round.

If he comes close to those numbers over the next two days, chances are he'll return to his duties as director of golf at Pikewood National Golf Club in Morgantown, W.Va., $25,000 richer.

"I had not played well all year," Friend said early yesterday evening after the weather-delayed second round had been completed. "Whether it's been competitive golf or customer golf, it just hasn't been good. As a matter of fact, these were my first two rounds in the 60s this year, competitive or customer."

Friend was the only player in the 40-man field to post both rounds in the 60s. There were only seven such rounds total.

Part of the reason for that was the difficulty of the golf course. It has become softer as the monsoon season progresses in Western Pennsylvania.

Three-tenths of an inch of rain early yesterday morning added to the degree of difficulty and frustration.

"I think the guys are probably a little frustrated by the greens being as soft as they are because of how much balls were sucking back on them," said amateur Nathan Smith, who is definitely the hottest player in the field. "Considering the kind of weather we've had, the course is in great shape, but spinning the ball was happening a lot out there."

Smith is in a three-way tie for second after shooting a pair of 70s. He's there with Fox Chapel Golf Club assistant Jason Martin (73-67), last year's runner-up in this event, and veteran Roy Vucinich, the first-round leader at 68, who shot 72 in the afternoon.

"I'm right about where you need to be," Vucinich said. "This is a good golf course. You shoot 280 around here (for four rounds), and you'll have done well. I got a little tired this afternoon and pulled a couple tee shots. But, like I said, I'm about where I wanted to be."

Four others, including Totteridge head pro Ryan Sikora, tied at 142 through two rounds.

"I played much better than that; I just couldn't make a lot of putts," said Sikora, who like Oakmont's Bob Ford put 69 on the board in the second round. "I think I missed two greens all afternoon."

Smith came into the Fuhrer having won the West Penn Amateur and last week's West Penn Open and performed well in some other national amateur events.

"Yeah, I guess I still feel like I'm on some sort of roll, but it wasn't quite as easy as it had been," Smith said. "I had to really grind to get in with what I did. A four-round tournament like this one is so different than say, a 36-hole event. In those, you have to be aggressive. In this one, patience is real important. Just hang around and be smart."

Third-round play starts at 7:30 this morning.

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