Playing Catch-Up

The second round of the PGA Club Professional Championship is underway after the first round of the storm-delayed event finished up Friday morning.

SANTA ANA PUEBLO, N.M. -- The second round of the PGA Club Professional Championship is underway at Twin Warriors Golf Club after the first round of the storm-delayed event finished up Friday morning. About 30 players were stranded on the course at nightfall Thursday after a one hour and 45 minute suspension of play earlier in the day because of a passing lightning storm.

None of the morning finishers could overtake overnight leader Alan Morin of Royal Palm Beach, Fla., who had posted a 5-under 67 Thursday. But Ron Philo, Jr., of Stowe, Vt., came close, finishing up at 4-under 68 to move to within a shot of the top spot after birdies on No. 16 and 17 Friday morning.

Philo was followed by Micah Rudosky of Cortez, Colo., and Brad Westfall of Grafton, W. Va., who were two shots back after posting 69s on Thursday.

Among those also among the top contenders at 2-under 70 were: Frank Bensel of Purchase, N.Y.; Michael Deuel of Endwell, N.Y.; Terry Hatch of Pottsville, Pa.; Bob Sowards of Columbus, Ohio; and Chris Tucker of Charlotte, N.C.

Morin had been worried that he had "lost his swing" after playing in last week's U.S. Open. But he got timely advice from two South Florida colleagues on the practice range Thursday.

The lone PGA Professional to compete in the U.S. Open at Olympia Fields, Ill., Morin missed the cut. He then flew to the 5,400-foot elevation of north central New Mexico and turned in his best performance in nine rounds at the showcase event for PGA Professionals.

The 34-year-old assistant professional at The Falls Country Club in Lake Worth, Fla., collected four back-nine birdies to offset an 18th-hole bogey just before sunset.

"I was really worried, because my swing was gone. I had nothing," said Morin. "So I asked a couple of buddies from my Section this morning to take a look at my swing. They (Dean Prowse of Weston and Nevin Sutcliffe of Lehigh) told me my hands were going outside.

"They told me to drop them a little more inside. That's what I worked on all day," he added. "It's (traveling from the Open to the CPC) is not that bad. I get excited about these events. I gear up for them."

Competing at the 7,624-yard Twin Warriors Golf Club, the longest course in PGA of America history, Morin was 3-under-par through 10 holes before the weather delay. As play resumed, Morin made a six-foot birdie putt on the 11th hole, then added birdies on the 14th and 16th holes. He slightly mishit a 5-iron approach, then chipped nine feet above the hole and missed the comeback par putt.

The 36th PGA Club Professional Championship, presented by Buick, Club Car, Titleist/FootJoy Worldwide and Cobra Golf, features a total purse of $400,000. The 156-player field, representing 38 states and 38 PGA Sections, will be trimmed to the low 70 and ties after Friday's round. The low 25 scorers after Sunday's final round will earn a berth in the 85th PGA Championship, Aug. 14-17, at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y.