THE CROSBY PRO-AM : Archer and Miller Are Tied for Lead at Halfway Point

Johnny Miller and George Archer, two native San Franciscans who know every nuance of the three Crosby Pro-Am courses, moved toward a possible showdown of former champions with a pair of sub-par rounds Friday. They are tied at five-under-par 139 at the halfway mark of the 44th Crosby.

Miller, who was the first-round leader with a 68 at Spyglass Hill in Thursday’s wind storm, shot a 71 at Pebble Beach under ideal conditions. Archer, who opened with 69 at Pebble Beach, shot 70 at Cypress Point.

Archer, 45, won the Crosby in 1969, the same year he won the Masters. Miller, 37, won the Crosby in 1974 and also won the 1968 California State Amateur at Pebble Beach.

THE LEADERS

THROUGH 36 HOLES

Johnny Miller 68-71--139 George Archer 69-70--139 Brad Faxon 72-68--140 Ken Brown 71-70--141

Complete results, Page 18.

Brad Faxon, 1983 collegiate player of the year at Furman who is looking for his first win in two years as a professional, shot a 68 at Cypress to close within a shot of the leaders. Another shot back at 141 is Ken Brown, a slender Englishman testing his skills on the American tour. Brown shot 70 at Pebble Beach.

A international group of six are bunched at 142. Australian Greg Norman moved into contention with a 68 at Spyglass after his 74 opening round. Japan’s Kikuo Arai, making his U.S. debut, had a 69 and Taiwan’s T.C. Chen a 73 at Pebble Beach. Other 142s were Mark O’Meara, 72 at Pebble; Doug Tewell, 70 at Cypress, and D.A. Weibring, 69 at Cypress.

As Archer said Thursday, a key to the Crosby is getting the right golf course on the right day.

Cypress was a graveyard of hopes Thursday, but those who played it Friday found it pleasurable. And some of those whose scores soared in the wind shot their way back on Friday’s sunny and nearly wind-free day.

Bob Murphy showed the most improvement, picking up 19 strokes by following an 88 with a 69.

Hal Sutton, with help from his first career hole-in-one, improved 16 strokes from an 87 to a 71. The 1983 player of the year used a 7-iron on the 150-yard third hole at Spyglass.

Other major improvements: Tom Sieckmann, 82 to 71; Hale Irwin, 77 to 71; Don Halldorson, 78 to 71; Chris Perry, 84 to 70, and Mike Hulbert, 81 to 69.

All told, 52 pros improved their score by five shots or more.

Not everyone improved after leaving Cypress, however. Lanny Wadkins had 73 in the wind at Cypress, but only a 74 at passive Pebble Beach. Masters champion Ben Crenshaw went from 79 to 81, and Barry Jaeckel from 76 to 80.

“It looked as if the 49ers held a scrimmage on the greens at Pebble Beach,” Miller said, then hastened to add that “it isn’t the superintendent’s fault, it’s because they run the public through Pebble like a herd of cattle, so there’s never a chance to work on them. They’re as bumpy and ragged as I have ever seen them. I’ll be very surprised if we see any rounds in the low 60s the last two days.”

After today’s third round of this round-robin tournament, the low 60 professionals and ties return to Pebble Beach for the final showdown for the $90,000 first prize. The low 25 amateur teams also play for the Crosby Pro-Am trophy.

One of the pro-am teams in the hunt is Nicklaus and Nicklaus, Jack and Jackie Jr. Father is at 76-72--148 after two rounds, but Junior, who is playing to a 4 handicap, has helped 14 strokes, putting the team at 134, six shots back of the leaders, Hubie Green and Dean Spanos. Green made a hole-in- one on the 107-yard seventh hole at Pebble Beach.

For a time, it appeared Miller might be on his way to one of his patented runaways. He birdied three of the first six holes with three dead-to-the-pin approach shots, a wedge to 1 foot on the 388-yard third hole, a 9-iron to 18 inches on the 327-yard fourth and a chip to a foot on the 516-yard par-5 sixth.

But as quickly as he marched up the leader board, he dropped back down with three bogeys. He was in a bunker on No. 7, he missed the green on No. 8, and he took three putts on No. 10.

Miller was leading going to the 18th hole, but he hit his tee shot into the ocean and ended up with a 6 on the par-5 hole.

“I wanted to hit a 1-iron off the tee, but my caddy talked me into using my metal driver,” Miller said. “With the metal wood, I either hit it straight or hit a fade, so he said there was no worry about going in the water. But I pulled it and it trickled down the bank into the water. If I was three feet to the right, I’d have been OK.”

Archer, who nearly quit golf a couple of years ago because he was playing so poorly, credits a weight-training program suggested by his wife for his remarkable improvement. His win last year in the Bank of Boston tournament was his first since he won the Sahara Invitational in 1976.

“I work out first thing in the morning, then eat breakfast and do what’s got to be done,” Archer said. “I never thought I’d ever do any exercises like that, but Donna started doing them and talked me into it. I’m convinced now it’s made the difference in my game. I’m 45 and I’m hitting the ball farther than I ever did before, and I don’t get tired like I did a few years ago.”

For two days straight, former U.S. Open and PGA champion Larry Nelson has started out on a birdie binge, only to collapse on his second nine. Thursday, he had a 4-under-par 32 at Pebble Beach before taking 40 coming in, and Friday he had another 32 at Cypress Point, before skidding to a 41.