Golf Roundup : Eagle Helps Jacobsen Take 2-Shot Lead

Peter Jacobsen scored an eagle 3 on the way to a 7-under-par 65 Friday that gave him a two-shot lead in the second round of the $900,000 Western Open golf tournament at Oak Brook, Ill.

Jacobsen, on the rebound from a back injury that has slowed him for four seasons, was at 9-under-par 135 after playing 36 holes on the Butler National Golf Club course.

“I don’t think I’ll shoot 9 under (par) for the next two days, but if I can continue to putt like I did the last two rounds, I’ve got a good chance of winning,” said Jacobsen, who one-putted nine greens in the best round of the tournament.

The eagle came on the 12th hole, when he hit a 5-iron second shot within 8 feet of the pin and made the putt. He avoided what would have been his only bogey by sinking another 8-footer on the final hole after sending his approach into a bunker.

“You don’t want to make bogey on the last hole,” he said. “Making a putt like that gives me a lot of momentum.”

Ed Fiori and Dan Forsman shared second place at 137. Fiori had a 67, and Forsman shot a 69.

PGA champion Larry Nelson, a winner last week in Atlanta, moved up with a 69 and was at 140.

Jacobsen won two tournaments in 1984 but suffered a back injury the next year and has been trying to come back ever since.

One of the high points of his comeback effort was a course-record 64 in the last round of the recent U.S. Open.

“I’m just getting my game back,” Jacobsen said. “I got a lot of confidence from the Open that I can shoot low rounds again.

“There’s no question about it. I’m playing better now than I have at any time since ’84.”

Sally Little overcame damp playing conditions to shoot a 7-under-par 65 and take a one-shot lead in the second round of the $500,000 du Maurier tournament at the Vancouver Country Club in Coquitlam, Canada.

Little had seven birdies in a bogey-free round that left her at 5-under-par 139.

Laura Davies of England, Debbie Massey and first-round leader Sherri Turner were at 140.

Davies shot a 71, Massey had a 68, and Turner matched par with a 72.

Light rain and misty conditions made the course difficult for some but not for Little.

“This is great golfing weather as long as you’re dressed warmly,” said the 36-year-old South African native, who now lives in Delray Beach, Fla.

Little has gone six years without a win on the LPGA Tour. She had four victories in 1982, before abdominal surgery slowed her career.

Mark McNulty of Zimbabwe and Jose Rivero of Spain shared the lead after the third round of the $374,000 Monte Carlo Open.

Leading the field by one shot after two rounds, McNulty shot a 1-under-par 68 for a total of 11-under-par 196. Rivero, a two-time Ryder Cup player, shot a 67 to pull even with McNulty.

Severiano Ballesteros, who also had a 67, was at 198 going into today’s final round.

An eagle 3 at the opening hole for Ballesteros was followed by bogeys at the second and fourth holes.

British Open champion Nick Faldo shot a 69 for a share of 14th place at 205.