Amateur Keeps Open Dream Alive : Boydston Stays Within 6 Shots; Beard Takes Senior Lead

The fog arrived early Friday, delaying the start of the second round of the U.S. Senior Open at Laurel Valley Golf Course--and prolonging amateur Frank Boydston’s stay on the leader board.

As Frank Beard took over the lead at the halfway point of the tournament with a five-under-par 139, Boydston, only one stroke off the pace after the first round, made birdies on Nos. 17 and 18 and finished his round with a 76, four over par.

Boydston, the hamburger entrepreneur from Phoenix who shocked the pros with a 69 in the first round, was six shots off the pace but in much better shape than Arnold Palmer, the hometown favorite and host pro. Palmer, still having problems with his irons and his putter, shot a 77.

Palmer’s 153 qualified him for the final 36 holes but he has little chance to score his first victory before his home fans.

Beard, playing in his eighth tournament in nine weeks since he became eligible for the Senior PGA Tour, shot a three-under-par 69 in the second round. He led Al Geiberger, Bobby Nichols and Don Bies by one stroke.

Bies, the leading money winner in his second season as a senior, is mastering the course that Palmer remodeled into a U.S. Open layout, shooting 13 birdies thus far. In the opening round, he also had three double bogeys, but Friday he was on target, firing a six-under-par 66, one stroke off the tournament record held by Miller Barber and Doug Sanders.

Geiberger, the first-round leader with a 68, played a steady 72 on a course that is rapidly drying out after having been soggy all week. Nichols had his second 70.

As is usual in a U.S. Open, there were only seven golfers under par. Dale Douglass is two shots behind Beard at 141. Dave Hill is another shot back and Harold Henning, tied with Boydston after the first round, is one under at 143.

Gary Player, seeking a third consecutive Senior Open title, shot a 73 and is tied with Boydston. Bob Charles, who complained about the severity of the greens, had putting problems and is at 147.

Beard, who lost a playoff two weeks ago and has yet to win as a senior, gave credit for his recent improvement to Phil Rodgers, recently recently eligible for the tour. Rodgers, a Southern Californian, is renowned for helping fellow pros.

“I wouldn’t be telling the truth if I didn’t say that the main reason I’m here is because Phil Rodgers straightened me out,” Beard said. “Nobody knows more about the golf swing than he does.”

While his fellow pros are talking about how you have to play this course cautiously, Bies is firing everything at the flag. Even the speeded up greens couldn’t stop him.

He made two equipment changes in March that changed his game completely. At the Vantage in Indian Wells, he changed irons. Later, he switched from a conventional putter to one with a 46-inch handle and now he uses the pendulum swing that has become so popular with the seniors.

“Never in my life have I hit irons as well as I am now,” Bies said. “I was hitting the ball so close to the hole that I didn’t really have any long putts. It was really a fun round.

“Today I missed only one fairway and one green. Yesterday, despite six birdies, I missed five greens, lost seven shots on those holes and wound up with a 74.”

Bies and Geiberger were together in a threesome playing behind a twosome. They started on the back nine when the USGA divided the field, starting half on No. 1 and the other half on No. 10.

The Geiberger group was called for slow play. It happened with three holes remaining and Geiberger was visibly upset. Not Bies, who finished with three birdies.

Said Boydston, one of the last to start in the unwieldy field of 150: “Look at these people asking for my autograph. Can you believe it? I wonder when it will hit me.”

Not for another day at least. For the first time in his life, he had a gallery of several hundred when he teed off. Some were yelling encouragement. Most deserted him after he lost four strokes in seven holes, but he refused to collapse and finished strong. He chipped in on the 17th and sank a long putt on No. 18.

Sixty-five players made the cut at 156, 12 over par. That’s the U.S. Open.