GOLF ROUNDUP : Couples Stays Under Par, on Top of Pack in Memorial

Gale-force winds subsided somewhat and scores improved, but Fred Couples remained the only man under par Friday at the halfway point of the $1-million Memorial tournament at Dublin, Ohio.

“There was some wind and it seemed to be gusty--blow a little, stop, blow a little--and it was a little warmer, a lot more playable,” said Couples, whose bogey-bogey finish on Friday dropped him to a 74 and a one-shot lead over Don Pooley.

Couples, who won the L. A. Open earlier this year, finished two rounds over Jack Nicklaus’ Muirfield Village Golf Club course in 143, one under par. He said that one under might be good enough to win the tournament if weather continues to be the factor it was the first two days.

Pooley, who won the Memorial in 1987, managed a 71 on Friday and was second alone at par 144.

Winds of 10-15 m.p.h. and warmer temperatures Friday were in sharp contrast to Thursday’s extremely difficult conditions that tormented the field and produced some bizarre scores. The field averaged 78.9 strokes Thursday.

Charles Owens overcame blustery conditions to shoot a 5-under-par 67 and take the first-round lead of a $450,000 Senior PGA tournament at Oklahoma City.

Owens held a three-stroke lead over Terry Dill and put himself in a position to become the first player to win a Senior PGA tournament and the Classics portion of the event. The Classics is for players 60 and older and winds up after two rounds.

In rain and strong winds at the 6,708-yard Quail Creek Golf and Country Club, Owens was 2-under after four holes, bogeyed No. 5, then picked up birdies at 6, 8 and 9 to make the turn at minus-4.

He holed out from a greenside bunker on the par-3 12th hole to get to 5-under, then birdied No. 16 with a 25-foot putt from off the fringe. A bogey at 17 left him 5-under.

Don January led a group of five players at 71.

Dottie Mochrie continued her comeback from a shoulder injury with a 5-under-par 67 that gave her a two-shot lead after the opening round of a $350,000 LPGA tournament at Chesapeake, Va.

Mochrie birdied five holes on the back nine of Greenbrier Country Club’s 6,275-yard layout. Following her bogey-free round, Mochrie’s closest pursuers were Rosie Jones, Kathy Guadagnino and Dee Dee Lasker, all at 69.