Trevino Hits Halfway Point of Senior Open at 9 Under

Lee Trevino took a more aggressive approach with his driver today, shot a 68 and opened a four-stroke lead in the second round of the U.S. Senior Open golf tournament.

Trevino, winner of five titles on the over-50 tour this year and a runner-up in his last two starts, reached the tournament halfway point with a 36-hole total of 135, nine under par.

With more than half the field of 156 still playing, Mike Hill was second at 139.

“I think Lee can do just about anything he wants to,” Hill said. “He’s playing good. He’s on a roll. He’s beating hell out of us. All we can do is just try to hang in there.”

Trevino, however, was angered by a lapse that cost him a bogey-6 on the 17th hole.

“My chili is hot,” he said.

“There’s no excuse for making bogey on a par-5 hole. Never. No excuse. I can go out there and par the hole with a wedge. I’ll be on it. And I had a whole set of clubs to play with and I can’t make par.”

Trevino was five under par for the day and running away from the field when he hit a two-iron tee shot through the fairway on the 17th and played a five-wood second from the rough. He missed the green with a seven-iron third shot--”It was the wrong club,” he said--pitched back and then missed a 10-foot putt.

But his four-under-par effort, coming on the heels of an opening 67, presented a major problem for would-be challengers.

“I’m playing well,” he said. “I came in playing well. I think another two rounds in the 60s the next couple of days will do it.”

Charles Coody, with a 73, was third among the early finishers at 141.

Arnold Palmer, 60, the 1981 Senior Open champion, struggled to an 80 and appeared likely to miss the cut for the final two rounds. He was at 154, 10 over par on the Ridgewood Country Club course.

After the completion of second round, the field will be cut to the low 60 scorers and anyone else within 10 shots of the lead.

“I just played awful,” said Palmer, who cleaned out his locker, gave his parking pass to an official and left the club.

Jack Nicklaus, winner of two of three previous starts on the senior circuit, had a disappointing 71 in the opening round and faced a late tee time today.

Walt Zembriski, John Paul Cain, Ken Still and Jim Dent, all with first-round 68s, also were late starters.

So was Gary Player, winner of the Senior PGA earlier this year. He needed to improve from an opening 75 to qualify for the final two rounds.