GOLF ROUNDUP : Floyd Has Comfortable 67 to Lead by One

Raymond Floyd, a hometown boy without a home, found a comfort zone Friday.

“I’m there,” Floyd, 49, said after a five-under-par 67 gave him a 134 through 36 holes of the Doral Open in Miami.

Floyd, whose home at nearby Indian Creek was destroyed by fire two weeks ago, also had a 67 in the opening round. But the two scores came in decidedly different fashion.

Spectacular putting--13 one-putt greens--kept Floyd among the leaders on the first day.

In the second round, he did not make a bogey, really wasn’t in danger of making one and “had it around the hole all day,” he said.

“I’m much more comfortable with today’s round,” Floyd said.

But his good friend, protege and Ryder Cup partner Fred Couples was not so comfortable.

“He’s intimidating,” Couples said after a bogey-free 69 left him one stroke behind. “I’m sure he’s not worried about me, but I’m worried about him. He’s as competitive as anyone.

“He will be very, very tough. I’m sure that if anyone is thinking about winning this golf tournament, they’ll have to beat him.”

Couples, a winner last week in the Los Angeles Open, shared second with Keith Clearwater, who matched Floyd’s 67.

Ben Crenshaw and Hale Irwin were at 136. Crenshaw shot a 69 and Irwin, a 46-year-old, three-time U.S. Open winner, moved up with a 66.

Jack Nicklaus, Paul Azinger and British Open champion Ian Baker-Finch failed to make the cut, which was at 144. Nicklaus and Azinger each were at 146 and Baker-Finch was at 147.

Elaine Crosby shot a four-under-par 68 to tie Judy Dickinson and Meg Mallon for the lead at 138 after two rounds of play in the LPGA Inamori Classic at Stone Ridge Country Club in Poway.

Dickinson shot 69 for the second day in a row and Mallon had a 68.

Dana Lofland and Michelle Mackall were three shots behind. Lofland shot a second-round 72 and Mackall finished at 67.

Crosby birdied the third hole, and had her only bogey on the seventh. There, she was penalized one stroke when she replaced her ball on the green and it moved before she putted--an automatic penalty.

She birdied the 10th and 13th holes and finished with consecutive birdies.

Among the players missing the 148 cut were Sandra Palmer, Sally Little and Jane Geddes at 149, Colleen Walker at 151 and Muffin Spencer-Devlin at 156.