GOLF DINAH SHORE : Daniel Skips Enough Rough Spots to Lead

Tournament golf isn’t always a grim, serious affair.

Beth Daniel said her group told jokes and had fun during the second round of the Nabisco Dinah Shore event Friday at Mission Hills Country Club.

A flash rainstorm at 11:45 a.m. apparently didn’t bother any of the golfers, and play wasn’t even halted. Daniel emerged as the 36-hole leader, shooting a four-under-par 68 for a two-day total of 138.

She holds a one-stroke lead over Dawn Coe. Two strokes back are Dottie Mochrie, Patty Sheehan, Mary Beth Zimmerman, Tammie Green and Juli Inkster, a two-time winner here.

Dale Eggeling, the first-round leader with a 67, shot a 78 for a 145 total.

Daniel was paired with Inkster and Meg Mallon, who shot a 69 for a 142 total.

“We were all making birdies and having fun and telling jokes,” Daniel said. “It has been a relaxing two days.

“None of the three of us played really well all 18 holes. But we would go on a streak at times. Meg was grinding at the end, so she could be paired with us (for the third round).”

That didn’t happen. Daniel is grouped with Inkster and Coe today.

Daniel said players weren’t having an easy time with the course because the rough is thicker than it has been in other years.

Coe called it “snarly and gnarly,” adding: “It just wraps around the ball.”

Daniel has 27 victories, but she has never won the Dinah Shore tournament, one of four major competitions on the LPGA tour. Nor has she won on the tour this year, finishing third and tying for second in two tournaments.

A reporter suggested that her game might be affected because she has been close to the lead in final rounds but hasn’t been able to win.

“It’s not on my mind at this point in time,” Daniel said. “It’s happened a couple of times, but hopefully it won’t be a trend. And I’m not going to dwell on it.”

Daniel, starting on the 10th hole, had five birdies and a bogey. She finished in style, making a 30-foot birdie putt on the ninth hole, a 508-yard par five.

Inkster, who also shot a 68, said the course is playing harder now than when she won here in 1984 and ’89.

“The key is not to get into the rough,” she said.

Coe, who has been on the women’s tour since 1984, is the leading money-winner this year, having earned $151,097. She shot a 68 Friday, with five birdies and a bogey.

“I’m really confident on the tee now and standing over putts,” Coe said. “I’m not seeing any negative things. I’ve made more birdies and had more rounds under par over the last month than I ever had.”

Some of the players chasing Daniel barely missed opportunities to take the lead.

Green said she had eight birdie putts inside 15 feet and missed all but one. So, she settled for a two-under-par 70, matching her score Thursday.

Mochrie, who shot a 71, said she was relieved “to get a not-so-solid round out of the way,” adding: “The weather is going to decide what score will win this tournament. If the wind blows, the fairways will be tight and par will be a good number.”

And the rough is really rough.

“It’s thick, heavy, wet and deep,” Sheehan said.

Golf Notes

The cut was at 149 or better, with 73 players advancing. . . . Amy Alcott, the defending champion and three-time winner here, barely made it at 74-73--147. . . . Hall of Fame player Nancy Lopez didn’t make the cut. She was at 76-75--151. . . . Amy Fruhwirth, the U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, made the cut at 75-73--148. Fruhwirth, who attended Cypress High and Arizona State, is playing in her first LPGA event. . . . Michelle McGann, who shot a 68 Thursday, had a 74 Friday. McGann is a diabetic, and said she was fighting a headache. She had low blood sugar when she woke up Friday, then ate some candy on the course.