GOLF ROUNDUP : Lopez Chips Away, Holds Lead at Rochester

Nancy Lopez chipped in twice, highlighting a three-under-par 69 Friday in the second round of the LPGA Rochester International that kept her a shot ahead of her three closest pursuers.

Lopez is at nine-under 135 after two trips over the 6,162-yard Locust Hill Country Club course in Rochester, N.Y., where she has won three times previously.

Beth Daniel, Jenny Lidback and Lynn Connelly are tied for second.

Lopez chipped in from about 35 feet on the third hole and from about 30 feet on the 10th.

“I can’t wait to call Ray,” she said of her husband, Cincinnati Red coach Ray Knight. “He always tells me to practice chipping.”

Lopez, who started the day at six under, was 10 under after 17 holes, but missed a two-foot par putt on 18.

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Jack Kiefer, seeking his first victory, shot an eight-under-par 64 to take the first-round lead in the inaugural Burnet Senior Classic at Coon Rapids, Minn.

A former club pro who joined the Senior PGA Tour in 1990, Kiefer shot 32s on both the front and back nines to tie the course record at the 6,894-yard Bunker Hills Golf Course.

He leads Dick Hendrickson, another former club pro and career non-winner, by one stroke. Simon Hobday is two back at 66, with Jim Ferree, Rocky Thompson and Bob Murphy at 67.