GOLF ROUNDUP : Morgan Drops Into Share of Lead

A lapse on the last hole cost Gil Morgan sole control of the lead Thursday after the second round of the five-day Las Vegas Invitational golf tournament.

“I messed up,” Morgan said after a bogey-six from the water dropped him into a share of the 36-hole lead with Bob Lohr, Keith Clearwater and Blaine McCallister.

Morgan was one shot ahead of the field when he played the 525-yard 18th hole at the Las Vegas Country Club.

After a big drive, “I had 210 yards to the front (of the green) and I felt I had to go for it,” Morgan said. “I thought I could get there with a three-iron, took a two to be safe, but the club turned in my hands.”

The ball found a pond in front of the green and sole control of the lead was gone.

The mistake turned a potential 66 into a four-under-par 68 and gave him a 132 total, 12 under par, with three rounds to go in the $1.4-million tournament that offers $252,000 to the winner.

McCallister, a recent winner of the B.C. Open, and Clearwater each had a 65 and Lohr, a playoff loser last week in San Antonio, a 68. All were at Las Vegas, the easiest of the three courses used for the first three rounds of this event.

Davis Love III, PGA champion Paul Azinger and Craig Stadler were at 133.

Love played the four par-five holes at the Desert Inn five under par and shot a 66.

Azinger had a 67, also at the Desert Inn, the most difficult of the three courses. Stadler shot 66 at Las Vegas.

On Friday, the pros complete a rotation of one round on each of the three courses, each day with a different three-man amateur team. After 54 holes, the field will be cut for the final two rounds at the TPC.

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Steve Elkington watched with interest as John Daly threw his putter after missing a five-foot putt on the first hole of the World Match Play Championship at Virginia Water, England.

And the Australian saw the long-driving former PGA champion launch a five-iron approach shot over the green and out of bounds at the 12th hole.

It was quite an experience playing Daly, Elkington said, made all the more enjoyable when beat the American, 5 and 4.

In other first-round matches, woes continued for five-time champion Seve Ballesteros, who lost 7 and 6 to David Frost. Corey Pavin gained some Ryder Cup revenge with a 4 and 3 victory over Peter Baker, and Colin Montgomerie beat Yoshinori Mizumaki at the 37th hole.