GOLF ROUNDUP : Daly Falls Four Shots Behind the Leaders

John Daly slipped four shots off the pace as a couple of non-winners went into the lead Friday at the halfway point of the Honda Classic at Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Ed Dougherty, 46, had seven birdies in a six-under-par 65 to share the 36-hole lead with Brandel Chamblee at 135, seven under.

Chamblee, a member of the inaugural Ben Hogan Tour in 1990, shot 68 in the gusty winds and, like Dougherty, said he is trying to put out of his mind the possibility of scoring his first PGA Tour victory.

Daly, playing his first tournament after a four-month suspension, had to rally for a round of 70 and remained in a highly credentialed international pack in close pursuit of the leaders.

Chief among them were 1993 player of the year Nick Price of Zimbabwe, two-time U.S. Open winner Curtis Strange, Bruce Lietzke and Masters title-holder Bernhard Langer of Germany.

Lietzke was a shot back of the leaders at 136 after a second 68.

Price followed at 67--137. Strange, who hasn’t won in this country since taking the 1989 U.S. Open, was 67--138.

Daly, Langer and Nick Faldo, winner of five major tournament titles, were in a group at 139 that also included Scott Hoch and American Ryder Cup players Jim Gallagher and Davis Love III.

Daly said his lengthy absence from competition was showing in an unexpected fashion.

“My feet are killing me,” he said. “I’ve been lazy all winter, driving around in a cart. I’m not used to walking.”

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Jim Albus shot a four-under-par 68 to take the first-round lead in the Vantage at The Dominion PGA Seniors at San Antonio.

Albus took the lead with an eagle on the par-five, 488-yard ninth hole. One stroke behind Albus are Dave Stockton and George Archer.

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Donna Andrews atoned for an early bogey with her second eagle in as many rounds and took a two-shot lead halfway through the Ping-Welch’s LPGA tournament at Tucson.

Her round of four-under-par 68 left her at 10-under 134.

Sherri Steinhauer shot a 70 and is at 136.