GOLF ROUNDUP : Price Opens Door for Leaders

Vijay Singh, Larry Mize and Andrew Magee vaulted into a three-way share of the lead at the halfway point of the Nestle Invitational Friday when Nick Price took four to get down from a greenside bunker on the 18th hole of Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club at Orlando, Fla.

“All in all, I’m not unhappy,” said Price, a winner last week in the Honda Classic. “If I’d lost the tournament right there it’d be something else, but there’s two rounds left.”

Singh, of Fiji, who began his American tour career in this tournament a year ago, shot a five-under-par 67 to share the top spot with Mize (69) and Magee (67) at seven-under 137 for 36 holes.

Price, the first-round leader, took a double-bogey on the final hole and shot a 72 that left him tied at 138 with Glen Day (68).

Price was cruising along in the lead until he came to the 441-yard finishing hole.

He pulled his drive into the rough and then buried a seven-iron second in the face of a steep bunker. He came out 50 feet long, lagged up to four feet and then missed that one.

“Six, as quick as that,” he said. “A little disappointing. But I’ll take two more scores like that.”

Singh, who tied for second in this event a year ago, holed a 30-yard sand shot for a birdie on the 10th and got up and down from a bunker for birdie on the 12th.

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Nancy Lopez tied a tournament-record with an eight-under-par 65, but fell just short of the lead in the Standard Register Ping tournament at Phoenix.

Kelly Robbins and Connie Chillemi each shot 70 to share the lead at eight-under 138 at the halfway mark. They started the second round a shot behind Caroline Keggi and finished with a one-stroke lead over Keggi (72) and Cindy Schreyer (70).

Lopez, who shot a 75 the first day, tied the course and tournament records set by Amy Alcott in 1988 and matched by Patty Sheehan last year. It left Lopez tied with Brandie Burton, Hiromi Kobayashi and Chris Johnson at 140.