Colbert ‘Kicks’ a 64 to Tie Course Record : Senior golf: He’s three shots behind Aoki, who leads Trevino by one and Player, Sigel by two.

Jim Colbert had to emulate his good friend, kicker Jan Stenerud, to tie the Desert Mountain course record and move into contention Friday in the Tradition senior golf tournament.

After shooting a four-over-par 76 Thursday, Colbert trailed by nine shots. His eight-under-par 64 Friday put him at 140, three shots behind leader Isao Aoki at the halfway mark of the $1-million event.

Aoki, who shot a second-round 66, has a 36-hole total of 137. In a bunched field of big-name golfers, the Japanese player with the unorthodox putting style leads Lee Trevino by one stroke. Trevino, still not able to swing hard because of recent neck surgery, shot a 68 to go with Thursday’s 70 for a 138.

Gary Player and Jay Sigel are at 139, and Jack Nicklaus, after missing a short par putt on No. 18, is with Colbert and Calvin Peete at 140.

The shot of the day--maybe of the year on the Senior PGA Tour--was made by Colbert on the 531-yard 18th hole.

With 200 yards to the flag, Colbert hit a five-wood second shot that strayed into a wash area and behind a tree, 30 yards from the hole.

“Maybe, if I had not birdied four holes in a row, I would have tried to play a safe shot,” Colbert said. “I thought of Jan Stenerud, an old friend and the only kicker in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“There was almost no margin for error. The tree was about six feet away. I had to hit it through the fork. Too high and it hits limbs. Too low and it might come back and conk me.

“I closed the face on a wedge. The ball went right through the uprights and came to rest 12 inches from the cup. I was just hoping to get it on the green.”

When he sank the putt, it was Colbert’s 10th birdie to go with two bogeys and tied the record set by Al Geiberger in 1993.

“What a contrast in two days, “ Colbert said. “I had to fight to get the 76 yesterday, making several big putts for pars. It could have been an 82. Then today, I felt like I played everything right. It could have been a 61--that’s the difference in the two days.”

Colbert’s playing partner, Aoki, said: “All I had to do was try to keep up with Colbert. I like fast greens and I feel very good. I have new irons and they are working.”

Trevino wasn’t optimistic, though he won here in 1992.

“I like to swing hard some of the time, but the neck hurts when I try,” he said. “I’m getting better but I’m not there yet.”

A huge throng followed Nicklaus, Player and Arnold Palmer, who had wowed the gallery Thursday with three sub-par rounds. For a while, to the fans’ delight, Palmer kept up, but after going two under par, he bogeyed three holes on the back nine and finished with a 74 and a 145 total.

Player said he played better in shooting his 70 than he had Thursday, when a hole in one and an eagle helped him to a 69, but Nicklaus was plainly dissatisfied with his 71.

“I would call my game today medium lousy,” Nicklaus said.