It’s No 59, but Cook Has Mark

John Cook had a 59 on his mind and knew he was in the right place for it. Instead, he settled for a 62 Friday and a three-stroke lead over John Adams in the St. Jude Classic in Memphis, Tenn.

“If there was ever a day that it could have happened to me, today was the day,” Cook said of trying to match the PGA Tour’s lowest score, by Al Geiberger in Memphis in 1977 and Chip Beck in Las Vegas in 1991.

Cook, who started on the 10th hole and chipped in from 25 feet for birdie, had six birdies in a row and 10 for the day and was at nine under par with five holes left.

He parred his way in and finished with a nine-under 62 and a two-day total of 16-under 126.

“I ran off the green and wanted to sign my card as quick as I could,” said Cook, who hasn’t won on the tour since 1992, when he took three tournaments.

Cook’s 126 matches the tour record for the first 36 holes, set by Tommy Bolt at the Virginia Beach Open in 1954 and tied by Paul Azinger at the Texas Open in 1989.

John Daly, who lives by the 16th fairway of the TPC at Southwind course and was tied for the lead after one round, slipped to even-par 71 on Friday.

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Amy Fruhwirth, who hasn’t won in four years on the LPGA Tour, had birdies on four of the first five holes and on the 18th hole to finish with a four-under-par 68 and a one-shot lead in the rain-shortened Rochester (N.Y.) International.

Dottie Pepper, Michelle Estill, Lori West and Ellie Gibson were a shot behind Fruhwirth, who had missed the cut in four of her last five tournaments.

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The clubhouse chef told him to “stay below the hole, not charge it,” said Bobby Stroble, a Senior PGA Tour rookie who used the advice to shoot a three-under-par 67 for a share of the first-round lead in the Bell Atlantic Classic at Malvern, Pa.

Stroble was tied with Rick Acton and Tom Wargo at the Chester Valley Golf Club in suburban Philadelphia. One shot behind were Gary Player, John Schroeder, John Jacobs and Vicente Fernandez.

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Alison Rose, a 28-year-old bank official making her Curtis Cup debut, won both her singles matches and foursome matches by wide margins in leading the combined Britain-Ireland team to a 6-3 lead over the United States on the first day of the biennial match-play women’s amateur golf event in Killarney, Ireland.

The two teams split the morning foursomes matches--each picking up 1 1/2 points--but Britain-Ireland won 4 1/2 points in singles to 1 1/2 for the Americans.

Britain-Ireland needs to win only three of nine points today to gain a draw and keep the cup.

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Southern Californians Mark Johnson and Brian Crocker won two matches apiece to advance to today’s 36-hole final of the 85th California Amateur Championship at Pebble Beach.

Johnson, 41, of Helendale turned back 16-year-old John Leary of Culver City, 5 and 3, and David Burroughs of Pebble Beach, 2 and 1. Johnson eagled the par-four 13th hole with a seven-iron from 140 yards in the match against Leary.

Crocker, 32, of Rancho Mirage, slipped by Victor Zayas of San Diego, 1 up, and beat Randy Haag of Danville, 3 and 1.

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Defending champion Jo Jo Robertson was eliminated by Jennifer McCormick, 4 and 3, in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship at Alton, Ill.

Robertson will join medalist Elise Kimm of Valley Village on the sideline after Kimm lost to Jody Niemann, 1 up.