Parry Shares Precarious Advantage With Blake

Craig Parry, an Australian who plays part time in the United States, has been close in some PGA Tour tournaments, but has never won.

To say it bothers him is understatement.

“I would love to win over here,” said Parry, who has 14 international victories and has been a runner-up four times in the United States. “It drives me nuts.”

He shared a one-shot lead with Jay Don Blake at nine-under-par 135 in the BellSouth Classic on a rainy Friday, but there’s nothing comfortable about the margin.

Tiger Woods, whose 69 on Thursday broke a string of 11 rounds of 70 or higher, had three birdies in the nine holes he got in Friday in a round that didn’t start until 5:40 p.m. because of rain delays at the Duluth, Ga., course, near Atlanta.

He was among 77 players who will finish their second rounds today.

First-round leader Mark Calcavecchia was one over for nine second-round holes, leaving him at six under overall. David Duval, the hottest player on the tour with five victories in the last seven months, was at four under with nine holes to play today.

Parry, who had missed the cut in four of six events this year and who had finished in a tie for 65th at Houston a week ago, shot a six-under 66 on Friday. His round, which began on the 10th hole, included an eagle on the 18th when he hit a wedge into the hole from 110 yards, then another eagle on No. 1 when he chipped in from 50 feet.

Blake, who has missed two cuts in a row, had four birdies in a round of 68. He and Parry lead John Huston by one shot.

In addition to Woods and Calcavecchia, the group at six under included Stewart Cink and Grant Waite, who finished the second round, and Glen Hnatiuk, Trevor Dodds and Spike McRoy, who didn’t.

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Donna Andrews took advantage of lift, clean and place rules on a wet course and hit 16 greens in a bogey-free round of seven-under 65 that gave her a one-shot lead over Nancy Lopez after 18 holes of the Sara Lee Classic at the Hermitage Golf Course in Nashville.

Andrews finished her round with a 15-foot birdie putt.

Barb Mucha, Rachel Hetherington and Nadine Ash each shot 67 on a cool, windy day.

Three strokes behind the leader, at 68, were rookie Se Ri Pak and Smriti Mehra.

Lopez said the catalyst for her round was her recent poor play. She missed the cut two weeks ago, then had an embarrassing performance last week when she shot 79 and 77 and went home.

Lopez was three groups behind Andrews and nearly caught her after an eagle on the par-five eighth, her 17th hole. Her three-wood from 235 yards was within eight feet and she made the putt.

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Returning to the scene of a frustrating collapse, DeWitt Weaver shot a five-under 67 and tied Tom Wargo and defending champion Jim Dent for the lead after one round of the storm-plagued Home Depot Invitational on the Senior PGA Tour at Charlotte, N.C.

Weaver took a four-shot lead into the back nine of the final round of last year’s event, only to quadruple-bogey the 384-yard 10th hole at the TPC at Piper Glen. He wound up two strokes off Dent’s winning total.

On Friday, he played the 10th with a three-wood and six-iron, then used two putts for a routine par.