Estes Not Content With Hot Opening

Bob Estes has played in the St. Jude Classic often enough that he knew he couldn’t rest after starting with a 61.

So far, mission accomplished.

Estes turned a three-stroke lead off his course-record-tying round into a four-stroke margin as he shot a five-under-par 66 Friday in the second round at Memphis, Tenn.

Estes’ six-birdie, one-bogey round gave him a 15-under 127 total that was just a stroke off John Cook’s score in 1996, which had stood as a PGA Tour record until Mark Calcavecchia’s 125 at the Phoenix Open earlier this year.

“You have to keep going,” said Estes, who shared the 54-hole lead here in 1998 only to finish fourth.

“I remember when John Cook shot 26 under, and I guess a lot of times it takes 20 to 22 under to win this thing. Ten under was a good start, but I probably wasn’t even halfway there so I had to make sure I realized that and basically start over from scratch today and just try and make as many birdies as possible.”

Only Scott McCarron came close to challenging Estes on the TPC at Southwind course that remained very wet from rain earlier this week, enabling golfers to play using lift, clean and place rules for a second consecutive day. McCarron got to 13 under before finishing with a 65, and was tied with Brent Schwarzrock (67) and Jesper Parnevik (64) at 131.

Two-time U.S. Open champion and current Ryder Cup captain Curtis Strange, who missed qualifying for the Open earlier this week and has missed six of seven cuts this year, followed an opening-round 65 with a 67, putting him five shots back.

Jim Holtgrieve broke out of a yearlong slump and shot a seven-under 65 to take a three-stroke lead after the first round of the $1.2-million NFL Golf Classic at Clifton, N.J.

Jim Colbert, John Bland and Ted Goin shared second with rounds of 68, and Larry Ziegler, John Schroeder, Mike Smith and Yoshitaka Yamamoto were another shot back on a leaderboard devoid of any of the big names on the Senior PGA Tour.

Tom Watson, who two weeks ago won the Senior PGA Championship at nearby Ridgewood Country Club, finished at 74 after playing the back side of the Upper Montclair Country Club in four-over 40.

Laura Davies, getting a boost from new flexible graphite shafts, shot a four-under 68 for the second consecutive day to vault into the lead midway through the Rochester International in New York.

The big hitter from Britain, who has 19 LPGA Tour victories, had missed the cut in five of her previous seven tournaments. She had an eight-under 136 total, one shot ahead of Brandie Burton.

“Everything’s a bonus at the moment,” Davies said. “I’m not expecting to win. . . . But if I could just get through it like I did the last few days, then who knows?”

A back injury forced Colin Montgomerie to withdraw from the English Open during the second round, raising doubts if he can play in next week’s U.S. Open.

The Scotsman was unable to compete in the pro-am Wednesday. The injury reappeared Friday and he withdrew before completing the fourth hole.