Goydos Leads at Bay Hill

Five years after Paul Goydos emerged from a large pack to win the Bay Hill Invitational for his only PGA Tour victory, he put together a second consecutive round of four-under-par 68 Friday and took a one-stroke lead into the weekend at Orlando, Fla.

“The round kind of fell into place more than I went out and beat the golf course or played better than anybody else,” Goydos said.

Goydos was at eight-under 136, the highest 36-hole score to lead a PGA Tour event this year. It held up during a blustery afternoon that featured disastrous mistakes by Phil Mickelson, Mark Calcavecchia and David Frost.

There was none by Tiger Woods. He flinched in pain because of an awkward swing on his opening tee shot, but recovered quickly and shot a bogey-free 67 that left him among 17 players within three strokes of the lead.

Sergio Garcia and Chris Perry, who each had a 66, were among five players at 137. Woods, Mickelson and Calcavecchia were among a half-dozen players at 138, with Lee Janzen and Steve Pate another stroke back.

“It was a pretty good day,” Woods said. “I hit the ball all right and I didn’t make seven.”

Frost was at nine under and leading the tournament until he hit a five-iron into the water on the par-three 17th. He wound up with a triple bogey and finished with a 70.

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J.C. Snead won’t sit comfortably in the lead at the Siebel Classic at San Jose, not with the man who designed the course right on his tail.

Snead set a course record with a six-under 66 to take a two-stroke lead over Jack Nicklaus in the inaugural Senior PGA Tour event. Jim Colbert also shot a 68 in the first round at Coyote Creek Golf Club.

Though Snead carded the low score on the year-old course, the galleries and the buzz followed Nicklaus, a last-minute entry. In better shape and a better frame of mind after a disappointing 2000, Nicklaus thrilled his fans with solid play that featured several par saves and some strong putting.

He capped his resourceful round with a 35-foot birdie putt on the 18th, bringing roars from the crowd.

“I was worried that the golf course was too young to shoot good scores on,” Nicklaus said. “I guess we proved that wrong today. It seems like the seniors chew all my courses up.”