Thorpe Leads, Big Three Falls Back

Jim Thorpe shot a three-under-par 69 Friday to maintain a one-shot lead over Bob Gilder after two rounds of the Senior PGA Championship at Paramus, N.J.

But Friday was also the day the play of Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player slipped and Arnold Palmer just left.

Palmer, whose age-matching 71 Thursday seemed to give life to the second senior major of the year, hit his first two shots into the water en route to an 11-over-par 83 that sent him packing for home.

Nicklaus (75) and Player (73) were still at the bottom of the leaderboard heading into the weekend at the Ridgewood Country Club.

Thorpe had a 36-hole total of eight-under 136 after a round that he ignited by holing his third shot from a greenside bunker on the par-five 13th.

Rain, thunder, even darkness didn’t stop the sunglasses-wearing Bradley Hughes from tying the course record at the Kemper Insurance Open at Potomac, Md.

Finishing his round after a 2-hour 40-minute delay because of a thunderstorm, Hughes shot an eight-under 63 and is at nine-under 133, good for a one-stroke lead over Lee Porter and Frank Lickliter II.

Phil Mickelson was among six players two shots off the lead. Brent Schwarzrock, at seven under, was the top golfer on the course when played was suspended at 8:07 EDT.

Mhairi McKay of Scotland shot a seven-under 65 and took a one-stroke lead over Sweden’s Carin Koch after two rounds of the LPGA Corning Classic at Corning, N.Y.

McKay used the best round of her career for a two-round total of 10-under 134. Koch had a 67.

McKay tied two tournament records on the front nine, getting six consecutive birdies and finishing with a 30.