FARMINGTON, Pa. -- Cameron Beckman and Robert Damron fired matching rounds of 6-under 66 Saturday to share the lead after two rounds of the 84 Lumber Classic of Pennsylvania. The pair stands at 11-under-par 133, one stroke clear of the field.
The second round was contested on Saturday after heavy rain from Hurricane Isabel forced the postponement of play on Friday. PGA Tour officials plan on getting the final 36 holes of golf in on Sunday at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort.
Heath Slocum tied the 18-hole tournament record of 8-under 64 Saturday to move into a share of third place. Slocum is joined at 10-under-par 134 by Jesper Parnevik (66) and Brett Quigley (67).
Damron teed it up early Saturday and got off to a good start with a birdie at the first. He followed that up with another birdie, this one coming on the par-5 fifth. He closed out his opening nine in style with back-to-back birdies from the eighth.
He stumbled around the turn, however, as he bogeyed the par-5 11th. He came back with a birdie on No. 13 that moved him to minus-9. The 2001 Byron Nelson Classic winner capped his round with a birdie on the 16th and made it two in a row when he dropped in a birdie putt on 17.
‘Honestly, the course did a great job of taking the rain,’ said Damron, in reference to Hurricane Isabel. ‘The greens were soft, but they weren’t ridiculous.’
Beckman burst out of the gate with back-to-back birdies from the first to quickly move to minus-7. He settled down to par five straight holes and then dropped in a birdie putt at the par-5 eighth.
Around the turn, the 2001 Southern Farm Bureau Classic champion birdied the 11th to get to 9 under for the event. Like Damron, Beckman rolled in birdies on the 16th and 17th to move to minus-11. With nice weather in the forecast for Sunday, Beckman knows players will have to go low for the win.
‘It’s going to be a birdie-fest,’ Beckman said of Sunday’s play. ‘The greens are soft, the fairways are soft, you’ve just got to hit them and make a lot of putts.’
Tom Scherrer, who also carded a tournament-record tying 64, moved into a share of sixth place. He was joined at 9-under-par 135 by Craig Barlow, Kenneth Staton, Jerry Kelly, Scott Laycock and Chris DiMarco, who won this event in 2000.
Ben Curtis, the reigning British Open champion, posted a 5-under 67 to move to minus-8. He stands alongside David Peoples, Tim Petrovic, Mike Standly, J.L. Lewis and Glen Day in a tie for 12th.
The cut line fell at 5-under-par 139 with 57 players advancing to the weekend. One of those who won’t be around for the weekend is John Daly, who is sponsored by 84 Lumber. He began hyperventilating on the 15th fairway and withdrew from the event. It is the third time in his last four events that he has had to withdrawal.
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