GOLF ROUNDUP : Nichols-Snead Leading Legends

After taking a one-shot lead with partner J.C. Snead in the Legends of Golf on Friday, Bobby Nichols said the tournament record of 39 under par could be in jeopardy.

“It’s going to take a lot of birdies to win,� Nichols said.

Nichols, winner of the 1964 PGA Championship, and Snead added a second-round 63 to their opening 61 for a 20-under-par 124 in the two-man, better-ball event at Austin, Tex.

Alone in second were Jim Colbert and partner Tommy Aaron, who also shot 63 and stood at 125.

“I didn’t expect to be 19 under, but if I did, I’d have thought we’d have a sizable lead. But we’re behind,� Colbert said.

Defending champions Lee Trevino and Mike Hill were third with an 18-under 126.

Nichols said Snead’s play, particularly on the back nine, was the key.

“J.C. kept us in the ballgame. I wasn’t real helpful,� he said.

The leaders birdied nine holes, including all the par fives.

The tournament record of 249 over the 6,777-yard Barton Creek Country Club was set in 1990 by Dale Douglass and Charles Coody.

All the leading players said Friday’s windless, muggy weather contributed to the scoring.

“I look bad,� a sweating Colbert said. “But I feel great.�

In the Legendary Champions division for players over 60, defending champions Roberto DeVicenzo and Charlie Sifford shot 66 to move into a tie for the lead with Fred Hawkins and Howie Johnson at 11-under-par 133.

Phil Blackmar was strong to the finish at the Greater Greensboro (N.C.) Open and that was good enough to get him ahead of the pack.

After a first-round fade on the closing holes left him in a six-way tie for first Thursday, Blackmar turned in a six-under-par 66 for a two-day total of 133 and a two-shot cushion over Mike Reid.

“I played as well as I did yesterday for the first 12 or 13 holes, except I played well all day today,� Blackmar said.

Blackmar had three birdies on the front nine, hitting his iron shots close to the pin for two of them and blasting out of a sand trap to within five feet for the third birdie.

He opened the back nine with a three-putt for bogey, but his three-wood saved him on the following hole and he got that stroke back. Blackmar closed his day with two birdies, the last one a product of a 250-yard three-wood shot to within 25 feet of the pin.

Many of the golfers with morning tee times blistered the Forest Oaks Country Club course. Most of the afternoon players couldn’t capitalize, due in part to a brisk wind, and that helped avoid the logjam that marked the opening day.

Reid parlayed good iron shots into six birdies and one bogey for a second-round 67 and a 135 total. Chip Beck, who started in the afternoon, had a 67 and was alone in third place at 136.

Fred Couples struggled to even-par 72 and is at 142.

LPGA rookie Florence Descampe of Belgium shot a 30 on the back nine and shared the lead at seven-under-par 65 after the first round of the Sara Lee Classic at Nashville, Tenn.

Descampe, Dana Lofland and Tracy Kerdyk tied the course record at the 6,311-yard Hermitage Golf Club. They were one shot ahead of Angie Ridgeway, Carolyn Hill and Tina Barrett.

Descampe’s round was highlighted by an eagle three at the par-five, 480-yard 11th, where she put her second shot, a three-wood, within three feet of the pin.

Dawn Coe and Amy Benz were at 67.