GOLF ROUNDUP : Maltbie Doubles Pleasure With 64

Roger Maltbie retreated to the comfort of a television cliche after a second consecutive round of 64.

“Boys,” he said Friday, “it don’t get any better than this.

“The sun is shining, the wind isn’t blowing, I’m shooting 64s and there’s a man waiting for me at 18 with a cold beer.”

Maltbie took a one-stroke lead in the Texas Open with a two-round total of 14-under-par 128 on the Oak Hills Country Club course at San Antonio.

No one has played better over two rounds this year on the PGA Tour. Maltbie matched the low 36-hole score of the season, set by Jay Haas in Memphis.

PGA champion Nick Price shot a nine-under-par 62, the best score of the tournament, and moved to within a stroke of the lead at 129.

“That’s the best I’ve putted in so long. It’s just so much fun to make putts,” Price said.

“On Tuesday, I cut a half-inch off my putter and put a new grip on it. It fits my hand. It just makes all the difference,” he said after using only 22 strokes on the Bermuda-grass greens in a round that included 10 “threes”.

The exploits of Maltbie and Price left Neal Lancaster a little confused.

“I’ve made 16 birdies and an eagle in 36 holes. I’m making every putt a human being can possibly make. And I’m two shots back,” Lancaster said after another 65 left him alone in third at 130. “What’re they doing?”

U.S. Open champion Tom Kite, with a second consecutive 66, led a group of six tied for fourth at 132.

The others, and their second-round scores, were Donnie Hammond (63), Brad Bryant (65), first-round leader Corey Pavin (69), Jeff Maggert (65) and Brad Fabel (66).

The ideal weather and the condition of the 6,650-yard course, Price and Maltbie agreed, were among the main reasons the scoring was so low.

“The golf course is in such good shape, that’s the reason for it,” Price said. “I don’t think it can get much better than this.”

Maltbie, who scored the last of his five career victories seven years ago, harbored no illusions about his chances of retaining his current pace.

“I haven’t shot 64 since Moby Dick was a minnow, and now I’ve done it two times in a row,” he said.

Maltbie birdied four of the first six holes he played, then reeled off three in a row on his back nine, closing it with a 12-footer on his 16th hole of the day.

That gave him control of the lead.

But, with 36 holes to go, “that means nothing,” Maltbie said.

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Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain birdied the par-five 18th hole to complete a seven-under-par 64 and share first place with Colin Montgomerie after two rounds of the Madrid Open. They have 36-hole scores of 135.

American John Daly had trouble controlling his tee shots and scrambled to a 71, falling six shots off the lead.