FORT WORTH, Texas – From its Ben Hogan trophy room to its status as the longest-running event at its original site, the Colonial Country
Club is among the most venerable stops on the PGA Tour. This week, the ol’ course is playing like a pitch-and-putt. Steve Stricker shot his second straight 63 on Friday morning, giving him a 14-under 126 total that set records for 36 holes and for any consecutive rounds at the Crowne Plaza Invitational — yet was barely enough to top the leaderboard. Tim Clark, Vijah Singh and Sean O’Hair shot 64s on Friday and were lined up right behind Stricker: Clark was one shot back, Singh one more and O’Hair yet another. Jason Day (65) was 10 under, Woody Austin (68) was another stroke back, and Ryan Palmer (63) was 8 under. Clark’s two-round total of 127 matched the previous best for back-to-back rounds set by Justin Leonard in ’03. WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Olin Browne, who turned 50 last week and is playing his first tournament on the Champions Tour, shot a 4-under 67 to join Iowa native Lonnie Nielsen and Bruce Vaughan atop the leaderboard after the opening round of the Principal Charity Classic.
Eleven players are one shot off the lead, including Nick Price, Fred Funk and Tom Kite.