Calcavecchia leads Canadian Open by five shots

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Mark Calcavecchia birdied three straight holes on the front side, then used a big drive to set up a birdie at 18 for a 3-under-par 67 and a five-shot lead Friday after the second round of the Canadian Open.

Calcavecchia, the first-round co-leader with a 65, separated himself from the field by again avoiding most of the trouble on the tight Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club course. His drives consistently found the narrow fairways and his short game was solid.

At 8-under 132 through 36 holes, Calcavecchia matched his best start in the Canadian Open. He also was 8-under in the 1989 tournament at Glen Abbey, where he went on to finish in a tie for second.

First round co-leader Lucas Glover shot a 72 and was alone in second. Carlos Franco (70), Jerry Kelly (66) and Jesper Parnevik (72) were another shot back at 138.

On a day when par was a good score, Calcavecchia cruised through his morning round, hitting 10 of 14 fairways and 11 of 18 greens in regulation.

Calcavecchia, winless since the 2001 Phoenix Open, had five birdies and two bogeys in his morning round. He closed the front side with birdies at Nos. 7, 8 and 9. He made putts of 20 feet at 7 and 9 and hit a 4-iron within 6 feet at the par-3 eighth.

He started the day with a bogey at No. 1, where he "chunked" a 5-iron on his second shot and missed the green.

"I actually ... felt too relaxed," Calcavecchia said. "I hit an awful iron into the first hole, then another terrible iron into 2 and I thought for a minute I might be in trouble."

Defending champion Vijay Singh shot 66 to match the best score of the day. He started the day tied for 71st place after an opening 73. He's at 1-under going into the weekend and in a tie for sixth.

"The key was hitting more fairways, and when you hit more fairways you get chances for birdies," Singh said. "You can't make birdies from the rough here."

Mike Weir, the Canadian lefty who lost to Singh in a playoff at Glen Abbey last year, missed the cut with a second-round 75. Weir, the 2003 Masters champ, sprayed shots all over the course as his season-long slump -- he's missed the cut in seven of the last 12 tournaments -- continued.

Calcavecchia got his round going with a 5-iron to within 2 feet on the third hole.

"After that, I was fine," he said. "I really got into the round and played great from the third hole to the 11th."

Parnevik was fine through nine holes. He made three birdies to go 7-under, then went 4-over in a three-hole stretch.

Parnevik, who began the day a shot back of Calcavecchia and Glover, started on the back nine and birdied 15, 16 and 18. But he gave it all back with bogeys at Nos. 1 and 2 and a double bogey at the par-3 third hole. He pulled his tee shot into the right rough on the 200-yard hole, chopped it across the green into more rough, wedged it out short and missed the bogey putt.

Calcavecchia's other bogey came at the 16th, where he hit a 3-wood off the tee into the rough. He caught a flier with his second shot, then couldn't get up and down from the rough behind the green.

He got that shot back with a 6-foot birdie on 18. Calcavecchia hit a 324-yard drive on the 472-yard finishing hole, leaving him only a pitching wedge to the green.

Hardly a workaholic, Calcavecchia didn't touch a club for a week after playing in the Buick Championship two weeks ago.

"I practice kind of as I need to," he said. "My back hurts too bad to stand out there hitting many balls."

That doesn't change even when Calcavecchia has the lead.

"I'm not going to go to the range today or the putting green," he said. "I've got a real good feel of what I'm doing with my swing."

Near perfect weather conditions prevailed through the first two rounds, and Ben Crane and Justin Rose also shot 66s in their morning round.

Crane started on the back nine and shot 30 with birdies at 11, 12, 15, 17 and 18.

Kelly was happy with his round.

"I was thinking to myself yesterday, 'You know, I'm 3-over and I still love the golf course,' " said Kelly who shot a first-round 72. "That's probably one of the reasons I held it in there and came back today.

"Just play well and the scores will come. I showed that today."

Australian Robert Allenby, who shot 74-71, had a much different take on the 7,010-yard course with its small greens, narrow tree-lined fairways and plenty of gnarly rough. Allenby was 9-over after two trips around the front nine.

"I hate it," Allenby said. "The front nine is just stupid. The rough is just ridiculous. I know it's a national title, but it's not the U.S. Open. It was easier at the U.S. Open rough."