Couples takes Buick lead; Dr. Snowball gets an assist

HARRISON, N.Y. -- Dr. Snowball might be making house calls next week at Shinnecock Hills if Fred Couples keeps playing like this.

After night and morning acupuncture sessions with Halina Snowball in Greenwich, Conn., the 44-year-old Couples shot a bogey-free 6-under 65 on Friday to take the second-round lead in the Buick Classic.

"As soon as I left her office yesterday, I didn't have any pain in my back," Couples said. "I don't get it, but I'm going to keep trying it. To me, it's unbelievable what they can do."

Coming off a second-place finish last week in the Memorial, Couples birdied the final two holes on the Westchester Country Club course to take a one-stroke lead over Vijay Singh, Fredrik Jacobson and young playing partner Luke Donald.

"I've kept the ball in play, which is the key here," said Couples, who played with acupuncture pins in his ears.

Couples' wife, Thais, tried to talk him into withdrawing Wednesday night to rest his back for the U.S. Open next week at Shinnecock Hills.

"I snuck out of there Thursday when she was still sleeping," Couples said. "She's downtown with the kids now. She'll come home and I'll tell her I'm leading the tournament and she's going to have a heart attack."

Couples took advantage of Jacobson's double-bogey 7 on the par-5 ninth -- his last hole -- to top the leaderboard at 10 under. Jacobson finished with a 69.

Champions TourAndy Bean, John Harris and Allen Doyle tied the course record with 7-under-par 65s Friday and shared the first-round lead at the Bayer Advantage Celebrity Pro-Am.

Mark James and Morris Hatalsky were a shot back at 6 under, and six players were tied at 5 under. Twenty players are within four shots of the lead at the National Golf Club of Kansas City.

Bean was back in contention one week after being forced to withdraw from the final round of the Farmers Charity Classic due to an allergic reaction to food he had for breakfast. Tied for the lead heading into the final round, Bean passed out in the caddie tent and could not tee off.

LPGA TourThe second round of the LPGA Championship was washed away on Friday when Steady, overnight rain filled bunkers with water and left DuPont Country Club in Wilmington, Del., saturated.

Tournament officials said the second round would resume today with the same groups and same tee times. The cut will remain the top 70 and ties, who face 36 holes on Sunday.

-- From wire reports