Lowery overcomes obstacles to lead B.C. Open

ENDICOTT, N.Y.-- Unfazed by a sore neck and a five-hour rain delay that prevented him from finishing the second round, Steve Lowery moved into a tie for the lead Friday at the B.C. Open.

With darkness falling, Lowery was at 4 under par through 11 holes and was 12 under for the tournament to tie Pat Bates, Alex Cejka, and Brett Quigley atop the leaderboard.

Bates had a 9-under 63, Cejka had his second straight 66 despite a bogey at 18, and Quigley shot 65 as the leaders in the clubhouse were at 12 under at 132.

Steve Allan and John E. Morgan each shot 65 and were one shot behind. Michael Bradley, playing in only his second tournament of the year, was alone at 134 after his second straight 67.

Barry Cheesman and Brian Gay completed their rounds and were another shot back and tied with Robert Gamez, who was 5 under on the second round through 14 holes.

Lightning and heavy rain forced a three-hour delay at the start. Play began shortly after 10 a.m., but more rain and some standing water on the En-Joie Golf Club course forced a stoppage 50 minutes later.

In all, play was delayed five hours before the weather began to break in early afternoon. The third round will start at 11:30 a.m. Saturday.

Lowery, who opened with an 8-under 64, didn't start until just after 5:30 p.m., and he wasn't exactly excited about going out there with nightfall looming.

"With the rain, I got kind of a crick in my neck," he said. "I was a little bit concerned when I went to the first tee that I wasn't going to be able to play.

"But I managed to kind of loosen it up right before I went out. I was pretty fortunate."

Craig Stadler led a group of five at 8 under. Harrison Frazar, who was in a four-way tie for second after a first-round 66, was even par after nine holes, while John Maginnes was 1 under through eight holes and among 14 players at 7 under overall.

Despite the rain, the course drained well, and the players were allowed to lift and place. That sent scores plummeting.

LPGA Tour

Cindy Figg-Currier shot a 65 to tie Hee-Won Han at 8-under 134 after two rounds of the Big Apple Classic.

Beth Daniel, who won last week's Canadian Women's Open, had a second 68 at Wykagyl Country Club and was at 6 under. That lefty her one shot in front of Meg Mallon (67), first-round leader Mi-Hyun Kim (71), Joanne Mills (67) and Vicki Goetze-Ackerman (69).

Suzy Whaley, the teaching pro from Avon, Conn., who will play in the PGA Tour's Greater Hartford Open next week, had a 75 and was at 2 over at 144, two shots better than the cut.

-- From wire reports