Associated Press
Friday, June 30

CROMWELL, Conn. -- Mark Calcavecchia shot a 6-under 64 on Friday to keep pace with Notah Begay III after the second round of the Canon Greater Hartford Open.

	Begay had gotten to 13-under before a double-bogey on No. 17.

Calcavecchia, a nine-time winner on tour, matched Begay at 11-under 129 at the TPC at River Highlands. Begay, coming off a victory last week in Memphis, Tenn., shot a 65.

Calcavecchia said he feels like a transplanted Northeasterner when he plays the GHO, where he has six top-10 finishes since 1981.

"Aside from Phoenix, these are probably some of the biggest crowds we see all year," Calcavecchia said. "I haven't had anything disastrous happen here. My sister lives here, and I get to see my nieces."

The 1989 British Open winner turned 40 on June 12.

"You know there's just something about that number that you stop and think about how many guys over 40 are threatening the winner's circle, and there's not too many," he said. "So I look to other things. I just really enjoy doing things with my kids."

He had four birdies on the first 11 holes, three-putted for his lone bogey on No. 12, rebounded with a birdie on the next hole and added two more birdies for a share of the lead.

Begay, 27, has righted himself following a drunken-driving arrest in January and subsequent seven-day jail term. He has three victories in the past 10 months on the PGA Tour.

He had a costly double-bogey on No. 17.

"My bad rounds are coming down. My good rounds have always been good," Begay said. "Being able to make a double-bogey and still shoot 65 tells me that I'm playing some good golf."

Playing in tricky wind on No. 17, Begay chose a 9-iron for his approach shot. The ball barely made the front edge of the grassy slope around the green and bounced back into the water. He hit his next shot to 8 feet and two-putted.

"This is only my second year, so I still make mistakes," Begay said. "If I was a rookie, you could have called that a rookie mistake, but I can't use that anymore. Instead of having a little cushion going into the weekend, it's just going to be a dog fight."

Edward Fryatt was two strokes back after a 64, and Dave Stockton Jr., whose father won the GHO in 1974, was three back along with Hal Sutton and Jim Furyk. Sutton, a two-time winner this year, shot a 65, while Stockton and Furyk had 66s.

Defending champion Brent Geiberger, Brad Faxon, Robert Allenby, Ben Bates, P.H. Horgan III and Paul Goydos were at 7-under 133.

NCAA champion Charles Howell made the cut in his first professional tournament, shooting a 67 for a 2-under 138 total. Among those missing the cut were Davis Love III, John Daly and Casey Martin.