Associated Press
Friday, June 30

BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- No matter what happens the next two days, Tom Kite can at least get one night of rest.

Kite matched Jim Thorpe for a 65 on Friday to pull within four shots of Bruce Fleisher after two rounds in the U.S. Senior Open.

	Jim Thorpe tied an Open record for nine holes, playing the back in 30 on Friday.

Kite and Thorpe tied the record for the lowest score in the second round of a Senior Open, matching Gary Player's 65 in 1990. Kite's 137 tied him with Hale Irwin for fourth place.

"Last night was not a very restful night for me. I was tossing and turning all night, because I came in here with such high expectations," Kite said. "And then to go out and hit 50 percent of the fairways yesterday, you can't do that in an Open championship.

"For me to be playing as well as I was and to then do that was very disappointing. I was tossing and turning all night long trying to figure out what was going on."

Kite birdied six holes and parred the rest after a tough first day that included five bogeys. He birdied two of the first four holes, then sank a 20-footer for a birdie on No. 7 after nailing a 7-iron that stayed on the right-hand side of the green.

"I have been really pleased with the way I have been striking the ball from tee-to-green all year," he said.

Chi Chi charges
Chi Rodriguez made the cut after failing in two straight Senior Opens. The 64-year-old from Puerto Rico shot even-par 71 on Friday, and was eight behind the leader at 1-under 141.

"I can win," he said. "I am going for broke tomorrow. See, I have been playing pretty conservative. Tomorrow, I'll go at the pins. I was just trying to hit fairways and greens. They've made the course very fair."

Rodriguez is quite pleased that he's ahead of Jack Nicklaus, too. Nicklaus shot a 75 and sat at 142.

"I feel very good knowing I am ahead of Jack Nicklaus," Rodriguez said.

Mixing sports
After shooting an even-par 71 on Friday, Hale Irwin jokingly compared his performance to ice skating.

"I was feeling like I was skating on thin ice out there yesterday, and today I heard the ice cracking," he said. "It was a pretty ugly round. I didn't hit the ball well at all."

Irwin made only two birdies. He parred 14 holes and bogeyed Nos. 2 and 4. But he refused to blame his struggles on a back strain.

"My back doesn't hurt at all today because I was swinging so lousy," he said. "It is when I swing well when it hurts. It was hurting the first week. It is not hurting now. That is the truth."

Irwin injured his back while winning the Nationwide Championship last month.

Title defense
Dave Eichelberger, who won the 1999 Senior Open, was having a tough time defending his championship.

Eichelberger shot a 1-over 72 for the second straight day, and trailed Fleisher by 11 shots.

"I was hoping to be in a little better shape at this point, but I've kind of just thrown away some shots around the green, a couple of three putts, a couple of not getting it up from just 20 feet from the hole with a perfect line."

Still, Eichelberger wasn't conceding anything.

"I can still get back in it unless Fleisher just runs away, so we'll see," he said.

Branching out
Two-time U.S. Open champion Andy North provided an amusing moment when he hit a shot into a tree on the 16th hole.

North's caddie tried to knock the ball down by throwing a water bottle at it, but his toss fell short. North was penalized stroke and distance. He shot a 77 and 74 in his first Senior Open and missed the cut by three shots.