Associated Press
Saturday, July 22

ENDICOTT, N.Y. -- Esteban Toledo didn't get the advantage of playing a course softened by a torrent of rain. Then again, he didn't need an edge because he already had one.

Toledo shot a 5-under 67 to remain atop the leaderboard after Friday's play at the B.C. Open. Toledo, who had an opening 64, was at 13-under 131, three shots ahead of defending champion Brad Faxon and Glen Hnatiuk.

"I feel like everything is going in the right way," said Toledo, who has hit 24 of 28 fairways in the two rounds over the short and narrow En-Joie Golf Club course. "I just have to keep it up for the next two days and just play the game that I know I can play.

"I don't hit it as far as the other guys, but I feel like I can keep the ball on the fairway. If the putts fall in, I should be able to score."

A heavy downpour slammed the course at mid-afternoon, long after Toledo had finished his round. Faxon, however, was at 3-under for the day after 11 holes when the storm interrupted play for 3½ hours and sank three more birdies afterward en route to a 66. The softer the conditions, the better he played.

"This area hasn't gotten any rain lately, so it was pretty nice," said Faxon, whose 35-foot putt for birdie on No. 18 stopped at the lip of the cup. "There was no wind, the greens were smoother. We got a really nice break those last few holes."

Another shot back were Brian Gay and Dick Mast, who bogeyed his first hole of the day before rallying with two eagles and finishing with a sizzling 64. Bob Heintz, who has made only four cuts in 20 tournaments this year, was at 136 after a solid 65, tied with Grant Waite at 8-under.

Jerry Kelly also moved into contention with a scintillating 63 that included eight birdies on the front nine. After his best round on tour, Kelly was tied at 7 under with four others.

Play was suspended at darkness with 30 players still on the course. They completed their rounds Saturday morning, and Scott McCarron, who also had two eagles on the round before the rains came, moved into a tie for second with a birdie on the par-5 eighth Saturday morning to complete a 6-under 66.

The cut was at 1-under 143, and 72 players made it. Among those going home was Gary Nicklaus, who is trying to qualify for a major so he can play alongside his famous father.

Toledo was not without his problems, though. A native of Mexicali, Mexico, located in steamy Baja California, he faltered early in the cool morning air. Clear skies overnight had sent temperatures into the low 50s by daybreak and Toledo had trouble finding the stroke that had produced nine birdies on the first round.

"I started kind of off this morning (on the back nine)," he said. "It was a little chilly and I missed three putts the first three holes and then I three-putted on No. 13 (for bogey). And then we were on the clock (for slow play) that early, and that kind of got my rhythm off."

A 10-foot putt for par on No. 14 got him back on track and he excelled on the closing nine with five birdies. That helped keep him in his uncustomary spot atop the field for the second straight day and only the second time in five full years on tour.

"From then on, I just kind of relaxed a little more," he said. "That putt (on 14) kind of got me going. On the front nine, I started making putts, started making great shots. I was telling my caddie, 'I just got to hang in there or else I'm going to fall away.'

"He asked me if I had the butterflies on the first three holes, and I told him no. I never felt nervous."

The 49-year-old Mast, who first played the B.C. Open way back in 1974, hasn't finished higher than a tie for 51st this year and has missed three cuts in the eight tournaments he's played. Like several others on the leaderboard, he has never won on tour. It wasn't difficult to imagine what he was dreaming of.

"I'd like a 10-shot lead," said Mast, who chipped in from 30 yards for eagle on the par-5, 565-yard fifth hole. "The higher up you are, the more mistakes you can make. You can't get far enough ahead as far as I'm concerned."