Associated Press
Saturday, August 26

CONCORD, Mass. -- Kermit Zarley shot a 5-under-par 67 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over Larry Nelson after the second round of the FleetBoston Classic.

Zarley, 58, seeking his second career Senior PGA Tour victory, overcame a double bogey on the second hole with birdies on three of the next four holes. He had an 8-under 136 total.

"I haven't been hitting the ball that well, but my putting has been better," said Zarley, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour who won the senior tour's 1994 Transamerica.

"I have been working with my son, Michael, who is my caddie, and we've been trying to get something going. I went with what I call my Sam Snead-Ernie Els swing, in which I bring the ball inside more. It seemed to work today."

Nelson, who opened with a 67 to share the first-round lead with South Africans Simon Hobday and Harold Henning, shot a 70 on the Nashawtuc Country Club course.

"I played pretty well, but I had trouble on the greens," Nelson said. "The greens all seemed different with their firmness. They were very inconsistent."

Terry Dill (67) and Jim Ahern (69) were two strokes back at 138, and Lee Trevino (65) was another stroke back along with Leonard Thompson (68), David Graham (70), Ed Dougherty (70), Dave Stockton (70) and Chuck Moran (71). Bruce Fleisher (69) and Hale Irwin (71) topped a seven-player group at 140.

Zarley birdied the first hole to reach 4 under, but dropped two strokes on the par-3 second when he pushed his drive and missed the green on his next shot. He birdied Nos. 4, 5 and 7 to get back to 4 under, and added birdies on Nos. 7, 8, 14 and 15.

Nelson, 52, has seven victories in 79 senior tour events, including two this year. He got to 7 under with a birdie on No. 10, dropped a stroke on No. 10, and closed with a birdie on No. 18.

Dill, 61, won the 36-hole Super Seniors competition for players 60 and over, holing a 10-foot birdie putt on No. 18 to beat Trevino by a stroke. Dill earned $34,000.