Saturday, January 16, 1999

Associated Press
Brandel Chamblee watches his putt fall for a birdie on
he 18th green during the second round of the
Sony Open in Hawaii yesterday.

Waialae gets tough

Brandel Chamblee rises to
the challenge by shooting a
second-round 66 yesterday

By Bill Kwon
Star-Bulletin

Well, the Waialae Country Club golf course is no more Mr. Nice Guy.

Even Brandel Chamblee, the second-round leader in the Sony Open in Hawaii with a 6-under 134 after shooting a 66 yesterday, jokingly griped about the tough playing conditions, especially a rough that's thicker than Tommy Tolles' hair.

"I don't know what kind of grass that is in the rough, but if I had it in my yard I would kill it. I'd put weed-killer on it," Chamblee said.

Chamblee, who finally broke through with a victory on the PGA Tour in his ninth full season last year, held a tenuous one-stroke lead over Tolles, the opening-round leader, and Mike Hulbert going into today's third round.

Hulbert, who hadn't played Waialae since winning the unofficial Kapalua International in 1991, might have wondered what all the fuss is about. He shot a 66, though he admitted the wind made the course challenging yesterday.

"It was tough to control your ball. I made some good recovery shots," said Hulbert, disappointed he couldn't make it back to Kapalua for the Mercedes Championships when it became an official money event.

Tolles, who shot a 7-under 63 Thursday, lost two strokes to par yesterday but stayed near the top of the leaderboard by birdieing 17 and 18 to finish with a 72.

"I'm glad I finished the way I did," Tolles said. "It was a really tough day. It would have been nice to gain on par instead of giving it back."

Tell that to Notah Begay III, who followed his opening 65 with a 77 yesterday, barely making the 36-hole cut by a stroke.

Or Vijay Singh, the PGA Champion, who also shot 142 after struggling to a 75 as gusty trades got more gusty.

Or tour rookie Cameron Beckman, who was 7 under before losing all seven strokes in just three holes, mostly because of a 9 at the par-4 15th.

Two strokes behind Chamblee at 136 was John Huston, who battered a kinder, gentler Waialae last year with a PGA record 28-under-par 260.

"We've been cussing John Huston in the locker room all week for what he did last year," said Chamblee about the changes at Waialae. "Somebody got mad and grew the rough. Thanks a lot, John. You made it tougher for all of us."

"Obviously, the changes they made, made a difference," added Hulbert.

Among those in an eight-way tie at 137 are Mark O'Meara, the 1998 player of the year, Fred Funk, Larry Mize and Esteban Toledo. At 138 with eight others is John Daly, who drew the biggest gallery.

But it was a day of giving back to par. Thirty of the 71 players making the cut at 142 couldn't break par yesterday. And only three of those missing the cut did.

Hawaii's David Ishii, who won at Waialae with the highest winning score -- a 9-under 279 in 1990 -- made it along with Pearl Country Club's Greg Meyer and former Isle resident Scott Simpson, all at 140. Peter Jacobsen, who represents Waikoloa on the Big Island, shot a 139 along with five-time British Open champion Tom Watson.

Those failing to make the cut in the PGA Tour's first full-field event included U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen, who missed a five-foot birdie putt at 18 that cost him the chance to play on the weekend, and six former Hawaiian Open winners -- Paul Stankowski, Corey Pavin, Lanny Wadkins, Gene Sauers, Isao Aoki and Howard Twitty.

Also missing the cut was back-to-back U.S. Open winner Curtis Strange (76--146).

If the winds continue to blow like they did yesterday, Huston thought a score of 12 to 15 under par would be good enough to walk off with the $486,000 top prize.

Chamblee was lower in his estimate.

"I'd take 12 under," said Chamblee, who has played Waialae about 10 times.

But it was never like this.

Sony Open

At Waialae Country Club

Second round

Par-70

Brandel Chamblee, 68-66--134
Tommy Tolles, 63-72--135
Mike Hulbert, 69-66--135
Len Mattiace, 70-66--136
John Huston, 68-68--136
Craig Stadler, 70-66--136
Esteban Toledo, 65-72--137
Mark O'Meara, 66-71--137
Larry Mize, 69-68--137
Nolan Henke, 70-67--137
Ty Armstrong, 66-71--137
Fred Funk, 66-71--137
Stuart Appleby, 69-68--137
Mike Sposa, 71-66--137
Chris Perry, 69-69--138
Loren Roberts, 69-69--138
Tommy Armour III, 68-70--138
Dan Forsman, 67-71--138
Chris Riley, 67-71--138
Steve Jurgensen, 67-71--138
John Daly, 69-69--138
Duffy Waldorf, 69-69--138
Carlos Franco, 69-69--138
Joe Durant, 66-73--139
Jeff Maggert, 69-70--139
Jesper Parnevik, 71-68--139
Tom Watson, 71-68--139
John Cook, 68-71--139
Jay Don Blake, 69-70--139
Peter Jacobsen, 66-73--139
Ben Bates, 68-71--139
Kaname Yokoo, 72-67--139
Cameron Beckman, 67-72--139
Jeff Sluman, 69-70--139
Tim Herron, 69-70--139
Mike Reid, 68-71--139
Joe Ozaki, 67-72--139
John Maginnes, 67-72--139
Rich Beem, 71-68--139
Chris Couch, 69-70--139
Mike Brisky, 72-68--140
David Ishii, 72-68--140
Dicky Pride, 72-68--140
Scott Simpson, 71-69--140
Paul Goydos, 72-68--140
Greg Meyer, 69-71--140
Danny Briggs, 72-68--140
Bob Burns, 66-74--140
Omar Uresti, 71-69--140
Fulton Allem, 72-68--140
Steve Jones, 70-70--140
Davis Love III, 71-69--140
Scott Gump, 68-72--140
Jimmy Green, 70-70--140
Jonathan Kaye, 69-71--140
Jerry Kelly, 70-71--141
Robert Gamez, 71-70--141
Franklin Langham, 71-70--141
Bradley Hughes, 72-69--141
Keiichiro Fukabori, 74-67--141
Robert Damron, 70-71--141
Lee Rinker, 71-70--141
Emlyn Aubrey, 70-72--142
Jay Williamson, 69-73--142
Dennis Paulson, 73-69--142
Lee Porter, 71-71--142
Jim Furyk, 70-72--142
Vijay Singh, 67-75--142
Billy Andrade, 68-74--142
Craig Barlow, 66-76--142
Notah Begay III, 65-77--142

Failed to qualify

Ed Fiori, 70-73--143
Ted Tryba, 70-73--143
Tom Pernice Jr., 71-72--143
Rick Fehr, 71-72--143
Gene Sauers, 71-72--143
Skip Kendall, 70-73--143
Lee Janzen, 69-74--143
Russ Cochran, 68-75--143
P.H. Horgan III, 70-73--143
John Elliott, 69-74--143
Charles Raulerson, 70-73--143
Rory Sabbatini, 72-71--143
Jeff Gallagher, 70-74--144
Lanny Wadkins, 71-73--144
Brad Bryant, 73-71--144
Mike Springer, 71-73--144
Clark Dennis, 73-71--144
Bob Friend, 72-72--144
Jay Delsing, 70-74--144
Brent Geiberger, 71-73--144
Corey Pavin, 73-71--144
Stewart Cink, 72-72--144
Tom Byrum, 72-72--144
Robin Freeman, 71-73--144
Doug Dunakey, 73-71--144
Sean Murphy, 72-72--144
Shigeki Maruyama, 73-72--145
Chris DiMarco, 71-74--145
Woody Austin, 71-74--145
Robert Allenby, 77-68--145
Joe Ogilvie, 72-73--145
Howard Twitty, 74-71--145
Paul Azinger, 72-73--145
Isao Aoki, 71-74--145
Kevin Hayashi, 75-70--145
Harrison Frazar, 75-71--146
David Sutherland, 75-71--146
Curtis Strange, 70-76--146
Steve Lowery, 73-73--146
Tom Scherrer, 73-73--146
Trevor Dodds, 72-74--146
Chris Smith, 73-73--146
Eric Booker, 74-72--146
J.L. Lewis, 73-74--147
Doug Martin, 75-72--147
Pete Jordan, 72-75--147
Jason Schultz, 72-75--147
Frank Lickliter, 69-78--147
Barry Cheesman, 75-73--148
Mike Weir, 73-75--148
Brian Henninger, 75-73--148
Deane Pappas, 72-76--148
Alan Bratton, 79-69--148
Geoffrey Sisk, 77-72--149
Jeff Brehaut, 74-75--149
Greg Kraft, 76-73--149
Chip Beck, 75-74--149
Brian Gay, 73-76--149
Ted Purdy, 78-72--150
Bo Van Pelt, 73-77--150
Kats. Miyamoto, 78-72--150
Charles Warren III, 71-79--150
Craig Parry, 74-76--150
Gabriel Hjertstedt, 75-75--150
Greg Chalmers, 76-75--151
Briny Baird, 73-78--151
Paul Stankowski, 76-76--152
Doug Barron, 75-79--154
Neal Lancaster, 76-78--154
Clark Miyazaki, 79-76--155
Keith Clearwater, 74-82--156
a-Brandan Kop, 81-78--159
Gary Hallberg, 71-75--146--DQ

a-Amateur