BARON SEKIYA / WEST HAWAII TODAY
Dana Quigley teed off on the second hole during yesterday's second round of the MasterCard Championship on the Big Island.
KA'UPULEHU-KONA, Hawaii >> You can never really tell how well Fuzzy Zoeller is playing by his demeanor on the golf course. Hot Zoeller shares
lead with 2By Randy Cadiente
rcadiente@starbulletin.comHe'll acknowledge the crowd after a good drive and wave after sinking a long putt.
But pump his fist and exult a la Tiger Woods?
Never.
Still, Zoeller had every reason to scream and shout after he tied the course-record held by Larry Nelson with a 9-under-par 63 at the 7,097-yard, par-72 Hualalai Golf Club yesterday.
He grabbed a share of the lead with Nelson and Dana Quigley at 131 at the halfway point of the MasterCard Championship.
"I'll be honest with you, it was just one of those days where I didn't start out hitting the ball very good," said the affable Zoeller, who offset one bogey with an eagle and eight birdies to set the record. "I drove the ball good, but my iron shots were a little bit skimpy. The good news was when I did miss I was missing in spots where I could play."
Play is what Zoeller did.
A 35-foot chip from the front edge of the 434-yard, par-4 second hole gave him his first birdie. On the 526-yard, par-5 fifth, Zoeller hit a 7-iron into the greenside bunker on his second shot but blasted out to 6 inches for another birdie.
A 5-iron on the par-3, 205-yard No. 5 to 20 feet resulted in his third birdie. Zoeller got his fourth birdie on the 551-yard, par-5 seventh when he hit a 3-wood from 255 yards out to the front of the green, from where he two-putted.
"I'm quite thrilled to be where I'm at," said the 51-year-old Zoeller. "This is fun."
Zoeller, Nelson and Quigley are two shots ahead of Bruce Lietzke (65) and Bruce Fleischer (65). Tied for sixth at 134 are Stewart Ginn (66) and Big Island native and first-round co-leader Steve Veriato (68).
Defending champion Tom Kite (67) was among a logjam at 136 that included Allen Doyle, Tom Watson, Tom Jenkins, Jim Thorpe and Jay Sigel.
Other notables included Gary Player (67) and Hale Irwin (71) at 137, Lee Trevino (71) at 139, Jack Nicklaus (72) at 140 and Arnold Palmer (76) at 149.
Zoeller, Nelson and Quigley will be hard-pressed to keep up the pace in today's final round.
Lietzke and Fleischer turned in 65s yesterday, while Ginn, Doyle, Watson and Jenkins fired 6-under 66s. If the wind blows gently like it did yesterday, the course record may be in jeopardy.
"It's so much fun to play a course like this," said Quigley, whose 65 included eight birdies and one bogey. "I like to play a course like this, where guys are making birdies. The thing is, everyone is eager to play here. That's why everyone's playing well."
Nelson knows Hualalai.
Two years ago, he put together rounds of 67, 64 and 66 to finish at 19-under 197 and pocket the first-place check of $240,000. He's off to the same start this year after two rounds.
"I really came out here with not too many expectations," Nelson said.
"I played pretty well ... putted well today," he added. "I didn't have any 5's on my card today, which was nice."
Nelson was under par on the long holes, getting birdies on the fourth, seventh and 14th as well as an eagle on the 566-yard, par-5 No. 10.
"There was no wind out there today," Nelson said.
"I don't thinnk I ever played here with no wind," he added. "That's the main reason (for the low scores)."
No one had a score lower than Zoeller yesterday.
After making the turn at 32, he went to 6-under for his round with an eagle on the 10th, where he hit a 4-iron from 219 yards out to within 12 feet of the pin. But a poor second shot resulted in his only bogey of the day.
"I was trying to hit a knockdown 7-iron into the wind," said Zoeller.
But four straight birdies starting at the 519-yard, par-5 No. 14 put Zoeller in the record books.
"On the back nine I started to put the ball on the club face," he said.
"I started hitting good shots and the wind died down. But I hit the ball better yesterday. I don't think I missed a shot yesterday. When you play golf you try to hit 'em all solid. And I hit just about every shot solid yesterday and only shot 4-under-par. But that's the way golf is."
