Doyle edges ahead of O'Meara and Wadkins at ACE Group  NAPLES, Fla. (AP) -- Allen Doyle shot a 5-under 67 in windy conditions Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over Bobby Wadkins and Champions Tour newcomer Mark O'Meara after the second round of The ACE Group Classic.  Despite an unorthodox swing, Allen Doyle remains a Champions Tour force. (Sam Greenwood/WireImage)
Doyle, an 11-time winner on the Champions Tour, had a 12-under 132 total on the Quail West Golf and Country Club course. O'Meara, making his second Champions Tour start, shot a 68, and Wadkins followed his opening 64 with a 69. Mike Reid was 10 under after his second straight 67, and Des Smyth (67) and Eduardo Romero (69) followed at 9 under. Doyle, Wadkins and O'Meara played together Saturday, and will be back grouped again Sunday. Doyle birdied the 12th to tie Wadkins and O'Meara for the lead, matched Wadkins with a birdie on No. 13, and pulled ahead with a birdie on No. 17. "A one-shot I don't consider a lead when you get right down to it," Doyle said. At 58, Doyle's window may be fading on the Champions Tour, and the golfer with the slap shot-like backswing is wondering about it. "I wondered when I won here my first time if I'd win another Champions Tour event," said the winner of the last two U.S. Senior Opens, who said he's feeling better after September 2005 right knee surgery and a bout of plantar fasciitis in both feet. Wadkins and O'Meara, who played with Doyle only a couple of times on the PGA TOUR, were impressed with the man they're chasing. "He doesn't ever try to get carried away with himself," Wadkins said. "He just hits it in the fairway and on the green and when he has a chance he makes a putt. He just plays A to B golf as good as you can do it." "He's incredible," O'Meara said. "The guy guts it out and grinds it out. He hits some good shots, he's a good chipper and a good putter. I know I've got my hands full." Peter Jacobsen and Jay Sigel both withdrew before the round. Sigel cited a rib injury about an hour before his tee time, while Jacobsen, who had hip replacement surgery in September, warmed up and then decided he couldn't play. Jacobsen has been bothered by his back in relation to his hip replacement and said he will undergo minor back surgery in Tampa on Wednesday. Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. |
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