Harrison Frazar takes Las Vegas lead at 17-under

Tim Dahlberg

Thursday, Oct. 14, 1999 | 6:46 a.m.

Harrison Frazar didn't need a 59 to take the second-round lead in the Las Vegas Invitational. The way things are going, though, he may need one to win it.

On a day when Tommy Armour III flirted with golf's magic number, Frazar shot a 10-under 62 Thursday for a 36-hole total of 127 and a one-shot lead over Vijay Singh and Fred Couples with three rounds remaining in the 90-hole tournament.

"If you're going to shoot a 59, this is the time to do it," said Frazar, a former Texas star who remains winless in his second PGA Tour season.

Armour almost did, shooting a 12-under 60 in a round that was flawed only by a missed 2 1/2 -foot par putt on his 14th hole at the Las Vegas Country Club. At the time, he was thinking he might even go lower.

"It's nice. But I wish I would have shot 58," said Armour, who enters Friday's third round three strokes behind Frazar after adding the 60 to his opening round of 70. "If I knocked in the 2 1/2 -footer and made one of two 5-footers I missed, it's 58."

Three players have shot 59 in a PGA event and no one has shot 58. David Duval was the latest with a 59 when he did it in the final round of the Bob Hope earlier this year.

This tournament yielded a 59 to Chip Beck in 1991 on a course no longer used in the event.

Frazar said he wouldn't be tremendously surprised if someone shot a 59 in this tournament, but added, "A lot of things have to go right to shoot a score like that.

"It's a dart contest, and the greens are so good you're going to make most of your putts," he said. "You've just got to hope you keep making birdies."

Armour's round came at the Las Vegas Country Club, where a day earlier Craig Barlow shot a 61.

Three courses are being used in the tournament that finishes Sunday, with the final two rounds at TPC Summerlin.

Barlow, who shot a 68 Thursday at TPC Summerlin; Jonathan Kaye, who shot a 66 at the Desert Inn; and Ryder Cup hero Justin Leonard, who shot a 64 at TPC Summerlin, were two shots off the pace at 129 after Thursday's play.

"When you give us these kind of conditions, you're going to see 60s, 62s, 61s," said Armour, who was at 130 with Lee Porter, Chris Perry, Bill Glasson, Andrew Magee and Steve Pate.

Couples said he has played very well so far in this tournament.

"I had seven birdies and no putts that were really very long," he said. "I missed a 5-footer for birdie on six and from the same distance on seven, but I made a nice putt on nine for a birdie."

Singh said he would expect to be in the lead with his score at this stage.

"In a normal tournament, when you're 16-under after two rounds, you're going to be far, far ahead," he said. "Out here, you just need to keep making birdies and not think about it."