Armour III fires a 60

Victoria Sun

Friday, Oct. 15, 1999 | 10:36 a.m.

At almost any other tournament, Vijay Singh reasoned, he would be leading after shooting a 63 for a two-day total of 16-under-par 128.

Heck, if not him, then maybe Tommy Armour III, who set a course record with a career-low 60 at the Las Vegas Country Club on Thursday, would be leading most anyplace else with a two-day total of 130.

But as both players know full well, Las Vegas isn't like any other city and the $2.5 million Las Vegas Invitational isn't like any other regular-season stop on the PGA Tour.

Singh's 63 Thursday put him tied for second with Fred Couples, who shot a 65 at the TPC at Summerlin. Armour's 60 bumped him up to a six-way tie for seventh place.

Others near the top of the leaderboard included first-round leader Craig Barlow of Henderson, Jonathan Kaye and Justin Leonard, all at 15-under.

So who was first?

The honor went to second-year tour player Harrison Frazar.

Frazar shot a 10-under-par 62 for a two-day total 127 at the LVCC to vault to the top of the leaderboard.

His glittering two-day total was just one shot off the record for the first 36 holes of a PGA tournament.

"I hit one bad tee shot," said the 28-year-old Texan, who was Leonard's roommate at the University of Texas. "Other than that I hit a bunch of greens, hit it close."

While Frazar, whose best career finish is a second at the 1998 GTE Byron Nelson Classic, was confident and relaxed on the course, Armour wasn't sure what to expect.

"It's kind of funny because last year, I played good the first round but terrible the second," said Armour, who graduated from Bishop Gorman High School.

"Last week I shot a second round of 79 and yesterday, I felt pretty good, but shot a 70.

"Today, I just kind of went out there and ... it was a pretty easy 60," he added with a surprised chuckle. "It really was easy."

A little too easy?

Armour's 12-under-par round was only the 12th 60 in PGA Tour history. The last to do it was Steve Lowery in the final round of the 1997 Buick Challenge.

Were it not for a bogey on the fifth hole (he missed a 2 1/2-foot par putt), Armour would have become just the fourth man in PGA tournament history to card a 59.

He would have joined Al Geiberger, Chip Beck (who did it here in the 1991 LVI) and David Duval, who pulled off the feat earlier this year at the Bob Hope Classic.

If things continue over the weekend the way they have gone the first two days of the tournament there's a chance even more history could be made at the Country Club, one of three courses used in the LVI rotation.

Compared to the Desert Inn Golf Club and the host TPC course, the LVCC traditionally has been the easiest for the long-hitting pros.

That and the fact that course conditions have been perfect -- there has been very little wind -- has made the tournament conducive to unusually low scores by many players.

Some think they could go even lower as the tournament progresses.

"Yeah," Frazar answered when asked if a 59 were possible. "Today conditions I played in were ideal.

"If you're gonna do it, this is the time to do it."

Others, like Barlow, weren't so sure.

"I don't know," he said about shooting a sub-60 round. "There's a chance at LVCC."

Barlow had grabbed the first round lead with an 11-under-par 61 on Wednesday at the Country Club.

It was a career-best round for him, and he said he woke up in the middle of the night excited. He wasn't able to enjoy it for long, since he had to get up at 6 a.m. to prepare for his second round.

He bogeyed his final two holes and attributed his 68 to a bad swing more than nerves.

"You can't force a good round, it comes to you," he said. "I wouldn't say I felt any more pressure after the first round, but obviously I haven't won out here yet.

"I put myself in a good position to win by getting off to such a good start and who doesn't want to continue playing well?"

For Couples, a former Masters champion and Players Championship winner, the stakes aren't as high. So he's been able to play the tournament with ease.

"Really, it's been an easy week so far," he said of his 63-65 start, his best opening 36 holes of the season. "I don't think the weather's going to change so I know we're gonna see record scores."

All of which makes this a simple tournament for some and a tough one for others.

"We're gonna see guys shoot unbelievable scores and I think there will be guys 18-, 20-, 22-under this week and even (lower) and not really be in the top 10," Couples said. "I think we're well on pace for the top 10 being five-under a round.

"Every round is important here. This is not like your typical tournament where if you shoot a 70 you can come back. If you shoot 68, 69, 67, you're done."