Byrum moves to front of pack

Dean Juipe

Friday, Oct. 13, 2000 | 10:13 a.m.

The Bubble Boys are drawing attention to themselves in Las Vegas.

Tom Byrum, ranked No. 125 in PGA Tour 2000 earnings and precisely on the bubble when it comes to retaining his playing privileges for 2001, has the lead after two rounds of the Invensys Classic at Las Vegas, and several of his needy cohorts are close behind.

Included in this group of players who will have to tap into the vault in the season's final three weeks if they're still going to be around next year are Dan Forsman (No. 122), Scott McCarron (No. 123), Steve Elkington (No. 149), Bruce Lietzke (No. 177), Billy Andrade (No. 159) and Casey Martin (No. 178), each of whom is among the top 15 players on the leader board and each of whom is within at least four shots of the lead entering today's third round.

The fact of the matter is that many of the players who had to play well here are doing just that. Only the top 125 players from 2000 will earn 2001 tour cards.

"I'm not going to let myself get too excited about it," Byrum said of consecutive rounds of 65, the latter Thursday at the Desert Inn. "I don't want to put any extra pressure on myself."

But the pressure is inherently there and that's why Byrum is here. Something of a season-long slump -- he has missed the cut in three of his last five tournaments and won only $7,632 last week at the Michelob Championship in Virginia -- is forcing him to play every event as the season reaches the homestretch.

It's something he didn't have to do last year, when he skipped the Las Vegas stop on the tour after placing second at the Michelob and winning $270,000. But Byrum has played fairly well in earlier trips to Las Vegas, tying for 12th in 1998 and tying for 55th in 1997.

At 40 years old he's still looking for his second tour victory, having won the Kemper Open in 1989.

A stretch of five consecutive birdies -- between hole Nos. 6 and 10 -- moved him to the top of the leader board with a two-day total of 14-under-par 130.

He's playing today at Southern Highlands.

Trailing by a shot after two days of surprisingly still, if cool, weather is Blaine McCallister, who matched the day's low round with a 64 and is at 131.

"I'm fixing to be 42 years old and I'm playing for more money this week than I ever thought I'd play for in my career," McCallister said after completing his round at the TPC at Summerlin and taking part in the $4.25 million event that will award $765,000 to Sunday's winner.

Lee Janzen trails Byrum by two strokes while Forsman and McCarron are three behind with three rounds to play.

"I'm at (No.) 120, so this is a big week for me," Forsman admitted. "But I haven't tried to focus much on that because I've got enough pressure on me already."

The large group at 134 includes Elkington, who has been battling injuries; Lietzke, who plays only sporadically but led the Invensys after the first round; Andrade, who hasn't done much in a couple of years; Martin, a folk hero of sorts due to his gimpy right leg and his legal battles with the PGA Tour; Dennis Paulson, who won the Buick Classic in June; Skip Kendall, the former UNLV player who is pursuing his first Tour victory; Phil Mickelson, the tour's second leading money winner; Olin Browne, who was a stroke behind Lietzke entering Thursday; Jeff Sluman, a consistent money winner on the tour; and Bob May, who shot an acceptable 69 at Southern Highlands although that was four shots off his course record.

Martin appeared to be drawing the most attention at the TPC after making an afternoon run at the lead. Playing the back nine first, he birdied Nos. 10, 14, 15 and 16 and had an eagle at No. 13 to pull within a stroke of McCallister, who led at the time.

Calls of "Go get 'em" and "You can do it, Casey," greeted Martin as he made the turn and he was further encouraged at various points on his back nine by spectators intent on wishing him well. In each instance he never failed to respond with an equally kind word, although his play sagged a bit as he went 31-39 for a 70.

But it was his first look at the golf course and he marveled at some of the palatial homes that surround it, including one behind the third green owned by Robert Gamez. "Really?" Martin said, as if in disbelief, as a scorer pointed out Gamez's sprawling residence.

Gamez, for his part, shot a 67 on his home course and is six shots off the second-day lead.

"The course is playing simple but I didn't take advantage," he said afterward as he worked on his putting stroke at the practice green. "I let a lot of shots get away. I had a mental error at the 11th when I hit the ball over the green; things like that.

"I'm a little frustrated. I play this course all the time when I'm home, so I'm capable of doing better."

Nonetheless, he's in contention and he joins May as a Las Vegas-based player in the hunt for the tournament title. The other three local residents competing this week, Edward Fryatt, Craig Barlow and Chris Riley, are struggling a bit.

"I'm doing everything average," Fryatt said after back-to-back 69s. "I drove it better today but overall it was very average."

Barlow, the first-round leader here a year ago, is in danger of missing the cut after rounds of 71 and 72. Riley is in the same boat after posting scores of 70 and 71.

Perhaps they can take heart from the fact that two-time defending champion and three-time tournament winner Jim Furyk isn't hitting on all cylinders either. Furyk added a 68 to his opening 70 and could conceivably miss the cut if he doesn't rally today at the TPC.

Two other accomplished veterans who were in the top five after the first round suffered through slightly disappointing days Thursday and dropped in the standings. Brad Faxon, second after opening with a 64, could do no better than match par in the second round at the TPC and slid six shots off Byrum's pace. And John Cook, two back after one round, is five back starting today after taking a 70 at Southern Highlands.

Two recent UNLV grads who were given special exemptions into the Invensys are performing well and could survive today's cut. Michael Kirk (70-67) and Jeremy Anderson (71-67) may make a few bucks in their debuts.

There are also 432 amateurs participating in the first three days of the Invensys, with the leaders advancing to Saturday. Fred Smith (-36), Thomas Stephen (-34) and Neil Luton, Hugh Hathcock and Ken Valdeserri (each -33) are setting the amateur pace.

Another amateur, Larry Lawhorn of Allen, Texas, had a hole in one Thursday when he aced the 126-yard 8th at Southern Highlands with a pitching wedge.