KEY POINTS:
Beefy American Tim Herron, known to his friends as "Lumpy" smoothly took over the lead when he birdied two of his last four holes to grab a one-shot lead in the Pebble Beach National pro-am golf tournament second round.
Two strokes off the pace overnight, Herron carded a three-under-par 69 on a sun-kissed day at Poppy Hills Golf Club, one of three venues being used.
That left him at seven-under 137, with compatriots JB Holmes (70), Robert Floyd (70), Nicholas Thompson (69) and Michael Allen (70) tied for second.
New Zealand's Grant Waite was all square on 144, seven shots off the lead, after rounds of 73 and 71, Phil Tataurangi on 155 (76, 79) and Tim Wilkinson on 156 (74, 82).
The big-hitting Holmes, winner of last week's Phoenix Open, and Thompson played on the Pebble Beach Golf Links, Floyd at Poppy Hills and Allen at Spyglass Hill.
Australian Jason Day, helped by three birdies in four holes, was among a group of six players bunched at five under after carding a 70 at Spyglass Hill.
"Yesterday I probably hit it a little better," Herron said after piling up four birdies and a lone bogey. "Today, I hit it fine but I got good breaks off some drives. Other than that, I drove it well. I probably had two or three bad drives today."
Herron, who turned 38 two days ago, has regained confidence on the greens after switching his putter for the first time in seven years.
"A change was finally due," he said. "The last few years, I've struggled with my putting but I've hit a lot of greens this week and made just one bogey, and that was a three-putt."
A four-times champion on the PGA Tour who has not won since the 2006 Colonial tournament, Herron believes this week's title is wide open.
"Going into the weekend, it [the leaderboard] is packed. Anyone who makes the cut has a chance to win the tournament.
"I'm just lucky that Tiger [Woods] is not here, he'd probably be 16 under."
- REUTERS
