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The Dr. is in Morgan cards 67 for one-shot lead at Comfort Classic
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- If the wind blows Sunday as it did for second round of the Comfort Classic, defending champion Gil Morgan might get his wish. "I'd like to separate myself from the field, if I could," Morgan said Saturday after recording his 18th consecutive sub-par round on the tour. "Being in the lead is advantageous, I think. Sometimes, you don't have to score as low." Morgan overcame stiff winds to birdie the last two holes for a one-shot lead heading into Sunday's final round. Morgan, who shared the first-round lead with Tom Wargo after shooting an 8-under par 64 on Friday, came back with a 67 Saturday at the Brickyard Crossing Golf Course on the grounds of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He's one stroke ahead of Jim Ahern, who shot Saturday's low round of 64. Morgan's closest pursuers all but conceded the championship to him, if conditions remain windy. The forecast calls for a southwest winds of 5-15 mph, with showers likely. "It's tough to shoot at the pins here if you're not driving it well," Ahern said. "The greens are pretty roly-poly, and you've got to hit near the hole." Wargo, who was tied with Morgan on Friday, agreed with Ahern, saying, "Right now, Gil has a distinct advantage. He's really driving the ball long now, and can hit those irons right in there." Wargo carded a 69 Saturday and is tied with Bruce Fleisher at 133, two shots back. Fleisher, the tour's leading money-winner this year, had a round of 68. Despite being just two shots behind, Fleisher said Morgan would be tough to displace Sunday. "Gil hits it too far. That's a big advantage, I think, on this golf course," he said. "He's swinging well, and he likes the golf course, so he's the man to beat." George McGinnis shot his second consecutive 67 to hold fifth place. After his round of 67, Dana Quigley was another stroke back at 135, as were Chuck Moran, who shot 68, and Jim Colbert, who had a 69. The long-hitting Morgan birdied the first hole, but a bogey on the par-four third briefly put him one shot behind Wargo. After touring the front side at 1-under, Morgan began using his driver to gain an edge. He birdied the par-4 10th hole and the par-5 12th, but bogeyed 13 after hitting an errant tee shot. Morgan reached 17 with a 5-iron and was close with a 4-iron on 18 for the birdies that gave him the lead. Ahern was just another guy chasing the leaders before he birdied six, seven and eight, parred nine, then birdied 10, 11 and 12. After parring 13, he recorded another birdie on 14. That nine-hole blitz vaulted him from 5-under and four strokes behind Fleisher and Wargo to 12-under and a one-stroke lead over Wargo and Morgan and a two-shot edge over Fleisher with four holes to play. Ahern parred the last four holes, saving his effort on 18 by blasting from a trap to the left of the green to within 5 feet of the cup. He said his rally actually started on the fourth hole, when he had to scramble to get within seven feet of the hole for his par putt. "I just knew if I could make that putt, I could keep this round going," Ahern said. "I told myself, 'I'm going to make that putt.'" Mike McCullough, who shot a course-record 62 last year, fired a 66 Saturday for a two-round total of 136, good for a share of ninth place with George Burns (69-67), Jay Sigel (68-68) and J.C. Snead (68-68). After rounds of 73 on Friday, Ed Brooks and Hubert Green shot 66 on Saturday. They're eight strokes off the pace.
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