Pooley in four-way tie for lead after 36 in Senior British Open

If the American wins Sunday, two-thirds of his titles will be majors.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland -- Don Pooley birdied three of the first five holes in a round of par 72 Friday, and shared the lead with Mark McNulty, Peter Oakley and Carl Mason halfway through the Senior British Open.
Tom Kite is among three players one stroke behind. Defending champion Tom Watson, his neck and shoulder ailing, is eight shots off the pace.
If Pooley wins the title at Royal Portrush on Sunday, two-thirds of his titles will be majors. The American won the U.S. Senior Open two years ago and his only other triumph on the Champions Tour after 14 mediocre years on the PGA Tour was at the Allianz Championship 14 months ago.
"I feel great. This is the first time I've been to Ireland, so it's fun for me," said Pooley, who missed a chance of the outright lead when he sent an approach into a bunker and bogeyed the last hole.
"I got off to a great start. I love links golf and the variety of shots out there. I love this course. I liked it the first day I saw it."
Four-way tie
Pooley also shared the lead after the opening round and led the field by two after five holes. He is tied at 3-under 141 with Ireland's Zimbabwe-born McNulty, Oakley and England's Mason. Mason lost a playoff to Watson in last year's championship at Turnberry.
Oakley, an American who plays on the Senior European Tour, held the outright lead with three holes to play but bogeyed No. 16 to finish at 68, the best score of the day. McNulty had a 69 and Mason a 71.
Watson had to pull out of last week's British Open at Troon, a championship he has won five times. He says he is not longer having neck and shoulder pain but acknowledges the title could be slipping away after a 74 left him 5 over.
PGA Tour
MILWAUKEE -- Carlos Franco hates to practice. He showed up at Brown Deer Park Friday and didn't hit a shot at the range before teeing off.
He didn't need to.
Franco tied his best round on the PGA Tour with a 7-under 63 to take the 36-hole lead at the U.S. Bank Championship with a 9-under 131 total, one shot ahead of steady Rich Beem. Scott Hoch (65), Bo Van Pelt (68) and Patrick Sheehan (68) were two shots back at 133.
"When I came here in 1999, 100 percent no practice," said Franco, who won the event formerly known as the Greater Milwaukee Open in 1999.
Last win
Franco's last win came at the 2000 COMPAQ Classic of New Orleans, and his fond memories of Milwaukee began to fade with finishes of 70th, 25th, 68th and 32nd in the years since winning the GMO. The common denominator? Practice, said Franco. Too much work and not enough play.
Franco said he gets good-natured grief from Vijay Singh, the notorious practice advocate, for his just-play philosophy.
"He tells me, 'Practice more, practice more.' I say, 'I don't like it. Maybe I need it, but I don't like it,' " Franco said. "I'd rather go fishing."
And that's exactly what he's been doing on a pond at a friend's farm all week.
Irish Open
DROGHEDA, Ireland -- Australian Peter Lonard shot a 2-under 70 Friday to take a two-stroke lead after the second round of the Irish Open.
Lonard led South Africa's James Kingston, whose 68 included birdies from the second to the sixth holes for the second straight round, and Scotland's Stephen Gallacher (70).
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.