Two seniors tied; long day awaits

Craig Stadler used a strong back nine to move on top.
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Craig Stadler birdied three holes in a five-hole stretch to shoot a 69 Saturday and catch Peter Jacobsen, who shot 70 and shared the lead at the U.S. Senior Open with a 7-under 135.
Jose Canizares was at 6 under, making birdie on the final three holes for his second straight 68.
Jay Haas, Fuzzy Zoeller, Tom Kite, Bob Gilder and D.A. Weibring were all at 5 under for the tournament.
The Champions Tour's top two money leaders, Gil Morgan and Hale Irwin, were three shots back at 4 under.
Seventeen golfers were within five shots of the lead, and 22 were under par.
Now comes the real test. Because rain washed out play on Friday, the field will play two rounds -- 36 holes -- today, with the forecast calling for a muggy 91 degrees.
Stadler faced potential disaster on the par-3 sixth hole when his tee shot went into the water. Still, he managed a bogey.
Strong back nine
He then birdied Nos. 11, 13, 15, narrowly missing makeable birdie putts at 17 and 18. He said the back nine made up for a frustrating front side where he was 1 over.
"I guess frustrating is a good word for it when you play like crap for nine holes," Stadler said.
Jacobsen, who shot a first-round 65, withstood a balky hip that forced him out of his two previous tournaments.
Jacobsen just missed a hole-in-one on the par-3 third hole, his tee shot hitting about an inch from the hole before spinning a couple of feet past. But he missed the short birdie putt. He made up for it on 18, chipping in from about 40 feet.
Perhaps no one faces a bigger challenge than Jacobsen, who had arthroscopic surgery on his left hip three months ago and spent six weeks on crutches. The hip gives him no problems on his swing, but walking 18 holes has proved challenging. Jacobsen withdrew from the previous two tournaments simply because he couldn't complete the walk.
"Tomorrow is going to be real interesting," Jacobsen said.
Thirty-six holes left
Never before has the entire field of a Champions Tour event played 36 holes in one day. And unlike regular Champions Tour events, carts are not allowed in the five majors.
"I'm sure there will be a lot of us that have some old injuries or some nagging problems right now that [36 holes] will accentuate that," Morgan said.
Kite said the fact that the Bellerive Country Club's zoysia grass remains soggy -- "kind of like walking in soft sand on the beach" -- makes the 36-hole task even more daunting.
"It's going to be a long, difficult day for everybody," Kite said.
But Zoeller said golfers are used to walking, never mind the Midwest heat and humidity.
"I think the only people that are going to complain are the people who work in the air conditioning," Zoeller said. "As far as golfers go, we're used to it."
At the minimum age of 50 and still playing well enough to rank 27th on the regular PGA Tour, Haas figures to have an advantage over many of his competitors. He wasn't so sure.
"I don't think you can discount anyone whose up there because of age or anything like that," Haas, a native St. Louisan who has played Bellerive many times. "With 36 left, there's so much that can happen. Guys can get going, and I can see a 63 or 64 out of somebody here before too long."
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