Young, `old' make move.

Byline: Ron Bellamy and Adam Jude The Register-Guard

The Register-Guard

JUNCTION CITY - The last group to tee off on the first hole in today's third round of the Oregon Classic - the leaders - will consist of the youngest player to ever win on the Nationwide Tour, the first amateur ever to win on the Nationwide Tour and a 35-year-old Welshman, Richard Johnson, who happens to have two Nationwide Tour victories of his own.

"The old fart," Johnson said, after he recorded birdies on his last five holes en route to an 8-under-par 64 Friday afternoon and a share of the lead at the halfway point of the $475,000 tournament at Shadow Hills Country Club.

Johnson's two-day total of 12 under left him tied for the lead with Daniel Summerhays, the 23-year-old former BYU star who shocked the Nationwide Tour two months ago by becoming its first amateur champion.

Lurking one stroke back is 19-year-old Jason Day, the sensational Australian who this summer became the youngest golfer ever to win a PGA Tour-sanctioned event.

"I'll see if I can keep up with those boys," said Johnson, ranked No. 11 on the Nationwide Tour money list this year, with second-place finishes in two of his last four tournaments, including last weekend's event in Utah.

A field of 77 golfers survived the cut, which came at 2 under, second-lowest total in Oregon Classic history. Today's third round will feature a two-tee start beginning at 8 a.m. - geared toward finishing play before the start of the University of Oregon-Fresno State football game at 4 p.m. - with Summerhays, Johnson and Day set to go at 10 a.m.

Summerhays, one of eight golfers tied for the lead after the first round, broke to the lead by himself Friday morning and held the top spot alone most of the day after his second consecutive 66, until Johnson joined him with his late surge.

The only player in the tournament without a bogey, Summerhays said he was "really proud" of himself Friday for not being distracted by the flickering leaderboards.

Which is a challenge, because amateur events don't have on-course scoreboards, and Summerhays said they're hard to ignore.

"You see that `Summerhays is at 3 (under),' `Summerhays is at 4' (and) I would get to thinking, `Hey, if I could just get two more birdies ... ,' ' he said. "But that's not the way to think. I don't play my best golf when I do that. I play my best golf when I'm not worried about where I'm at, but about this shot, this putt. I played pretty solid today."

Summerhays entered the summer with plans to return to BYU for his senior year. That all changed when he was given a sponsor's exemption to play in the Children's Hospital Invitational in Columbus, Ohio, in July and held on for a two-stroke victory.

"I've never hit it as good as I did there," he said. "That week changed my life. There are some defining moments in your life: You get married, you have a baby, things like that. But that (victory) is probably a close second."

Having played as an amateur, Summerhays wasn't eligible to collect the $125,000 first-place prize money, but the victory guaranteed full status on the Nationwide Tour through 2008, ensuring Summerhays a place to play. With advice from his family - including his brother Boyd, a former PGA Tour player and current member of the Nationwide Tour, and uncle Bruce, a member of the Champions Tour - Summerhays turned pro less than a week later.

"You're playing so good right now, you have nothing to lose (by turning pro)," Boyd Summerhays told his little brother, who was considered one of the top contenders for a spot on the U.S. Walker Cup team. "I think he's made the right decision. He's proven he can play out here, and that the one he won wasn't a fluke."

Since turning pro, Summerhays, with his wife, Emily, traveling with him, has played in six previous Nationwide events, missing only one cut, with one top-10 finish and another top-25 finish.

"He's not going to back down," said Boyd Summerhays, who also made the cut here. "He's a phenomenal putter - one of the best putters I've ever seen. And he's been hitting real well. This is probably the first tournament since he's turned (pro) that he's put it all together so far."

Johnson also putted well on Friday, one-putting his last four holes.

"The greens are phenomenal," Johnson said. "You get it rolling on line and it's going to go in. ... These greens are unbelievable. Probably the best I've ever putted on."

This is Johnson's fourth Oregon Classic, and his first since 2002, when he tied for 26th. He won the Florida Classic in 1999 and the Monterey Peninsula Classic in 2000 and has knocked on the door of a couple of wins this year, with the two second-place finishes and three other top-10 finishes.

"It's nice to play well," he said. "Winning will just happen if you keep playing good. I've got a good thing I'm doing with my golf swing. I'm not fiddling around. I'm doing the same things and I happen to be putting well, so it's working out well."

The formidable Day finished his round of 67 with a flourish, with "a pretty awesome" 5 under on his last nine holes, which was Shadow Hills' front nine. He's played the front nine in 9 under over the last two days, and Friday afternoon his round consisted of hitting 12 of 14 fairways in regulation - he's tied for first in driving accuracy so far - and 16 of 18 greens. As the sun was setting, he was still on the putting green Friday evening.

"My momentum was just rolling on that (last) nine," Day said. "I kept hitting good shot after good shot."

He looked forward to playing today in the final group.

"Being in it to win it is a good feeling," he said.

OREGON CLASSIC LEADERBOARD 

Daniel Summerhays ... 66-66-132

Richard Johnson ... 68-64-132

Jason Day ... 66-67-133

Jon Turcott ... 68-66-134

NOTABLES

Brock Mackenzie ... 68-69-137

Alex Prugh ... 66-71-137

Roland Thatcher ... 66-71-137

Skip Kendall ... 71-70-141

Jason Allred ... 71-74-145

Steve Pate ... 71-74-145

Chris Riley ... 70-WD

INSIDE

For the record: B.J. Staten cards a course-record 62 / B8

More coverage: Notes, scores and today's tee times / B8