Love brings top game to same old Harbour Town

If Davis Love III has a secret about playing at Harbour Town, he's not telling.

"Guys are kind of like, 'Well, what is he doing? Here he goes again. How does he do it?"' said Love, whose 5-under-par 66 on Friday lifted him - again - into the lead after two rounds of the MCI Classic in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. "You can tell that maybe they think I know something that they don't. But I don't."

Love, a four-time champion in this event, looked every bit at home as he does in nearby Sea Island, Georgia, cutting through cold, damp conditions to move a stroke ahead of South Africa's Ernie Els.

Els, second at the Masters last week, shot a 67 and was at 135.

Steve Lowery had a 7-under 64 and was three strokes off the lead with Notah Begay and first-round leader Dan Forsman. Begay, with a 66, and Forsman, with a 71, both played in the afternoon as a steady, sometimes heavy, rain cleared the course of everyone but the golfers.

Masters champion Vijay Singh briefly moved within a shot of Love midway through the round. But Singh had three bogeys on the back nine to fall to his second straight 70 and was six shots behind.

Defending champion Glen Day followed his opening 74 with a 69.

Love is as overwhelming a favorite at Harbour Town as Tiger Woods seems to be at most other courses. His four victories are an MCI record, as is the dlrs 941,533 he has won here. He broke 70 in eight of his last 10 tournament rounds.

"It is kind of strange that for some reason after the Masters I always come here and play well," Love said. Players "have asked me a lot, 'How do you play this hole?' or 'How do you play that hole?"'

Maybe that's why Els, grouped with Love the first two rounds, was the closest to the leader.

"Davis knows this place pretty well," said Els, whose best MCI finish was a 10th two years ago. "So I just kind of followed him around today."

In Els' up-close view, Love's only poor swing in 36 holes was a sideways 3-wood that flew into the marsh off the 18th green on Thursday and led to a double-bogey 6.

"I don't think 'mad at myself' is strong enough" to say how he felt closing Thursday's round, Love said.

But Love relied on his history and passion for Harbour Town and was rewarded with the lead. His round included a remarkable eagle at the par-4 16th and a birdie on 18 that "probably felt like an eagle," Love said.

Love's move began on 16 when his 9-iron from 130 yards took two bounces and disappeared "like a rabbit in a hole," he said.

After missing a 17-foot birdie putt on 17, Love stood over a similar approach shot on 18 that he had sent off line a day earlier. This time, he drilled a 4-iron straight and true within eight feet and rolled in the putt.

A 15-foot birdie putt on his final hole, the ninth, left Love in a very familiar position.

"He looks very comfortable out there," Els said. "He plays the safe shot off the tee and he knows where the greens are running to."

Leading second-round scores at the MCI Heritage Classic in South Carolina (US unless stated):

134 D Love 68 66 135 E Els (Rsa) 68 67 137 S Lowery 73 64, N Begay 71 66, D Forsman 66 71 138 B Fabel 71 67, F Nobilo (Nzl) 69 69 139 S Cink 71 68, T Herron 68 71, J Huston 71 68, J Parnevik (Swe) 70 69 140 P Azinger 70 70, J Don Blake 73 67, R Friend 71 69, F Funk 71 69, J Green 71 69, J Kaye 73 67, T Lehman 70 70

Others:

141 E Fryatt (Gbr) 67 74 142 N Price (Zim) 75 67

Failed to qualify:

145 N Faldo (Gbr) 72 73 154 S Lyle (Gbr) 74 80 G Hjertstedt (Swe) 80 WD