Trading places at Toshiba

Bryce Alderton

Saturday’s second round of the Toshiba Senor Classic switched gears

from a potential runaway to one that left 10 players within six shots

of leader Mark Johnson, in territory he hasn’t visited in his short

stint on the PGA Champions Tour.

Johnson took his first lead of a Champions Tour event with an

8-under-par 63 to go with his first round 67 (130) and leads Keith

Fergus (67-66 -- 133) by three shots at Newport Beach Country Club

heading into today’s final round.

Fergus eagled the 492-yard par-5 15th hole to move to 9-under with

Johnson in the clubhouse at 12-under.

Fergus hit a 5-iron within 6 feet and sank the subsequent putt.

Tom Jenkins and Wayne Levi, who each enter today at 8-under,

caught fire late to pull closer to Johnson with a pair of 68s.

Jenkins finished 3-under the last two holes, including an eagle 3

on No. 18 while Levi ended his round with back-to-back birdies.

Fergus, who has shot in the 60s in all five rounds at Newport

Beach Country Club and placed fourth last year, said he glanced at

the leaderboard periodically on the back nine and saw Johnson move to

12-under with a birdie on the par-5 15th.

“I told myself I better get in gear,” Fergus said.

It didn’t take Johnson, who earned medalist honors at the

Champions Tour’s national qualifying tournament last year, very long

to shift his game into overdrive.

The 1996 California State Amateur champion started the day two

shots behind first-round leader Gil Morgan, but began his ascent with

an eagle 3 on the par-5 third hole followed by a birdie on the par-3

fourth, where he sank a 40-foot downhill putt.

That left Johnson at 7-under with a brief one-stroke lead over

1995 Masters champion Ben Crenshaw, making some noise of his own.

Crenshaw, who finished tied for 23rd last year, moved to 7-under

with a birdie 3 on the par-4 seventh hole and finished the front nine

at 4-under 31.

Johnson bested Crenshaw’s front nine by one stroke, shooting a

5-under 30 and moved to 9-under overall.

Johnson, a beer truck driver for 18 years before dedicating his

career to golf six years ago, blocked his drive right on No. 9 and

scrambled to save par with a 30-foot putt.

His round received a further boost when he chipped in from 64 feet

for a birdie 2 on the par-3 13th, using a 7-iron.

The chip moved him to 11-under and a two-stroke lead over

Crenshaw, who moved to 9-under after sinking a 22-foot birdie putt on

the par-4 14th.

Crenshaw pumped his right fist after making the putt.

“All a golfer wants to do is play with confidence,” said Crenshaw,

seeking his first Champions Tour victory since joining the circuit in

2002.

Johnson echoed those sentiments.

“I felt confident and felt good about everything today,” said

Johnson, who traded his 5-wood for a 7-wood for Saturday’s round.

“The 5-wood brought more bunkers into play,” Johnson said.

A greenside bunker on the par-3 17th caused Crenshaw some trouble

after his 8-iron plugged under the lip.

Crenshaw’s second shot hit the lip and rolled back in.

He finished with a double-bogey 5 and settled for a 4-under 67,

five strokes off the lead.

“Both days I have not played the par 5s well, and you have to do

that to keep the momentum going,” Crenshaw said.

Crenshaw is 4-under on the par 5s through two rounds while Fergus

is 7-under on those holes.

Morgan made up four strokes in the last three holes to pull within

five strokes of Johnson after a 1-under 70 Saturday.

“I didn’t hit my irons well starting out and I missed a few short

putts,” Morgan said. “The wind switched in the middle of the day to

more off the ocean.”

The first-round leader found his stroke on the back nine.

Morgan hit his 5-wood second shot within 12 feet on 18 and made a

“speedy right-to-left breaker” for eagle.