Kite still shares First Tee Open lead

Pebble Beach, CA – Tom Kite shot a 3-under 69 on Saturday to remain tied for the lead after two rounds of the First Tee Open at Pebble Beach.

Kite played his second round at Pebble Beach and finished 36 holes at 8-under 136. He was joined by Brad Bryant, who had a 67 at Del Monte.

Play rotated over the two courses for the first two rounds while Champions Tour players teed it up with amateurs from the First Tee Program. The final round will be contested at Pebble Beach.

Bobby Clampett carded a 4-under 68 to move into a share of third at 5-under 139 with Mark McNulty (71) and Peter Senior (70).

Corey Pavin (71), Kirk Triplett (70), Gary Hallberg (71) and Fred Funk (69) are tied for sixth place at minus-4.

John Cook, who shared the first-round lead with Kite, had with to withdraw during the second round due to a neck injury.

Kite, who won the 1992 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach and the 1983 Pebble Beach Pro-Am when it was called the Bing Crosby National Pro-Am, birdied the third to get to 6-under and rolled in an 8-footer for birdie on the par-5 sixth.

After three straight pars, the 62-year-old Kite holed a bunker shot for birdie on the 10th to join McNulty atop the leaderboard.

Kite remained there as he parred the next six holes. At the par-3 17th, he drained a 5-footer for birdie to move to 9-under, where he was two clear of the field.

However, Kite's third shot at the last took a hard bounce and stopped on the back fringe just over 20 feet away. He lagged his first putt to about four feet, but missed that par-saving effort to drop back into a share of the lead.

"I did not play quite as well today. I hit some nice shots starting at No. 11," Kite stated. "I hung in there and did the things I needed to do. Disappointed with the finish, but I'm still in good shape."

Bryant started with a birdie on the 10th, but gave the stroke back with a bogey on the par-5 13th. Bryant connected on back-to-back birdie chances at 16 and 17 to move to minus-5.

The 2007 U.S. Senior Open champion holed a 66-yard wedge shot for eagle on the par-4 second. He birdied the sixth from 12 feet to get to 8-under, but gave it right back with a three-putt bogey on the seventh.

Bryant capped his round with a chip-in birdie on the par-5 ninth.

"Very fortunate day. I managed the course well. I hit two shots that made my whole day," Bryant said. "I'm playing through foot problems. I've got a ruptured tendon in my foot. It hasn't effected my golf swing much."

McNulty had three birdies on the back nine at Pebble Beach, then birdied the first to move to 8-under. He dropped shots at the third and fifth, but bounced back with a birdie on No. 7. McNulty tumbled back to 5-under when he double- bogeyed the ninth, his last.

NOTES: Defending champion Jeff Sluman stumbled to a 2-over 74 at Pebble Beach to slide into a share of 35th at 1-over 145.