Simpson surges to lead by one at windy Azalea

Webb Simpson is doing a good job in defending his Azalea Invitational golf title at the Country Club of Charleston.

Simpson posted an even-par 71 Friday to move into the lead midway through the 72-hole tournament.

Simpson, who won the 2004 Azalea as a high school senior, has a one-shot lead over a couple of the country's top junior amateurs, Bud Cauley of Jacksonville, Fla., and Peter Uihlein of Bradenton, Fla. Cauley, who is headed to Alabama, shot 73 Friday, while Uihlein, who has committed to Oklahoma State, matched the day's best round, a 1-under 70.

Oklahoma State's Trent Leon and Steve Liebler of Irmo, who were tied for the first-round lead at 69, are tied for fourth at 143 along with Zach Sucher of Mobile, Ala.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, who opened with a 73, struggled to an 80 Friday and is in the middle of the pack, tied for 52nd.

Simpson said he didn't expect anyone 'would take it really low' but was surprised that no one broke 70.

'Overall, I played well but I didn't score well,' Simpson said. 'I parred all the par-5s. I left some shots out there.'

Simpson played the front nine in even par with a birdie on the par-4 fourth and a bogey on the par-4 seventh hole.

On the par-4 10th, he pulled his tee shot onto a cart path and pitched out about 90 yards short of the green. After getting on, he ran his par putt well past the hole and walked away with a double bogey.

But he made up both shots with back-to-back birdies at 13 and 14, then parred in.

Romo said he got a little too aggressive Friday, and that resulted in eight bogeys, a double bogey and only one birdie.

'Today, I tried to push the envelope a few times,' he said, explaining that on Thursday he played more for the middle of the green and paid the price for attacking the course in the second round. 'I don't shoot 80s that often.'

Romo's worst hole was the difficult and well-known par-3 11th, which he double bogeyed. He hit his tee shot into the right bunker, then tried to hit the ball into the bank and it rolled over into the left bunker.

'It's a good hole, a good test,' said Romo, who will tee off at 10:40 a.m. today.

Third-round tee times begin at 7:50 a.m. and continue until 1:30 p.m.

The field will be cut to the low 60 and ties for Sunday's final round.

SCORES

Webb Simpson, Raleigh, N.C. 70-71-141

Bud Cauley, Jacksonville, Fla. 69-73-142

Peter Uihlein, Bradenton, Fla. 72-70-142

Trent Leon, Sarasota, Fla. 69-74-143

Steve Liebler, Irmo 69-74-143

Zack Sucher, Mobile, Ala. 72-71-143

Mike Cobb, Summerville 74-70-144

Kevin Tway, Edmond, Okla. 72-72-144

Jeff Knox, Augusta, Ga. 73-71-144

Morgan Hoffmann, Wyckeoff, N.J. 72-73-145

Rocky Manning, Greensboro, N.C. 72-73-145

Jamie Miller, Silver Creek, N.Y. 75-70-145

Will Kropp, Edmond, Okla. 69-76-145

Walter Todd, Laurens 75-70-145

John Pitt, Chapel Hill, N.C. 74-71-145

Austin Cody, North Charleston 72-74-146

Brent Roof, Columbia 71-75-146

Lee Bedford, Cary, N.C. 70-76-146

Trip Kuehne, Southlake, Texas 72-74-146

Tim Jackson, Germantown, Tenn. 74-72-146

Nathan T. Smith, Pittsburgh, Pa. 72-75-147

Michael Green, Augusta, Ga. 74-73-147

Stephen Sear, Washoe Valley, Nev. 77-70-147

Jon McLean, Weston, Fla. 74-74-148

Wesley Bryan, Chapin 76-73-149

Michael Barbosa, St. Petersburg, Fla. 73-76-149

Jack Hall, Sea Island, Ga. 72-77-149

Vance Welch, Cross Creek, Md. 74-76-150

Buzz Peel, Delray Beach, Fla. 79-71-150

Andres Echavarria, Gainesville, Fla. 73-77-150

Brennen King, Charleston 78-72-150

Danny Green, Jackson, Tenn. 78-72-150

Dayton Rose, Midwest City, Okla. 76-74-150

Hunter Slatton, Tuscaloosa, Ala. 75-76-151

Jacob Burger, Orangeburg 79-72-151

Kevin Driggers, Mount Pleasant 74-77-151

Buddy Marucci, Radnor, Pa. 77-74-151

David McCrary, North Charleston 76-75-151

John Wright, Elmhurst, Ill. 72-79-151

Patrick Reed, Baton Rouge, La. 73-78-151

Greg Earnhardt, Greensboro, N.C. 76-75-151

Brady Exber, Las Vegas 77-74-151

Hunter Hamrick, Montgomery, Ala. 78-74-152

Tre Sheppard, Mount Pleasant 80-72-152

Jon Schram, Phoenix 81-71-152

Billy Mitchell, Roswell, Ga. 80-72-152

Justin Schulte, Waukee, Iowa 73-79-152

Michael Morrison, Atlanta 78-74-152

John Finster, Wake Forest, N.C. 79-73-152

Brad Wilder, Florence, Ky. 78-74-152

John Finnin, Crete, Ill. 81-71-151

Tony Romo, Burlington, Wis. 73-80-153

Gus Sylvan, Columbia 78-75-153

Matt Sughrue, Potomac, Md. 78-76-154

Phillip Weaver, Tuscaloosa, Ala. 74-80-154

Erin McDonald, Memphis, Tenn. 77-77-154

Warren Thomas, Columbia 75-79-154

Tim Tang, Charleston 72-82-154

Gene Elliott, W.Des Moines, Iowa 76-78-154

Jack Larkin, Atlanta 76-78-154

Rob Wilson, Charleston 78-76-154

David Nelson, Reno, Nev. 78-76-154

Kyle Ellis, Oxford, Miss. 81-74-155

Kevin Quinn, Needham, Mass. 81-74-155

Gregor Main, Danville, Calif. 82-73-155

Jim Lehman, Minneapolis, Minn. 78-77-155

Brad Marek, Orlando 75-80-155

Robert Dargan, Columbia 76-79-155

Minghao Wang, Reunion, Fla. 79-77-156

Frank Ford III, Charleston 83-73-156

Chris Corn, Rock Hill 78-78-156

Michael Muscatell, Lake Wylie 81-75-156

Ben Dangerfield, Charleston 78-78-156

Charles Buddin, Manning 76-80-156

Kyle Dickey, Summerville 79-77-156

Mark Johnson, Stillwater, Okla. 76-80-156

Keith Waters, Raleigh, N.C. 83-73-156

Randy Teegardin, Charleston 78-78-156

Bill Williamson, Cincinnati 74-82-156

Whitten Meares, Charleston 80-77-157

Rick Cloninger, Fort Mill 80-77-157

Harold Wyatt, Atlanta 77-80-157

Jack Kelly, Seattle, Wash. 79-78-157

Bert Atkinson, Charleston 81-76-157

Spencer Cole, Greer 76-81-157

Jim Burgess, Kingstree 80-78-158

Matt Wood, Charleston 74-84-158

Wesley Graham, Port Orange, Fla. 81-77-158

Bob Burton, Evert, Wash. 79-79-158

Dan Crockett, Franklin, Tenn. 78-80-158

Dean Channell, Cary, N.C. 77-81-158

Charlie Harrison, Las Vegas, Nev. 78-80-158

Robert Gerwin, Cincinnati 80-79-159

Rion Moore, Georgetown 80-80-160

Joe Palmer, W.Des Moines, Iowa 85-76-161

Steve Slayden, Charlotte 81-80-161

Cordes Ford, Charleston 78-84-162

Justin Hare, Charleston 79-83-162

Walker Taylor, Wilmington, N.C. 81-82-163

Kyle Simmons, Gainesville, Fla. 80-83-163

Alan Fadel, Toledo, Ohio 83-80-163

Austin Parks, Mount Pleasant 88-77-165

Cory Crump, Peachtree City, Ga. 87-81-168

Tucker Sampson, Matthews, N.C. 81-90-171

Michael Atkeison, Somerville, Tenn. 87-85-172

Clint Tolleson, Spartanburg 75-WD

Thomas Smith, Chattanooga, Tenn. 76-WD

Burgess Houston, Wellesley, Mass. 79-WD