Willis shoots 62 to share Vegas lead as Daly surges

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - American journeyman Garrett Willis shrugged off a late night and a sluggish start to charge into a three-way tie for the lead in the Las Vegas Open second round on Friday.

The 33-year-old from North Carolina fired a sparkling 10-under-par 62, just one off the course record at the TPC Summerlin, for a 13-under total of 130.

Willis set the pace at the tournament's halfway point with fellow Americans D.J. Trahan (65) and PGA Tour rookie George McNeill (64), who both played at the neighboring TPC Canyons.

Twice major winner John Daly also made the most of a sun-drenched day of low-scoring in the Nevada desert, following his opening 74 with a 63 at Summerlin to lie seven strokes off the lead.

The 144-strong field played the opening two rounds on each of the co-hosting venues before the action switches to the Summerlin layout for the weekend.

Willis, who has bounced between the PGA Tour and the second tier Nationwide Tour for the last three years, feared the worst Friday when he arrived at the course later than scheduled.

"I got a slow start out of the hotel this morning," he told reporters. "When you have a 7:10 tee time and you're staying in Vegas it's tough to get to bed at a decent hour.

"I only warmed up for about 20 minutes prior to the round. I hit the first fairway and was pretty pleased but bogeyed the second hole and my first thought was: 'Great, you put yourself in a position where you'll have to grind it out for the cut'."