HUMBLE, Texas - Jason Gore got a boost from the Rocket in the Houston Open.
Wearing a black Houston Astros cap that Roger Clemens gave him, Gore shot a 4-under-par 68 on Friday to join a six-player logjam at the top.
Defending champion Stuart Appleby, Bubba Watson, D.J. Brigman and Texans Bob Estes and Jeff Maggert also were 6-under after two rounds, and Hunter Mahan, Tommy Armour III and Tom Byrum were one shot back.
Greensburg native Rocco Mediate, who shot a 69 on Thursday, had a 5-over 77 yesterday and missed the cut.
Gore, who has a Boston Red Sox jersey at home that Clemens once autographed, first formally met his boyhood idol two years ago at the ADT Skills Challenge and the two became friends.
"He's always been my hero," Gore said.
Clemens, still undecided on whether he'll return to baseball, played in a pro-am on Wednesday and also gave Gore a T-shirt that read "Tough All Day" across the front. The inspired Gore marked the letters "TAD" on his ball before teeing off Thursday and shot a 2-under 70, his best round in more than a month.
"It's just one of those things," Gore said of the simple message. "No matter how bad things go, you've got to just stay tough."
The mantra fit the blustery conditions yesterday at the 7,457-yard Tournament Course at Redstone, hosting the event for the second year. Players backed off putts and avoided tricky pins all day because of the unpredictable gusts.
"I can stay as patient as anybody out there and I knew it was playing tough," said Estes, who followed an opening 67 with a 71. "It's tough to get the ball in play on a lot of holes, to even have a chance to play a conservative approach shot."
Appleby followed a 66 with a 72 yesterday, failing to break 70 for the first time in six rounds at the new Redstone course.
Watson's 67 was the lowest round of the day. He sank birdie putts of 24 and 30 feet and two-putted from 50 feet on the par-5 fifth after blasting a 350-yard drive.
Champions Tour
In Palm Coast, Fla., Brad Bryant had an eagle and four birdies during a six-hole stretch to earn a share of the first-round lead with Keith Fergus in the Champions Tour's Ginn Championship.
Bryant, who began his round at No. 10, was 6-under at one point and finished with a 5-under 67 in windy conditions at the Ocean Club at Hammock Beach course bordering the Atlantic Ocean. Fergus was one of three players who didn't bogey a hole, and highlighted his round with a 14-foot putt for eagle at the par-5 10th.
Raymond Floyd, a four-time major champion, flirted with shooting his age of 64 before settling for a 68 to tie Des Smyth, R.W. Eaks and Joe Ozaki. It was Floyd's best opening round on the Champions Tour this season.
Floyd hit 14 greens and reached the green in two shots on two par-5 holes. He last won on the Champions Tour at the 2000 Senior Players Championship, but said winning a tournament is not foremost on his mind.
Floyd birdied three of his first six holes, and then birdied his first three on the front nine. After a bogey, he birdied Nos. 14 and 16 to tie Bryant for the lead, before bogeying his last two holes.
European PGA Tour
In Cascais, Portugal, England's Ross McGowan shot his second straight 3-under 68 to move into the lead in the Estoril Open.
McGowan had four birdies in the second round and is at 136. Fellow Englishman Nick Dougherty had a 69 and is two strokes back of McGowan.
England's Benn Barnham was at 3-under 139 with Scotsman Stephen Gallacher, Frenchman Raphael Jacquelin, Alexander Noren of Sweden and Graeme Storm of England.
Defending champion Paul Broadhurst followed his first-round 69 with an even-par 71 and is tied for fourth.
First-round leader Simon Dyson of England had a 74 in the second round and trailed McGowan by five.
