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Shark.com Staff
Nov. 14, 2003
NAPLES, Fla. - Hank Kuehne is 6 feet, 2 inches tall and a solid 205 pounds. Jeff Sluman is 5 feet, 7 inches and might tip the scales at 140 pounds. Kuehne is 18 years younger than Sluman, though they do share the same birthday. Kuehne averages 321 yards per drive, which leads the PGA Tour. Sluman gets the most out of his diminutive frame at 281 yards a clip.
The odd couple tallied eight birdies and a bogey on a gusty Friday at Tiburón Golf Club and has a one-shot lead after 18 holes at The Franklin Templeton Shootout.
 | | Scott Hoch and Kenny Perry are alone in second after a first-round 66. |
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Scott Hoch and Kenny Perry are alone in second after a first-round 66 and two teams share third at 5 under. Tournament host Greg Norman and Steve Elkington opened with an even-par 72.
After a birdie and a bogey in the first five holes, the round changed for Kuehne and Sluman on No. 6, a 592-yard par-5. Both hit errant tee shots -- Sluman's sitting waist high in a bush and Kuehne's resting on pine straw left of the fairway.
Sluman curled a 4-iron under a tree and back into play. He left Kuehne the perfect wedge distance -- perfect wedge distance for a guy who is known for driving the occasional par-5 and hitting completely through a driving range.
"We had 97 yards to the hole and it was a perfect three-quarter lob wedge for me," Kuehne said. He knocked it up to a foot and Sluman tapped in for birdie. What started as a less-than-desirable situation resulted in a birdie. That momentum continued and the duo closed with six birdies over the final 12 holes.
"I thought it was a wonderful pairing for me personally," Sluman said. "He sees parts of the golf course that no one else on tour sees. If I get it in play Hank can turn the driver loose, and that means I have much shorter irons in. His smooth ones are 25-30 yards past me, but he really ramped one up on No. 7. He got it to where I could putt it, and that's a pretty good feeling."
"I drove the ball extremely well today," Kuehne said. "I put it in the fairway on the par-5s and a couple of the difficult par-4s so Jeff had some scoring clubs coming in. That made things a lot easier."
Six practice holes Thursday was all the warm-up this group needed. They discussed strategy, particularly as it pertained to Friday's modified alternate-shot format, but the goal was simply to stay loose.
The second round will begin at 9:40 am Saturday and the format shifts to better ball. Kuehne and Sluman will be paired with Hoch and Perry in the final pairing. They are scheduled to start at 10:30 am
The highlight for Hoch and Perry was an unlikely eagle on the same sixth hole that proved pivotal for the leaders. After choosing Hoch's drive, Perry ripped a 3-wood from 285 yards to the edge of the green.
From there, Hoch snaked in a 90-foot putt that vaulted the group to 2 under. They added birdies on 7, 9, 10 and 14 before dropping a shot at 15. They came back with a birdie on 17 to finish at 6 under.
CBS will televise the second round live from 1-3:30 p.m. ET. Stay tuned to Shark.com for LIVE scoring throughout the weekend
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