Published June 26. 2005 6:01AM

McCollum leads lefty tournament

By J.J. Hicks
Times Sports Correspondent
It was a good day to be a Johnson Saturday at Twin Bridges Golf Club.

Daryl Johnson shot a 77 to extend his lead in the Open division to seven strokes heading into the final round at the 56th annual Alabama State Left-Handed Golf Tournament, while his grandfather, Herman Johnson, shot an opening round 79 to take a four stroke lead in the Seniors division.

In addition to Daryl and Herman, a third Johnson is participating in the tourney.

Ken Johnson, who won the championship in 1986, 1987, and 1999, is the father of Daryl and son of Herman. He shot an 84 Saturday in the Championship division.

All three Johnsons won a division in 1999, when Daryl won the Open division, Ken won the Championship division and Herman won the Seniors division.

For Daryl, who hails from Chelsea, it is a very special opportunity to play with both his father and grandfather.

"That's the best feeling, knowing that I've got my dad and grandad playing in the same event that I play in," he said. "The thing that probably made me the happiest was hearing dad come out and say, `Papa shot a 79 and was one under on the front.' At that point I forgot what I was doing, and that was fine. I was really tickled to hear that, so it's great."

Daryl Johnson leads the Open division at 10 over through the first two rounds. Bill Askew and Gene Ellison are seven strokes back each, at 17 over.

In the Championship division, two-time defending champion Tim McCollum of Birmingham continues to dominate the field, shooting a two over 74 after an even par opening round.

McCollum holds an eight stoke lead over Steve Phillips and a ten stroke lead over Johnny Brashler and Mike Wesler.

Herman Johnson holds the Senior division lead over Joe Fuller, who shot an 83 Saturday after taking part in the Championship division on Friday.

Daryl Johnson realizes that even a seven stroke lead heading into today's final round doesn't guarantee victory.

"It's gonna take steady play again," he said. "I can't take anything for granted with this group out here. I'm just gonna have to play one shot at a time and hopefully that will be good enough to hold up." He also saw a few subtle differences in how the course played on Saturday. "They had watered the course last night. The fairways were a little slower than yesterday, when they were a little harder and got a lot more roll."

As far as playing safe to preserve his lead, Daryl Johnson wouldn't have it.

"There's only one way to play it, and that's to play every shot like it's the first day," he said. "I don't really know conservative. It's get up there, see what the yardage is, and hit the shot and whatever happens is gonna happen."

Daryl also does not feel any pressure about being the leader, a trait he says runs in the family.

"I guess I get it from dad, and dad gets it from papa, but there's not a serious bone in our body. We take this as a fellowship to where we get to see guys at least once a year that we don't ever get to see, and if you shoot well, you shoot well."

Tee time is tentatively scheduled for 8:00 a.m. this morning. Any left-handed golfers interested in joining the Left-Handed Golfers' Association can visit www.alleftygolf.org for more information.