By Dan Hargett
Washingtonpost.com Correspondent
Friday, May 28, 1999; 11:30 p.m. EDT

Several local players have made splashes on the PGA Tour in recent years, including former University of Maryland golf coach Fred Funk and St. Albans alumnus Olin Browne. However, for Donnie Hammond, a player who long ago fell off the tour radar, the Kemper Open has been an event that has always welcomed him.

The Frederick, Md. native, who is playing in the Kemper Open on a sponsor's exemption, is in solid position at one-over par after firing an even-par 71 on Friday for a two-day total 143. He is currently tied for thirty-sixth place.

"I've played pretty well both days," said Hammond, whose highest finish at the Kemper was a tie for tenth place in 1986. "Thursday was a good 72 [1-over] for me, a day where I had a lot of 40-foot two-putts. Today, I had a few more chances and I drove the ball a little better. Today was a day if you shoot even-par, you have to be fairly happy."

Hammond has been a model of consistency on the Avenel greens, three-putting for the first and last time on the par-four 16th hole, when he misread a long putt that left him with ten-feet for par. Just one hole earlier, he blasted out of a greenside bunker and nearly sank it for a birdie three before tapping in for par. That was about as wild as it got during the first 36 holes for Hammond, who has a special place in his heart for the Kemper Open and its General Chairman, Ben Brundred, Jr.

"It's great to be here and make the cut in Ben's last year," said Hammond, who missed the cut a year ago and is playing in his seventeenth consecutive Kemper. "He's been a really good friend over the years. I will always remember the day I got back after losing my tour card [in 1992], and Ben called me and told me that I had a spot at the Kemper Open that year – whether I wanted it or not. That provided me with the momentum that picked me up from that day on."

That momentum allowed him to regain his tour card the next year.

Hammond, who is without his tour card again this year, has nevertheless played in six events on a past champions exemption. He has been content to spend more time with his family in place of full-time duty on the PGA Tour.

"I've been home a lot with my kids, so it's been a good year to catch up, to let the body settle for a year or so," said Hammond, who is lurking nine shots behind leader Rich Beem heading into the weekend. "But it would be my tournament to win, if I can get close enough. I need to get sharper with my irons and make two or three extra putts tomorrow [Saturday]."

With his father, brother and mother-in-law following his every shot from behind the ropes, Hammond would love to be in contention but also realizes that a nine-shot deficit is a difficult obstacle to maneuver, despite his confidence heading into the weekend.

"Being from D.C., you have to be able to put some positive spin on things, or you won't get anything done in this town."