PEBBLE BEACH – It's nearly 2 1/2 years and perhaps 50 tournaments into the not-so-distant future for what Kevin Sutherland still calls the Seniors Tour.
But Sutherland, halfway through the tournament that's often still called "the Crosby," embraces thoughts of the Champions Tour.
"No, it's not too early to think about it," said Sacramento's Sutherland, who shot a 2-over-par 72 Friday at Monterey Peninsula Country Club in the second round of the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. "I will be 48 in July. I will play the rest of this year. You know, you're not going there yet, but it's in the back of your head. You kind of know, it's somewhere you are looking to play."
While Sutherland's 142 total trails tournament leader Charlie Wi by 12 shots, Spencer Levin of Elk Grove had his second straight 69 for a 138 total.
Levin likely has had the tournament's most unusual under-par rounds. With just eight pars, he had two eagles, four birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey for his 69 at Pebble Beach.
Nick Watney, the former Dixon resident, had a 73, also at Monterey Peninsula, en route to a 139 total.
Scott McCarron, the native Sacramentan who's lived in Reno and La Quinta in recent years, shot a 76 at Monterey Peninsula for a 150 total.
Sutherland looks forward to the Champions Tour – players must be at least age 50 – while he recovers from a freak accident. He tripped over a driving-range cord, injuring his neck. As a result, he didn't compete on the PGA Tour after the Players Championship last May, ending a career-long streak of steady, full seasons.
After competing in only 11 official events in 2011 (he made five cuts), Sutherland is playing this season with a major medical exemption. He has 15 tournaments to earn $378,473, which would advance him into the top 125 money leaders of 2011 and give him full exempt status for 2013.
"I think I'm going to play less, around 20 tournaments, I guess," said Sutherland, who's playing in his fourth event this season, the 436th tournament of his PGA Tour career. "That's kind of the plan.
"I was hurt most of last year, and I am still nursing it. It still bothers me a little bit, so I have to take it kind of slow and pick and choose the tournaments I want to play."
After his 18th consecutive year at Pebble Beach, Sutherland will compete next week in the Northern Trust Open in Southern California. After that, he plans just two tournaments in the following two months.
"I am going to rest it and then play a little bit more this summer when it's warmer," said Sutherland, whose lone PGA Tour victory was the 2002 Accenture Match Play Championship. "So where I am at is to play the tournaments that suit me.
"I'm in a position with my neck (where) I'm not sure whether I will be able to play a lot. But I look at the Senior Tour, and they're playing like 15 tournaments. That's kind of attractive."
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