Trevino talks about signing off

CONCORD -- As retirement announcements go, it was as informal as it gets. Then again, Lee Trevino didn't ask for a forum and there's always the chance he'll change his mind. But as he signed autographs for a line of youngsters after yesterday's second round of the Bank of America Championship, the legendary Merry Mex said he could see the finish line to his competitive career.

"Two more tournaments," said Trevino, identifying the AT&T Championship in San Antonio in October as his finale.

He was asked why and he laughed. "Because I'm 68," said the man who won three majors (US Open, British Open, PGA Championship) twice each. He will be that age when his birthday arrives Dec. 1, but the point was made.

"Two more tournaments and I'm never going to sign another autograph," he announced. "I'm never even going to sign a check."

Trevino is playing in just his third Champions Tour event of the season, but he played in 16 a year ago and insists that come 2008, his efforts will be restricted to outings and fun, charitable stuff. But as he signed hats, flags, and programs, and as he watched the next group of players come off of the ninth green, Trevino conceded "that I'll miss all of this."

As he pushed his score to 9 under and ran his bogey-free stretch to 23 holes, Tom Purtzer was on a roll, but hardly feeling comfortable. He saw that R.W. Eaks was en route to a 64 and that unheralded names such as Kirk Hanefeld were making a push, too, so he only had a two-shot lead.

Next thing he knew, he had bogeyed three times in seven holes and he was in a logjam atop the leaderboard, at 7 under. "I got off to a great start, but I just couldn't continue it," said Purtzer, hurt mostly by three-putt bogeys at the par-5 ninth and par-4 12th . Ah, but he's in friendly confines at Nashawtuc, and with birdies at the par-3 13th, par-4 15th, and par-5 18th , he pushed to 10 under and into a three-shot lead.

In his fourth appearance at this tournament, Purtzer has played 11 rounds, broken 70 seven times, had the lead after a round four times, posted a scoring average of 67.73, and posted no wins. That last entry stings him.

"I'm not kidding myself that I don't remember," he said of the 2004 and 2005 tournaments that slipped from his grasp. "But I feel like I'm a better player than I was either of those years."

Tom Watson started the day with a one-shot lead over Purtzer, his playing competitor, but compared his effort to that of a boxer. "And I didn't lay a glove on [the course]," said Watson, who had two bogeys on his scorecard before he made his first birdie, at the par-5 ninth. He then birdied the par-4 10th, but followed with eight straight pars for a 72--137 total that leaves him tied for second with six others . . . For the second time in this championship, New England natives Dana Quigley and Allen Doyle will be paired together. They'll go off the first tee at 10:05 a.m. thanks to Quigley's 69 and Doyle's 70 that left them at 3-under 141, tied for 25th . . . Doyle has strung together 22 consecutive rounds of par or better at Nashawtuc CC, dating to the 1999 tournament . . . Much of the local focus rested on Hanefeld after he shot 66--137 to get into a tie for second, but Worcester native Rick Karbowski is the other one making good use of a sponsor's exemption. The former New England Open champion shot 69 to move into a tie for 12th at 5-under 139. Like Hanefeld, Karbowski would love a top-10 finish, because it would afford him a spot in next week's Champions Tour event on Long Island.

How scoreable was it for the second round? Consider that only two triple bogeys were made -- and none on the front. The par-5 18th played easiest, with the field making 6 eagles, 28 birdies, and a mere 4 bogeys for an average of 4.538. Only three bogeys were made at the par-4 15th, the par-5 10th yielded only five bogeys, and the par-3 17th played under par (2.885). On the tough side, there were only five birdies at the 191-yard, par-3 second, which ranked No. 1, and though it played downwind, the 543-yard ninth coughed up just 13 birdies . . . There are seven members of the World Golf Hall of Fame in the field: Watson (72--137, T-2), Tom Kite (70--140, T-19), Larry Nelson (73--141, T-25), Nick Price (70--142, T-32), Curtis Strange (72--144, T-44), Hale Irwin (71--145, T-56), and Trevino (70--147, T-63) . . . Fashion kudos to Curtis Strange, who has been sporting a Titleist hat with a Red Sox logo on the side . . . Told that another player had described Friday's action and its two weather delays as a round of golf with two intermissions, Quigley added, "Yeah, but without the popcorn." Quigley didn't so much mind the delays as he did the fact that three times he had to warm up. "The body's not geared to hit three buckets of balls," said Quigley, notorious in his dislike of the practice range, legendary for his love of just playing.

Jim McCabe can be reached at jmccabe@globe.com.