NATCHEZ &045; This may be what happens when you team up four former champs together.

Clay Arnold, Pete Powell, P.Z. Brewer and Greg Brooking &045; a combined 19 titles between them &045; teamed up in the first day of the 34th annual Bill McKinney City Golf Championship Saturday. At the end of the day, Powell and Brewer each led with a 66 with Brooking only a shot back.

The three don’t have much lead heading into today’s final round at Duncan Park. First tee time is 10 a.m.

&uot;I’m quite happy with it,&uot; Brooking said. &uot;They played some really good golf. They’re just really good golfers. Pete Powell &045; you’re talking 11-time city champion. P.Z. is a two-time champion. They’re not going to fold up for you. The best thing about those guys is they’re gentlemen, and they’re both a pleasure to play with.&uot;

Powell and Brewer each shot a 5-under to take the lead and edge out five golfers who finished the first day under par.

Brewer was the only player to stay under 70 in the first day of last year’s tournament, and four did it Saturday.

&uot;It was my best in the tournament,&uot; said Brewer, the defending city champ. &uot;I shot a 64 just playing, and 62 is my best round out here. But it wasn’t during the Bill McKinney tournament. Sixty-six is I think my best ever for this tournament.&uot;

The foursome kept things rolling as Brooking, a five-time champ who last won in 1998, finished with a 67. Mitch Ashmore sits in fourth with a 68, while Jason Rooks sits fifth with a 69.

Powell, who has won a championship in each of the last four decades, sits alongside longtime friend Brewer in the top spot. Powell led the way with six birdies &045; three on the front nine and three more on the back &045; while bogeying once on the 13th hole.

&uot;I’d say P.Z. and I hit it about the same,&uot; said Powell, a longtime Natchez resident now living in Joliet, Ill. &uot;Brooking hit it about as well as we did but didn’t putt as well as we did. I didn’t hit any terrible shots.&uot;

The putts may have done it for Powell, although Brewer had the trio’s only eagle when he nailed it on the 11th hole.

&uot;I got some close enough to make &045; let’s put it like that,&uot; Powell said. &uot;Everybody we played with missed a bunch of putts.&uot;

Brewer, meanwhile, came up with four birdies on the front nine &045; including the tough 15th hole &045; with an eagle he knocked in with a wedge from 20 yards out. His only bogey came when he three-putted on hole No. 5, the second hole of the day.

&uot;Other than that, I really didn’t struggle for any pars today,&uot; Brewer said. &uot;I played about as good as I could play. Greg was doing well, Pete was playing good golf and I think we kind of fed off each other today. After a while, we all kind of figured we’d have to keep playing well to stay close to each other.

&uot;It was a fun day, but it’s always a fun day when I get to play with Pete. We’ve been playing together for a long time.&uot;

Brooking finished the day with 14 pars and four birdies to sit one shot back. He’s in great shape pull ahead of Brewer or Powell, and the McComb resident is out to get his first title since the turn of the century.

The second day is always tougher than the first &045; Chuck Fields was the only player to finish under par on Sunday last year.

&uot;My goal is to win it in the 2000s,&uot; said Brooking, who won his first title in 1988. &uot;Everybody from 70 on in has a chance to win this thing. Sixty-six is the best ever that’s been shot, and Pete has done it a few times, and Pete has done it a few times.&uot;

Ashmore is in contention as well after he played a bogey-free day Saturday to finish 3-under par. He came up with three birdies to finish one shot ahead of Rooks, a Natchez native now living in Florida.

Not bad for Ashmore, who admitted he plays the Duncan Park course once a year.

&uot;I think that was one of the best days I’ve had,&uot; Ashmore said. &uot;I hit the ball hard all day long. I didn’t miss many shots, and that’s rare for me. I missed some opportunities to score better, but I made a few to keep me going. It was a good day for me.&uot;

Today’s action could be a different story to determine who gets his name engraved on the McKinney trophy. Brooking said back in 1999 Brewer shot a 66 on the second day but still came up one shot short to Powell for the title.

Powell, Brewer, Brooking and Ashmore will tee off at 12:56 p.m.

&uot;I’ve got to go out and play golf,&uot; Brewer said. &uot;If I don’t, I’m not going to win. If I do, I’ve got an opportunity to win. Nobody is scared of me. I’ve got to go out and do what I did today. Golf is a tough game. Hopefully we’ll all play well tomorrow and have a good tournament.&uot;

There’s still room for others in the championship flight behind those top four. The top flight has 16 in it with seven players at 74 rounding out the flight.

&uot;It would be tough for me to duplicate that,&uot; Ashmore said. &uot;But I’ll give it my best shot. You never know. I haven’t played that much this year with baseball. I’ll give it my best tomorrow. I’ve got a lot of respect for those guys up there in front of me.&uot;