NATCHEZ &045; It’s almost not the one city golf championship that sticks out the most in P.Z. Brewer’s memory nowadays.

Not like the nine times he’s come in second.

The Natchez native is in good shape for claiming a second title at the Bill McKenney Memorial City Golf championship Saturday after he shot a 68 to lead the field after the first day. But for somebody who knows the pain of being the next in line to the guy whose name was engraved on the trophy, he doesn’t want this to slip away.

He carries a one-stroke lead over Jamie Spring and Howard Jones heading into today.

&uot;I’ve been the bridesmaid too many times,&uot; said Brewer, a 15-year tournament veteran who now lives in Jackson. &uot;A shot here or a shot there, I could have won it. Hopefully tomorrow will be different for me. I’ve never led after the first day except for the time I won it. I was tied with another golfer the year I won it, and I managed to win it.&uot;

On Saturday he sat all along atop the leaderboard, thanks in part to a solid back nine to finish 3-under par. He finished the day with seven birdies and four bogeys but did much better on the back side &045; he birdied four of the last five holes and had just one bogey on the back nine.

He went birdie on Hole 14, par on 15 and birdies on the last three holes to finish much more solid than he started. He finished the front nine at 1-over par.

&uot;The first nine holes I didn’t hit the ball real well,&uot; Brewer said. &uot;I just didn’t have much of a feel. I hit the ball OK, but I wasn’t hitting it real solid. I was trying to make par. After I made the turn, I started hitting the ball better. And I putted real good today.&uot;

It was tough play on a day that where temperatures left players grabbing for fluid as often as possible. Brewer finished with the one-stroke lead over Jones and Spring and was two up on former champ Greg Brooking, Mark Carter and Chuck Fields.

Mayor Phillip West is right behind them with a 71 in the championship flight along with former champ Kevin Smith Jr., who shot a 73.

&uot;I was getting kind of hot, but the weather doesn’t affect me that much,&uot; Brewer said. &uot;I’ve been playing golf for a long time, and I do a lot of running. I was putting good all day, and I made a lot of putts coming in. When I birdied four of the last five holes, it kind of gave me some confidence.&uot;

As for Jones, he’s in position to do what Brewer did more times than he would like &045; finish second again. Jones came in second behind Jay Lessley last year after a triple bogey on the 17th hole spoiled his chances of taking the tournament.

That was his first year playing in the tournament, and he’s got a shot today at claiming the prize at just one stroke behind Brewer.

Lessley, however, withdrew from the tournament.

&uot;The golf course is in the best shape I’ve ever seen it,&uot; Jones said. &uot;The fairways are great, and the greens are really super. That really helps and takes away your excuses. I’m really a little bit surprised as good a shape the golf course is in the guys didn’t go a little lower.&uot;

Jones played solid on both front and back with a 35 on the front and 34 on the back. The back was better, but it can be like that for lots of people, Jones said.