Rice misses cut in Nationwide Tour event

HAYWARD -- Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice shot a 5-over 76 -- seven strokes better than his opening 83 -- on Friday in the Fresh Express Classic to miss the cut in his Nationwide Tour debut. "Shooting 76 today, I'm happy with that, because I had to fight my way back from yesterday," said Rice, also the tournament host. "I wanted to play well, but the most important thing for me was for the tournament to be a success." The 47-year-old former 49ers star had three birdies, three bogeys, a double bogey and a triple bogey in the second round. At 17-over par, Rice finished a stroke ahead of last-place Brendon Todd. The cut was at 2 under. "I am going to continue to work on my game," Rice said. "I learned so much this week. The first day, I made rookie mistakes. Last night, I was so upset I couldn't sleep. I woke up at 2 a.m. and was just staring at the ceiling. I had my clothes picked out, over on a chair and I couldn't wait for the sun to rise. "Today, I was able to take my time. I slowed down everything. My caddie, Andy (Miller), kept reminding me to just calm down. Yesterday, I went away from everything -- my swing, a new putter. ... That was stupid. Today, I went back to my Nike putter and my regular swing. I took my time. So it was a lot better." Canadian David Hearn followed his opening 64 with a 65 to top the leaderboard at 13 under. PGA Tour winner Frank Lickliter II (66) and Argentina's Miguel Angel Carballo (66) were tied for second at 11 under.