Jang Jeong opened up a four-stroke lead at halfway in the Women's British Open on Friday and her 66 put her eight clear of Annika Sorenstam and Michelle Wie.
After three second-place finishes in her LPGA career, Jang says she will try to limit the distractions of leading by four strokes the strongest field in women's golf, including two of its biggest names.
"I just need to think about my golf, about the golf course and I think I will be OK," she said. "But it will be hard.
PHOTO: AP
"This course, it's kind of scary so I have to pay attention."
Jang, who led by one overnight, birdied four consecutive holes starting with No. 4 and added three more after the turn, holing putts from 15 feet or less. Her only blemish was when she left her approach 20 yards short of the eighth green and then missed a 10-foot par putt.
Jang's 6-under round gave her a 10-under 134, a Women's British Open 36-hole record since the event became a major five years ago.
PHOTO: AFP
Her closest rival was Swedish amateur Louise Stahle, who shot 65, while Cristie Kerr's 66 left her another stroke back at 5-under 139.
Wie recovered from a first-round 75 in the fickle English weather to post a 67 on Friday, while Sorenstam's 69 also kept her in contention at 2 under 142.
Chasing her third major of the season and 10th overall, Sorenstam collected three birdies in a bogey-free round to join a group of five tied for eighth.
"I hit 16 greens and I am very happy about that," she said.
Tiger Woods went from being in danger of missing the cut to jumping into contention with one of the best rounds of his career.
Woods shot an 11-under 61 in the second round, matching his best pro score and the tournament record. He had consecutive eagles for the first time in a PGA Tour event in an eagle-eagle-birdie-birdie stretch.
"Today was certainly one of those special rounds," Woods said Friday after finishing one stroke behind Vijay Singh.
He opened at Warwick Hills with a 71, needing a 68 to avoid missing the cut. He missed the cut in May at the Byron Nelson Championship, the first time in more than seven years he left a tournament before it ended.
The Buick Open cut was 4 under, with 79 players making it to Saturday's third round.
Woods didn't let his lackluster play Thursday or his errant tee shots on his first two holes in the second round rattle him.
"I think that's one of the things that I've certainly become better at as I've gotten older and more experienced," said the 29-year-old star, who turned pro in 1996. "You don't let it bother you. You've just got to focus on playing the next shot."
Woods went into the weekend at 12-under 132, one shot behind defending champion Singh (66). The top two players in the world rankings, who have alternated positions for nearly a year, were paired in the final group Saturday.
Craig Barlow (67) was alone in third, two shots behind Singh. Fred Funk (66) was in a group of six at 134.
Tom Watson, chasing his second major championship in two weeks, shot a 6-under 65 to tie Craig Stadler and Loren Roberts for the lead after the second round.
The leaders were upstaged by a tired Arnold Palmer's post-round declaration that he would no longer play any major championships. In his 50 years of Grand Slam competition, Palmer has won seven majors in addition to five as a senior.
Watson, Stadler and Roberts -- all of whom played in the morning wave -- are at 9-under 133, matching the tournament record for lowest score through 36 holes.
Watson, who won last week's Senior British Open in a playoff, began the day behind Stadler by four shots. Stadler tied the US Senior Open's first-round record with an opening 64. Watson, who lost in a playoff to Don Pooley in the US Senior Open three years ago, hit four shots to within a foot of the flag for birdies, but fell back into a tie for the lead with a bogey on his last hole.
Roberts, playing in just his second tournament for players over 50 years old, followed an opening 66 with a 67 that included five birdies and a bogey.
Stadler, a former US Masters winner with 13 American PGA Tour and eight Champions Tour victories, was even-par through 12 holes, but birdied the par-3 13th and the par-4 18th to pull into the three-way tie for the top spot. He shot a 69 in the second round.
Greg Norman, also playing his second seniors event, shot a 70 despite a double-bogey at the par-5 6th hole and joined Allen Doyle at 138.
Wales' Bradley Dredge shot an 8-under 63 to take a one-stroke lead halfway through the Scandinavian Masters.
Dredge, whose only European Tour win came after shooting a third-round 60 in the 2003 Madeira Island Open, had nine birdies and one bogey on Kungsangen's Kings Course.
"The course is pretty defenseless, although the greens are drying up," said Dredge, who is 13 under after two rounds.
Sweden's Pierre Fulke also recorded a 63 to be joint second with England's Barry Lane at 12 under. Lane shot 66.
Sweden's Henrik Nystrom and France's Jean-Francois Remesey shared fourth at 11 under. Both shot 65s.
Ernie Els will miss the rest of the golf season following knee surgery, his management team said Friday.
The third-ranked South African had surgery on his left knee Thursday after sustaining an injury while on a sailing holiday last week, a spokesman for International Sports Management said Friday.
On his doctor's recommendation, Els has withdrawn from his tournament schedule in order to recover, the ISM statement said.
There was no indication how long Els would be out of action, although it was believed he might not return until December.
That would mean he would miss the PGA and NEC Championships in the US next month, as well as the Tour Championship and European events such as the World Match Play Championship at Wentworth.
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