American Rickie Fowler fired a six-under-par 66 to grab a three-shot lead at the Memorial tournament on Friday, while world No. 1 Tiger Woods comfortably made the cut.
The 21-year-old PGA Tour rookie shot a bogey-free round that included four birdies and an eagle on the par-five 15th. His 13-under 131 through two rounds tied the 36-hole tournament record.
He will head into the weekend at Muirfield Village with a three-shot lead over Britain’s Justin Rose. Americans Tim Petrovic and Jim Furyk were two shots back of the lead, while US Masters champion Phil Mickelson was seven shots back.
“The few times I have been in contention over the last eight months or so since I turned pro, this is by far the best I’ve felt,” Fowler told reporters. “The game feels good, putter’s working a bit, so we’re having some fun. It’s all about learning, and being in contention as much as possible can only help.”
Rose, who had a share of the first-round lead after playing in ideal conditions, had to play the second round in blustery afternoon conditions. He more than offset a pair of bogeys with five birdies.
Unlike on Thursday when Woods failed to birdie any of the four par-fives, he played the same holes in three-under on Friday with three birdies and a par.
For Woods, who failed to make the cut at the Quail Hollow Championship in April, his three-under-par round of 69 kept him five strokes clear of missing the cut.
Playing in just his fourth tournament of the year, Woods said if not for some near misses he could be closer than the 10 shots off the pace he is now
Woods, in his first tournament since being sidelined with a neck injury and only his fourth since allegations of marital infidelities last year convinced him to take a self-imposed break, pointed out the lack of playing time he has had compared with his competitors.
■WALES OPEN
Reuters, NEWPORT, Wales
German Marcel Siem shared a one-shot lead after Friday’s Wales Open second round in which the Celtic Manor Ryder Cup venue proved the day’s real winner.
Siem was the first to hit the front on six-under-par 136 with a four-under 67 to be joined late in the day by Australian Andrew Dodt, who posted a 70. The pair lead by a stroke from Dane Thomas Bjorn (68).
The top three were among the few who proved immune to mishaps over the Twenty Ten course that will host the match between Europe and the US in October.
Overnight leader Chris Wood of Briton tumbled down the field, five shots off the pace, with three double-bogeys on his card of 76.
Scotland’s 1999 British Open champion Paul Lawrie ran up a sextuple-bogey 11 on the long second, using up eight putts as his ball kept returning to his feet from the uphill green.
World No. 12 Martin Kaymer of Germany clocked up eight strokes on the par three third, twice hitting into water.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set