Darren Clarke, Retief Goosen and Vijay Singh spearheaded The European Tour challenge at Firestone Country Club as Americans Chris Riley and David Toms moved into a share of the lead at the halfway stage of the World Golf Championships – NEC Invitational.
On a tough, windy day at the Akron course, Singh finished most prominently, a 65 giving him a six under par total of 134 to share third place with Fred Funk, who produced the round of the day with a sparkling 62, a full ten shots better than his opening effort.
Clarke’s level par 70 saw him move to a share of fifth place alongside Brad Faxon on five under par 135 while Goosen’s 69 saw the South African, the winner of the Volvo Order of Merit in both 2001 and 2002, share seventh spot with Davis Love III.
Singh, who has 11 victories to his name on The European Tour, carded six birdies in total, his only dropped shot of the day coming at the 469 yard sixth hole, but the Fijian pronounced himself happy with his efforts.
“I played well today,” he said. “I hit a lot of fairways and had a lot of opportunities. It could have been a lot lower but it wasn’t easy with the wind coming up. I’m looking forward to the weekend though – I’m playing well and hopefully I’ll make the putts.”
Clarke started the day one shot off the lead but moved into pole position outright after a blistering start to his second round, which featured a 15 foot putt for eagle at the second and a ten footer for birdie at the third.
But although the Ryder Cup player battled hard and outscored his playing partner, World Number One Tiger Woods, by two shots, he could not quite maintain his early momentum and had to settle for a level par 70.
However, the Irishman was delighted, after dropping shots at the 15th and 16th, that he dug deep into his reserves of courage and produced pars at the final two holes, including a brave ten footer down the hill on the final green.
“I was really pleased with that putt at the last, that made me feel a little better because I couldn’t believe how far past the pin my approach shot landed,” he said. “It was right over the pin all the way but that just shows you how tricky the wind was.
“It was always going to be a difficult day and I made a couple of poor swings but overall 70 is a pretty good score and I’m still in a good position. Now I’ve just got to try and make a few more good swings and a few less bad ones over the weekend.”
One shot further back, Goosen also started well with birdies at the fifth and sixth holes but a dropped shot at the 17th meant he had to settle for a 69.
Further down the leaderboard, other European Tour Members to figure were headed by Ernie Els, the current leader of the Volvo Order of Merit, who carded a 70 to join a group of six players including Woods, in a tie for ninth place on three under par 137.
One shot further behind on two under par 138 and still very much in the shake-up for the weekend action, were Paul Casey (66), Trevor Immelman (68) and Colin Montgomerie (70).
Casey, who partnered the free-flowing Funk, produced some fireworks of his own with five birdies and only one dropped shot and gave a large slice of the credit to New Zealander Michael Campbell for a putting tip he had given him on Tuesday.
“Yes, Cambo is the new putting guru,” said Casey. “He pointed out some things which looked wrong and it seems to have helped because I putted pretty well today – I owe him a beer!”
Highlight of Immelman’s round was a run of three birdies in a row from the sixth, while Montgomerie had an ultra-steady second round, his only departures from par coming with a bogey five at the ninth and a birdie three at the 14th.
“I played just as well as I did yesterday, if not better, and I certainly drove the ball better,” said Montgomerie. “I was just a little unfortunate that a lot of my approaches landed on the wrong sides of the pins and so on. But that’s the way it goes sometimes and I’m still in a good position.”
Leaders Riley and Toms played together in the second round and will repeat the pairing in the third round after matching 67s gave them a share of the lead at seven under par 133.
Riley, who has only won once on the US PGA Tour in last season’s Reno-Tahoe Open, gave himself the ideal opportunity to collect his biggest ever cheque by being the only player in the 85 strong field to complete two days without dropping a shot.
“I hadn’t really thought that much about it but I have just been able to make pars when I needed to,” said the 29 year old Californian. “My best save today came at the ninth where I hooked it into the left bunker and got it up and down from 50 yards. That was probably the key to keeping my round going.”
Toms, the 2001 US PGA Champion, continued the form which has seen him win twice already on the US PGA Tour this year, in the Wachovia Championship and the FedEx St Jude Classic, and the 36 year old was upbeat about his chances of a hat-trick.
“This is a great golf tournament against a great field on a great course,” he said. “I drove it great and that was the key for me today, I pretty much drove the ball in the middle of the fairway all day. That will also be the key for me over the weekend and if I continue to do that, I’ll be there in the end.”
Finally, overnight leaders Sergio Garcia and Ben Curtis had a disappointing day, both carding 76 to fall back to level par 140 and a share of 27th place.
