Golf Capsules: Tiger takes the lead in Australia

MELBOURNE, Australia — Tiger Woods opened with two birdies, saved his round with two pars and wound up with a 4-under 68 on Friday to build a three-shot lead going into the weekend of the Australian Masters.

It was the fourth straight tournament in which Woods has had the 36-hole lead, although his only victory during that stretch came at the BMW Championship outside Chicago in September. He lost the last two times, including last week in Shanghai at the HSBC Champions.

Woods was at 10-under 134, three shots clear of an American — Jason Dufner — and a pair of Australians in Greg Chalmers and James Nitties, both of whom dropped shots on the 17th hole that cost them a spot in the final group Saturday with Woods.

Before another enthusiastic crowd that topped 24,000 people who endured hot sunshine and dust from so much traffic along sandy paths at Kingston Heath, Woods quickly regained the lead from Dufner, who shot his 67 in the morning to finish at 7-under 137.

Woods putted up the slope onto the green for a 3-foot birdie on the par-5 first, then changed clubs three times in the shifting wind before stuffing his approach to 2 feet on the second.

Woods lost his swing late in the round, twice slamming his driver into the ground as one shot sailed to the left and another to the right, and he also missed birdie putts of 10 feet on the 15th and 6 feet on the 16th that could have expanded his lead.

What saved him were two pars.

He chipped 15 feet past the flag on the ninth and made the putt coming back, then escaped more trouble on the par-5 14th, which played into the wind. Woods reached the green with a 3-iron on Thursday. This time, he had to hook a 3-wood around a gum tree on the left side of the fairway, and it clipped a branch and tumbled into a bunker, leaving him a 60-yard shot.

He did well to get onto the green, left his 40-foot birdie putt some 10 feet short, and made that for par.

"I didn’t do anything great," Woods said. "But I had two big par putts to keep the round going."

Nitties played behind Woods and his mammoth galleries for the second straight day and did well to keep pace until dropping a shot on the 17th. He wound up with a 71.

That left Chalmers alone in second, until he got a bad break on the 17th. There was a large tuft of grass behind his ball in the right rough, keeping him from hitting through the ball and toward the green. Instead, he tried to play a 40-yard hook to give himself a full, predictable swing, missed the green and chipped poorly to make bogey.

"I was a little disappointed with the bogey at 17 for one reason: I knew," Chalmers said about the possibilty of being paired with Tiger. "To play with him at any time is always a pleasure. It would have been nice in Australia to have a game with Tiger."

Instead, it will be an All-American final group for the second week in a row outside the United States. Last week, it was Woods and Nick Watney in China.

Dufner, playing before a decent-sized crowd in the group with Adam Scott, reached 9 under in the easier morning conditions until playing his last five holes in 2 over.

Dufner has been Down Under while playing Nationwide Tour events. Now, the American is on a tour of this part of the world, having qualified for the World Golf Championship in China, and heading to the Dunlop Phoenix in Japan.

The idea was to knock some rust off. There didn’t appear to be too much at Kingston Heath.

"I could have stayed at home and played in the States, but that’s kind of the same old thing," Dufner said. "I play enough events over there. I thought it would be a good choice to come over here and kind of broaden my golf experience, and it happens to be a real good event now that Tiger is playing."

Even better is being in the final group with him.

Chalmers hasn’t won in Australia in a decade, part of that because he’s had to play so much on the PGA Tour — or in Q-school — to keep his card in the United States. He wrapped that up early this year — Chalmers is No. 86 on the money list — and told his caddie this summer how much he’d love to win at home.

And he still feels he has a good chance, although Chalmers knows he’ll have to play solid golf. He was asked if he thought he could still win, even with the world’s No. 1 player holding a three-shot lead.

"As a professional, you have to believe," Chalmers said. "Otherwise, you might as well throw the sticks in the bin. At the same time, it’s a tall order. No one know how to win better from 36 holes."

Manny Villegas, the younger brother of Camilo Villegas, had a 68 and joined Mathew Goggin in the group at 6-under 138. Stuart Appleby, who lost his PGA Tour card this year for the first time since his rookie season some 15 years ago, had a 70 and was another shot back.

Rose overtakes Fowler to take lead at Disney

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Justin Rose has been traveling around the planet this year to play European and PGA Tour events and gain as many world ranking points as possible.

Leave it to a youngster fresh out of college to try to crash his party.

Rose shot a 7-under 65 in the opening round of the Children’s Miracle Network Classic on Thursday, edging upstart Rickie Fowler for the top spot on the leaderboard.

Rose was bogey-free on a breezy day where a steady morning drizzle and temperatures dipping into the low 50s made greens soft but tough to reach. Fowler, Greg Owen and Casey Wittenberg were one shot back at Disney World in the final PGA Tour event of the season.

"Although the courses aren’t the most difficult in the world, I guess it’s pretty few and far between because it certainly was tricky out there," Rose said of the conditions. "And even good shots at times weren’t going to the flags because of gusting winds. But I guess I drove the ball well, got it in play on every hole."

Rose’s competition has been the talk of the clubhouse.

The 20-year-old Fowler is making only his third start since turning pro from Oklahoma State. He can join Tiger Woods as one of the few players to go from college to receiving full status on tour in the same year by earning enough money on sponsors exemptions.

"It’s nothing special," he said. "I’m not doing anything different really, just kind of playing golf. I’m just making less mistakes."

Defending champ Davis Love III withdrew with neck pain after shooting a 1-over 73. But the pressure was mounting for others to secure their tour cards for next year.

Former world No. 1 David Duval was among those in danger of losing their full status. Duval shot a 4-over 76 and was tied for next to last in 124th place, meaning he’ll need a major push Friday to make the cut and have any hope of keeping his full status.

The top 125 on the money list will get their tour cards, and the next 25 will receive conditional status and be able to enter more than a dozen tournaments. Duval, whose runner-up finish at the U.S. Open combined with his 2001 British Open championship will get him into the first three majors next year, began the tournament at No. 125.

"There’s guys grinding for their livelihood out there," said Will Mackenzie, who is four shots off the lead. "It’s tough. I mean, it’s tough."

Maybe it’s time to make room for the new kid.

Fowler has stormed onto the tour, shooting in the 60s for nine straight rounds. He lost in a playoff at Phoenix and, because the Viking Classic was rained out, his top-10 finish in the desert landed him a spot at Disney.

He’s making the most of the opportunity.

Fowler ended the day with a 40-foot birdie chip from just off the 18th green. He was alone atop the leaderboard for most of the day until Rose surpassed him in one of the final groups.

"He’s not fearing anything," said Matt Bettencourt, who was two shots off the lead. "He’s got nothing to lose, either."

Fowler is trying not to think about his chances of earning his PGA Tour card so quickly.

"I definitely think about it off the course," he said. "When I’m out here playing, I’m just trying to get the ball in the hole as fast as I can and get things going."

It wouldn’t exactly be an easy feat.

Fowler can avoid qualifying school for now if he can earn enough money at Disney, likely needing a top-10 finish. Woods and Phil Mickelson are a couple of the big names who have accomplished what Fowler is trying to do.

Woods played in 11 events in 1996 — winning twice — to avoid Q-School. Mickelson landed a two-year exemption on tour in 1991, when he won the Northern Telecom Open while still playing at Arizona State. Ryan Moore was the last player to go from college to full status on tour in the same year when he accomplished the feat in 2005.

"You don’t have those guys that are like that perennial coming-up guy. You’re not sure," Mackenzie said. "Maybe this is one of the guys that’s going to whip off a few majors."

-- Antonio Gonzalez

LPGA

Song-Hee Kim leads Lorena Ochoa Invitational

GUADALAJARA, Mexico — Song-Hee Kim shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday in the Lorena Ochoa Invitational to take a two-stroke lead over Jiyai Shin, Paula Creamer and Mariajo Uribe — and six-shot advantage over the top-ranked Ochoa.

Kim had six birdies on the first 10 holes at Guadalajara Country Club and also birdied the last to top the 36-player field. Winless in three seasons on the LPGA Tour, she’s trying to become the ninth South Korean to win this year.

Shin, a three-time winner this season and the money leader, has already won the rookie of the year award and leads Ochoa in the player of the year race.

Ochoa shot a 71, making three birdies and two bogeys on her home course.

"I have no excuses," Ochoa said. "I played good today. I wasn’t nervous. I controlled my game, but I couldn’t get used to the green speeds. Hopefully, I won’t make the same mistakes tomorrow."

Catriona Matthew and Eun-Hee Ji opened with 68s, Cristie Kerr, Brittany Lincicome and Brittany Lang had 69s, and Michelle Wie, Katherine Hull and M.J. Hur shot 70s.

Ai Miyazato, second on the money list, had a 71, and defending champion Angela Stanford finished with a 73.

Kim has 10 top-10s this season, including a fifth-place finish two weeks ago in South Korea at the Hana Bank KOLON Championship. One of 47 South Koreans on the tour, Kim said she believes she’s close to winning.

"I have had a lot of chances this year," Kim said. "I think I didn’t have luck and that is why I lost the wins. If I play well this week, I think I can win."

She savored her 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole.

"That one I was thinking if I make this I can get more confident," she said. "That was really important to me."

With two tournaments remaining, Shin leads Ochoa by four points in the player of the year race. The season ends next week at the LPGA Tour Championship in Houston.

If Shin wins this week she will wrap up the player of the year award if Ochoa fails to finish at least seventh. Nancy Lopez is the only player to win both the rookie and player of the year awards in the same season, accomplishing the feat in 1978.

Shin birdied four of the first six holes, and also controlled her sometimes-troublesome driver.

"The last couple of weeks, my driver ... is a little scary because sometimes it’s a little too far left," she said. "But today no mistakes with the driver. I’m really happy to hit driver today, so my confidence is good. So I just want to just carry this feeling."

Ochoa also has won three times this season, but that pales compared to the 21 she won in the previous three seasons. She plans to marry next month and has acknowledged off-course obligations have hurt her tournament results.

Creamer, who won four times last season, is winless in 2009 and has battled stomach problems. This week she said she’s traveling with 40 pounds of her own food.

"A win here would be huge," Creamer said. "It would be considering — I don’t like to dwell on the year — what I’ve had to go through. It would be nice."

-- Stephen Wade

PGA European

Duangdecha leads Hong Kong Open by 1 stroke

HONG KONG — Udorn Duangdecha shot an 8-under 62 behind 10 birdies Thursday to lead Robert-Jan Derksen of the Netherlands by one stroke after the first round of the Hong Kong Open.

The little-known Thai qualifier, who only has one top 10 Asian Tour finish in his career, also had two bogeys at the Hong Kong Golf Club.

"I played according to my game plan and was really pleased that everything went the way I hoped it would," said the 38-year-old Duangdecha, who nearly equaled the course record of 61 by Simon Yates in 2005 but bogeyed his final hole amid fading light.

Defending champion Lin Wen-tang (64) was two strokes behind Duangdecha, tied for third with Gregory Bourdy, David Dixon and Thongchai Jaidee, the current Asian Tour Order of Merit leader.

Eyeing the European Tour money title, Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy both shot 66. The duo are the top two money winners in the Race to Dubai, and the Hong Kong Open is the penultimate tournament before the season-ending event in the United Arab Emirates next week, which has a $7.5 million bonus prize pool.

They are tied with 11 others at 4 under, including PGA Championship winner Y.E. Yang and 1998 British Open and Masters champion Mark O’Meara.

Westwood, who had six birdies and two bogeys, said he was happy with his performance considering it was his first competitive round in Hong Kong.

"It’s all right learning a course tee to green — it’s pretty obvious how you play tee to green — but on the greens, it’s such an advantage having played a few tournaments round here," the fourth-ranked Englishman said. "So to start with 4-under 66, I’m delighted."

McIlroy, who had five birdies and a bogey, said he needed to step up his game a notch to have a shot at the title.

"I’m not sure if three more 66s will be good enough so I might need to go a little better over the next three days," the Northern Irishman said.

Ben Curtis, the 2003 British Open champion, and Rory Sabbatini were tied at 5 under with seven others.

Also, Oliver Wilson (70) had three birdies but double-bogeyed the 18th. Ian Poulter (68) was tied for 40th, and eight-time European Tour Order of Merit winner Colin Montgomerie (69) was tied for 65th.

-- Min Lee

Japan Tour

Imano leads Taiheiyo Masters

GOTEMBA, Japan — Yasuharu Imano shot a 7-under 65 on Friday to take a two-stroke lead after the second round of the Taiheiyo Masters.

Imano had an eagle, six birdies and a bogey to finish at 10-under 134. Kaname Yokoo (67), Yusaku Miyazato (67) and Taigen Tsumagari (68) were tied for second.

Ryo Ishikawa was five strokes back after a 71. The 18-year-old star has four victories this year on the Japan Tour.