Golf Capsules: Tseng has four-shot lead at Royal Birkdale
SOUTHPORT, England (AP) — Yani Tseng certainly is consistent.
The 21-year-old from Taiwan shot her second consecutive 4-under 68 on Friday, taking a four-shot lead after the second round of the Women's British Open. The American duo of Brittany Lincicome and Christie Kerr joined Amy Young of South Korea in the chase entering the weekend.
"There was no wind this morning and it was very calm, so it was nice out there," said Tseng, who is trying to win her third major championship. "The course played totally different than what we played the last three days, so it was really nice."
Rain washed over Royal Birkdale in the afternoon, making things difficult for the late starters — including defending champion Catriona Matthew of Scotland, who missed the cut by seven strokes after making a 10 at the par-four 13th hole.
Her tee shot landed in a bush, and she eventually found the deep rough near the green. After three tries to hack her way out of it, Matthew ended up taking a penalty drop, chipping onto the green and two-putting for her 10 — only to birdie the par-3 next hole.
"After the 10 I just wanted to get in," said Matthew, whose 10-2 sequence on her scorecard was part of a 9-over 81. She missed the cut at 12 over.
Kerr certainly didn't have any problems, posting the low round for the tournament with a 5-under 67. She made a pair of 10-footers for birdie on the first two holes, dropped a stroke at the eighth, then picked up four more birdies to join Lincicome and Young at 4 under.
"I played really well today," Kerr said. "I was determined to be more relaxed out there. I've been putting a lot of pressure on myself since getting the No. 1 ranking and I hadn't really realized that's what was going on. So I just went out and did my thing today."
Lincicome had a birdie at the second, then dropped four strokes in a three-hole stretch beginning at the 11th. She also took advantage of an easy finish at Royal Birkdale, though, with a birdie at No. 15, an eagle two holes later and another birdie at 18 for her 1-under 71.
Veteran Julie Inkster also shot herself into contention with a 2-under 70 that left her five shots off the lead, doing so in the worst of the weather. Suzann Pettersen of Norway shot a 68 and Sun Young Yoo of South Korea had an even-par 72 to join Inkster in a tie for fifth.
"It was rainy and tedious but I was very happy with the way I played," said the 50-year-old Inkster, who bogeyed the third hole but recovered with a birdie at the fourth. She picked up two more birdies at the 15th and 17th to finish her round with some momentum.
"There's a lot of good names up there but we're all going to be playing at the same time tomorrow," Inkster said, "so that's going to help."
Michelle Wie failed to take advantage of an early start time, hitting her first tee shot out of bounds. She ended up shooting a 4-over 76 that left her 10 strokes off the lead.
Fellow American Christina Kim went the other direction with a 4-under 68 that moved her into a tie at 2 under. She's joined by Frenchwoman Anne-Lise Caudal (73), Japan's Momoko Ueda (70), first-round leader Katherine Hull (74), and South Koreans In-Kyung Kim (72), Hee Kyung Seo (69), M.J. Hur (68) and Jiyai Shin (71).
"There was no wind when we started, so I said to myself that I've got to take advantage of the conditions," said Kerr, who won the LPGA Championship by 12 shots earlier this season.
"The last time I was here at Birkdale (in 2005), I got the wrong end of the split," Kerr said. "I had the worst of the weather in both the first and second rounds, but this time it has been different, so I knew I had a chance to do well."
Kerr and the rest of the field will still have to chase down Tseng, who has already won the LPGA Championship and Kraft Nabisco Championship in her brief professional career.
The precocious young player made five birdies on Friday and dropped her only shot on the 373-yard par-4 third, when she drove into the bunker on the left side of the fairway and failed to reach the green in regulation for the first time in 21 holes.
"I played another solid round and made a lot of putts," said Tseng, who had three birdies over the final five holes. "I have never led a major from the start before, but I feel confident and believe I can continue to play well."
Champions
Langer shoots 68, takes second-round lead
SAMMAMISH, Wash. (AP) — Bernhard Langer waited much of Friday morning for the soupy fog on the Sammamish Plateau to finally lift. He spent the evening waiting for someone to make a charge up the leaderboard.
In between, Langer put himself in position for a second consecutive major championship.
Langer overcame a shaky front nine with an eagle and birdie on the inward half to take the lead at 3 under in the second round of the U.S. Senior Open as many of the other contenders simply tried to stay close entering the weekend.
After a fog delay of more than two hours brought play to a halt just before 8 a.m., Langer shot a 2-under 68 making a number of key putts on the back nine when his round easily could have slipped away.
"You never quite know. It's the type of golf course that any hole can get to you," said Langer, coming off a victory last week in the Senior British Open at Carnoustie. "You just got to be careful and hit good shots."
Langer was careful, not to mention a little fortunate with the putter Friday. He's the only player with two rounds in the 60s on the par-70 layout at Sahalee Country Club, and will take a two-shot lead into the third round.
If successful this week, Langer would be the first player on the Champions Tour to win consecutive majors since Tom Watson in 2003 in the Senior British Open and Tradition.
But Watson didn't win those titles in back-to-back weeks with eight time zones in between.
"This is a big enough event to pick yourself up and get motivated and get moving," Langer said. "I don't have a lot of problems with that."
While Langer managed to tame the ball-hawking tree limbs of Sahalee, others were far less successful. Only four players finished the second round under par, with another four sitting at even. First-round leader Bruce Vaughan gave back all of his 66 from Thursday before he made the turn. He shot 82.
Little known J.R. Roth had a 66, the best round of the day. He curled in a 25-foot bender on the 18th to finish at 1 under for the tournament. John Cook (68) and Tommy Armour III (68) also were 1 under.
"I think the way USGA sets up the golf course it really is good for me, because I'm just one of those guys that grinds it out," said Roth, playing in his first USGA event in 35 years.
Hometown favorite Fred Couples and Watson led the group at even par. Constantly trying to stretch out his always stiff back, Couples sent a wave of roars echoing between the cedars and firs of Sahalee when he dropped in a tricky 35-foot bender on the par-3 ninth that got Couples back to 1 under. A pair of bogeys early in his back nine pushed Couples to 1 over, but a birdie at No. 16 and pars on the last two holes left Couples right where he started.
"I didn't realize last year that they shot so many under, wherever they played," Couples said about Fred Funk's winning score of 20 under last year at Crooked Stick. "But I think that kind of killed us here because there may not be anyone under par when the tournament is over; it's that hard."
After a bogey at No. 1 and birdie at No. 2, Watson made 14 straight pars before a bogey at the 17th when his tee shot imbedded in the bank near the water hazard in front of the green. Watson took a drop, but chunked his chip and made bogey.
He rebounded with a birdie on the uphill par-4 18th, the second-toughest hole on the course.
Scott Simpson and Tom Kite were 1 over, four shots back.
They're all still chasing Langer.
He was 1 over on the front nine after missing a short par putt on the ninth, then jump-started his round with an eagle on the long par 5 11th hole, sinking a 40-foot putt for the first eagle on the hole this week. Langer made long par saving putts on Nos. 12 and 15, then birdied the par-3 17th, knocking a 6 iron to six feet. Langer delicately two-putted on the 18th to finish his round.
"I hit it straight and made some putts. It's always the same, isn't it?" Langer said. "Just different venues, different conditions, but it's always same idea, hit it where you're looking and try and play smart."
While scores were generally closer to par than Thursday's first round when just eight players broke par, low scores were still tough to find. Larry Mize was 3 under on his round with two holes to play before a double bogey on his 17th hole. Roberts seemed poised to join Langer at 3 under before a double bogey at the 15th. Cook also made a pair of bogeys on his final three holes.
"Here there's no mystery, you just have to put the ball in the fairway and then you have to hit quality iron shots with the right trajectory and distance," Cook said. "Otherwise, you might as well just pack up and go, because it will eat you alive."
The second round had barely started when fog brought play to a halt. The low cloud deck engulfed the course and made it nearly impossible to see the end of the driving range. Play was stopped at 7:48 a.m. and the delay of 2 hours, 12 minutes pushed the afternoon starting times back. The final groups finished just after 9 p.m.
-- Tim Booth
Notebook: Roth moves into contention in U.S. Senior Open
SAMMAMISH, Wash. (AP) — After qualifying for his first U.S. Golf Association event in 35 years, J.R. Roth decided to stick around for a while.
The little-known Roth shot a 4-under 66 in the second round of the U.S. Senior Open on Friday, vaulting himself into contention.
Roth hit 15 greens in regulation and took advantage with his strong putting.
He had six birdies despite the firm conditions, including a pair of 35-foot putts that fell on the ninth and 18th holes. His putt on 18 broke hard from right to left and just sneaked in the side of the hole to cap his round and get him back into red figures headed to the weekend.
"It was great," Roth said. "I played well all day. The round just kind of developed. I knew I had something special going when I made birdie on number 9."
"Then I birdied 11 and was thinking, 'Oh, my gosh, I've got something really good going.'"
He followed it up with a 10-footer to save par on 12.
This the second USGA tournament Roth has played in. The other was the 1975 U.S. Junior Amateur.
"I think the way USGA sets up the golf course it really is good for me, because I'm just one of those guys that grinds it out," Roth said. "I can make as good a par as anybody, and that's usually a pretty good score."
Roth has won several tournaments in Michigan, where he worked as a club professional at Flint Country Club. After playing on the Champions Tour for a couple years, he was unable to find another job in Michigan and decided to move to Farmington, N.M., and take the job at San Juan Country Club.
Despite never winning and only notching a couple top-25 finishes during his short time on the Champions Tour, the experience of playing against some of the top players on the tour and his experience winning tournaments in Michigan have helped climb the leaderboards.
"If you've never won golf tournaments before, then you don't know what the pressure is like," Roth said. "And there's always pressure with winning golf tournaments. I've won plenty of golf tournaments. I'm just going to play. I'm just going to play, that's all."
ONE SHORT: Before second-round play began, Olin Browne found himself a little short-handed.
Browne's pitching wedge broke while on the driving range before his morning tee time and he was forced to play with just 13 clubs in his bag.
It didn't phase Browne and he shot an even par 70 to remain at 3-over par.
Browne was on the range when the epoxy holding the shaft and clubhead together came loose and broke apart. The staff at Sahalee tried to repair the club before the round began but were unsuccessful.
Browne said that he took a little off his tee shots to leave himself longer shots into the greens that he could use a 9-iron instead. He said there is about a 15-yard gap in his clubs without the pitching wedge in his arsenal.
"I played around it actually on a couple holes and when I needed it I played my sand wedge back in my stance and just slugged it and I made birdie twice with it, so it worked out," Browne said.
"This course is so hard, you're probably not shooting at more than four or five pins today anyway."
Browne was going to attempt to get the club repaired for the third round, but said that if he couldn't get it fixed he would play without it again on Saturday.
IN A FUNK: No one appears destined to match Fred Funk's winning total of 20 under at Crooked Stick last year.
Least of which is Funk.
The defending champ rebounded from a poor first round to shoot an even-par 70 on Friday. He'll be around for the weekend, but is well out of contention.
"Well I wanted to be around for the weekend. My teacher and I worked on some stuff last night and it really hit the last five or six holes," Funk said.
Funk said his focus after Thursday's opening round 76 was finding some consistency in the mechanics of his swing. He was still searching early, making a pair of bogeys on his first nine, before rallying with a pair of birdies coming in.
INFIRMARY: Peter Jacobsen withdrew midway through Friday's second round with a left leg injury. Jacobsen was 7 over through nine holes and 11 over for the tournament when he pulled out. D.A. Weibring withdrew with an unknown injury before starting his second round and Wayne Levi pulled out with an elbow injury.
PGA
Overton leads Weekley by 4 at Greenbrier
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. (AP) — Boo Weekley's bum shoulder is improving and the self-proclaimed redneck has put down the fishing pole, hoping it might lead to a win at a tournament not named the Heritage.
Weekley equaled his best round of the year with a 7-under 63 on Friday on the Old White course to vault into second place, four strokes behind leader Jeff Overton, midway through the inaugural Greenbrier Classic.
Weekley hit 17 greens in regulation and had seven birdies during a bogey-free morning round for a two-day total of 10 under.
"I'm excited to play again," Weekley said. "Feels like I can actually come out and compete and don't have to take a bunch of (pain relievers) or nothing where I can play."
The Greenbrier's policy of jackets required for its finer restaurants and $80 million underground casino might not suit Weekley's folksy lifestyle, but the Southerner admits feeling at home among the local fans, who consider him one of their own.
Weekley remembers fans rallying behind him when he played in several Nationwide Tour events in Bridgeport about 3 hours to the north, although he feels West Virginia owes him one after he lost in a playoff in 2006.
"It would be nice if my stars line up," he said.
The avid fisherman and hunter no longer packs the tackle box along with his clubs. Trout-stocked Howard's Creek runs throughout The Greenbrier, including in front of the first and 18th tees, but Weekley isn't giving in to the temptation.
"I put all my stuff up when I come to tournaments now," Weekley said. "I just mostly focus on golf and do my job and be done with it."
Weekley couldn't focus much after tearing a labrum in his left shoulder last year at the TPC Sawgrass. He stopped playing for more than a month and was left with a limited range of motion.
"It's been kind of aggravated like a thorn in me," he said. "Just feel like you can't take it back some days, and some days don't feel like I can come through the ball."
Weekley was a member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team that beat Europe in 2008 but was ranked No. 172 in the world this week with only three top 10s in the last two years. His only two tour wins were at the 2007 and 2008 Heritage.
After the injury he lost 20 pounds and started feeling better about his game only three weeks ago at the John Deere Classic, when he finished 21st.
He said his shoulder is to the point "where I feel like I can actually swing the club and not have the hesitation at it."
Old White's length and lack of deep rough have led to an assault on the pins, and rains that softened the greens earlier in the week have made solid scoring even more possible.
Overton's 8-under 62 was the low round of the tournament and his best of the year.
He used wedges on all but one approach shot during a bogey-free round to finish two rounds at 14 under.
"I don't really know the last time I was playing with this much confidence," said Overton, who's winless in five years on the PGA Tour. "I'm just kind of getting used to the whole PGA Tour lifestyle."
The 27-year-old Overton, a former Big Ten player of the year at Indiana, needed just 26 putts in his best round of the year. He topped his previous low of 7-under 63 at the Colonial.
Starting on the back nine, Overton came to the par-4 seventh needing to close with three birdies for a 59. His approach from 85 yards landed 18 feet from the pin and he slid his putt to the right. He finished with three straight pars but wasn't disappointed.
The Bloomington, Ind., resident is having his best season with four top five finishes, including three in his last six events. Overton finished second by two strokes each at the Zurich Classic and the Byron Nelson Championship.
Overton is 12th in FedEx Cup points and could vault to No. 2 with a win, depending on the finishes of two players higher than him in the field, Jim Furyk at No. 5 and Matt Kuchar at No. 7.
"Obviously I'd take a win over a second any day of the week — over 100 seconds," Overton said. "You never know when it's your time."
Furyk was 7 under in the Greenbrier Classic and Kuchar was 2 under.
Jimmy Walker (64) and double heart transplant recipient Erik Compton (68) were tied for third place at 9 under. Compton, the first-round co-leader, is playing on a sponsor's exemption.
Walker was poised to overtake Weekley but had two late bogeys.
Aaron Baddeley (65), Briny Baird (65), Chris Stroud (63) and Charles Howell III (67) were six strokes back at 8 under.
Compton couldn't grind out the birdies that dominated his first round, when he tied Matt Every for the lead at 7 under.
Still, Compton, looking to solidify a future either on the PGA Tour or the Nationwide circuit, put himself in good position for the weekend. His highest finish is 30th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
"I was just frustrated because three birdies out here is not acceptable," Compton said. "I need to be a little better keeping it below the hole."
Every made double bogey at the par-5 17th, shot 72 and was nine strokes back.
Carl Pettersson, last week's Canadian Open winner who barely made the cut in that tournament, shot 64 Friday and was at 5 under, three strokes above the cut line.
-- John Raby
PGA European
Fisher shoots 61 to take 3-shot lead at Irish Open
KILLARNEY, Ireland (AP) — Ross Fisher will take a three-shot lead into the third round of the Irish Open after shooting a 10-under 61 Friday.
Fisher had 10 birdies in 12 holes —including six in a row — in a bogey-free round to reach 12-under 130 at the Killarney Golf and Fishing Club.
Francesco Molinari of Italy was second after shooting a 66, and nine players were tied for third another two shots behind.
Fisher was in position to become the first player to shoot a 59 on the European Tour after reaching 10 under on the 14th hole, but then missed three late birdie putts — one from 5 feet and another two from 15.
"Not until I got onto the 14th did I think 'If I knock this in I've got a chance,'" Fisher said about the prospect of shooting a 59. "So I was a bit annoyed when I missed the putt on 15 and after the 16th. It didn't happen, but I'll take 61."
Molinari also reached the turn in 6 under, but said it never crossed his mind that he could be headed for a record-breaking round.
"I didn't even realize that I had shot 29 on the front nine until I got into the recorders' hut," Molinari said. "I was hitting the ball very well and putting very well, but it's actually a good sign when you don't think about how many you are under par and what kind of score you are heading to make."
The Italian then bogeyed the 11th and 13th hole, before a birdie on the 18th.
Padraig Harrington of Ireland (67) and Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland (68) were among the nine players at 7 under. McIlroy wasn't ready to give up hope of catching Fisher.
"I am only five back so if I get off to a fast start hopefully I can close the gap on Ross a little bit," McIlroy said. "But it all really depends on what Ross does to be honest."
-- Graham Otway
AP Interview: European Tour chief eyes growth
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The head of the European Tour says there is great potential to expand into Eastern Europe, Asia and even South America as several countries step up their construction of world class courses.
George O'Grady also told The Associated Press on Friday that golf being named an Olympic sport will "kick-start" growth of the game in developing countries as federations are given funding to attract and develop young players.
The European Tour schedule includes 26 tournaments in Europe, seven in Asia, six in the United States, five in the Middle East and four in South Africa.
It was announced this week that Bahrain will be the next Middle Eastern country to host a tournament in January 2011.
O'Grady said that selecting additional tournament sites will depend on where good courses are built and top players emerge.
"There are new courses being built in Eastern Europe so there is growth potential there," O'Grady said. "The Asian market has still got masses of really good players and there is growing participation in Thailand and Korea, which have strong golfing markets."
O'Grady also singled out South America, which has produced several top players over the years, including Camilo Villegas from Columbia and Rafa Enchenique from Argentina. But he said there remained a shortage of good courses.
"There is a need for new courses down there," he said. "It has largely been a country club sport as opposed to making it accessible."
The 2016 Olympics will ensure a new course is built by host Brazil, O'Grady added.
He said the Middle East also was an important region for the Tour because of the good weather during the winter months when playing in Europe is impossible.
He said the new $2.2-million Tournament of Champions in Bahrain was a good addition to the schedule. It will be held from Jan. 27-30 at the Royal Golf Club.
O'Grady said golf at the Olympics could also inspire the next Tiger Woods to take up the game, especially in poor countries where there are few courses and even fewer players.
"The decision for golf to go into the Olympics has really kick-started a lot of developing golfing countries," he said. "It means a lot in each country and to amateur federations that grow the game. The strength and depth in countries that don't have top-ranked players will grow in the years to come."
-- Michael Casey
