US TOUR: Tiger Woods, who has never missed two successive cuts, avoided that fate with a four-under-par 67 in the second round of the Cialis Western Open in Illinois yesterday.
Down in 82nd place after a one-over-par opening 72, the world number one had moved up over 50 places midway through the day's play.
On three under par, however, three-time winner Woods was seven strokes adrift of Swede Daniel Chopra, who moved clear of the field with a dramatic inward half of 30.
Chopra packed seven birdies and a bogey into the nine holes and finished his second successive 66 by holing a 50-foot bunker shot.
US SENIORS OPEN: A second round of four-under-par 66 gave Tom Watson a one-shot lead over Mark James and Alan Doyle as the early starters finished day two in the US Seniors Open Championship at Prairie Dunes Country Club, Hutchinson, Kansas.
Watson, after a first round of 70, posted a halfway total of 136, with James and Doyle just a shot back on 137.
Mark McNulty added a three-under-par 67 to his opening 75 for a 142 total, but Des Smyth was struggling at four over par for the tournament through nine holes.
LPGA TOUR: Annika Sorenstam and 16-year-old Michelle Wie, the top seeds, stayed on course for a possible final showdown in the Women's World Matchplay Championship at Hamilton Golf Club in Gladstone, New Jersey, with straightforward victories in yesterday's second round.
Wie beat the US Solheim Cup player Christina Kim 3 and 2, while Sorenstam beat American Heather Young 3 and 2.
Scotland's Catriona Matthew and England's Laura Davies both crashed out.
Matthew, all square at the turn, lost four out the next five holes in a 4 and 3 defeat.
Davies' troubles came on the front nine. She lost five of the first six holes - three of them to birdies - and never recovered in a 5 and 4 loss to South Korea's Mi Hyun Kim.
CHALLENGE TOUR: A disappointing second round left just two of the six Irishmen in the field at the Scottish Challenge involved in the weekend action.
David Jones and Damien Mooney will play another 36 holes after posting respective halfway totals of three under and level par at Murcar Links Golf Club, but there was disappointment for Justin Kehoe, Brian McElhinney, Colm Moriarty and Tim Rice.
Of the four men missing the level par cut, Moriarty had most reason to be aggrieved. Standing on the 18th tee the Athlone professional was one under par and looked safe for the weekend before a quadruple bogey eight put an end to his tournament.
BRITISH OPEN: David Toms, winner of the US PGA title in 2001, has withdrawn from the British Open because of back problems.
His place will be taken by Jeff Sluman of the US, the next non-exempt player on the world ranking reserve list.
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