US TOUR:Padraig Harrington, winner of this event two years ago, had a mixed bag in yesterday's second round of the Honda Classic at Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
The Dubliner finished on one under par (139), four shots off the pace being set by Robert Allenby of Australia, after a round of 71 which included a double bogey on the par-four 11th. Allenby shot a 68 yesterday.
Harrington's three birdies came on the first, 15th and 17th and leaves him well placed to lift the first prize of $990,000.
The odds on a Swede winning on the US Tour for the second week running came tumbling down yesterday as Mathias Gronberg, Daniel Chopra and Jesper Parnevik all made their presence fel.
Gronberg, who only just kept his exempt status by finishing 124th on last season's money list, had a brilliant second-round 66 to be two under par and in a tie for fifth place alongside Chopra, who shot 68, while Parnevik was only one shot further back following a 69.
Last Sunday Henrik Stenson captured the WGC - Accenture World Match Play in Arizona.
The end to Gronberg's round was particularly eventful. He double-bogeyed the short 17th surrounded by water, but on the long 18th hit his 255-yard second shot to five feet and made the eagle putt.
Defending champion Luke Donald looked to have saved himself from a third successive missed cut with a superb late run.
An opening 77 had left Donald way down the field and he was eight over after a double-bogey six on the 16th.
But on the front nine he birdied the sixth, seventh and eighth for a 67 that put him on four over, the expected cut-off mark.
EUROPEAN TOUR:Oliver Wilson took advantage of lacklustre showings by some of the tournament's big names yesterday to take a one-stroke lead on the second day of a sweltering Johnnie Walker Classic in Phuket, Thailand.
While others succumbed to the tricky course or the unrelenting heat, the Englishman kept his cool to shoot a six-under 66 to go 10 under par for the tournament, landing two eagles in a near-flawless round.
"I've been working on a few mental things, trying to stay relaxed and enjoy it all. If I can keep that up, who knows what will happen.
"It's so hot out there, but I don't really care about it. I'm not intimidated by good players. I don't want to be thinking about them or other things. The cream will always rise to the top. They will be chasing me," said Wilson (27).
South African youngster Anton Haig carded an impressive 64 to equal the course record at the Blue Canyon Country Club for second place, making seven birdies and an eagle. "Compared to yesterday, I really hit a lot better," the 20-year-old said.
Former champion Retief Goosen of South Africa matched his first day score of 68 to tie for third with Australian James Nitties (67), two shots off the pace. Colin Montgomerie finished on 70 to go five under par for the tournament to share 11th place with Indian Jeev Milkha Singh (72).
Day one leader Brad Kennedy of Australia suffered with three bogeys and a double bogey to card an unhappy 77 - 12 shots more than on the opening day.
The same scenario applied to Irishman Graeme McDowell who shot a disppointing 76, nine shots worse than his opening round of 67. It put him on 143, the same two-round total as Damien McGrane, who followed with a level-par round of 72. Compatriot Peter Lawrie had another frustrating day shooting 74 and failed to make the cut by five shots.
