Matteson maintains lead

Golf:Jeff Maggert sunk nine birdies in his second round to move within a shot of leader Troy Matteson while Steve Stricker stayed firmly in contention for his fourth straight John Deere Classic title.

Matteson, who went 10 under for his first round, could only manage three under today, with four birdies and a bogey at the 15th, but that was could enough to keep him at the head of the field on 13 under overall. Maggert, meanwhile, came close to emulating Matteson’s first-round fireworks as his nine-under 62 put him a shot back of the leader alongside Brian Harman, himself six under today.

Behind them was a group of four men — England’s Gary Christian as well as Americans Ricky Barnes, Robert Garrigus and JJ Henry — on 11 under, but it was the man at the head of the group on 10 under demanding much of the attention. Stricker, champion in each of the last three years, recovered from a bogey on his second hole

the 11th — to card a four-under round and stand out in a group of players tied for seventh which also included Tommy Biershenk and Lee Janzen.

Winning again would enable Stricker to fly to The Open next week having equalled the feat achieved by Young Tom Morris at Prestwick in 1968-72 and also by Walter Hagen at the USPGA Championship, Gene Sarazen in the Miami Open and Woods at both Bay Hill and the Buick Invitational.

Kind of wasn’t the start I was looking for,” Stricker said. “I was hoping to get a birdie before I got a bogey

or no bogeys at all. But I hung in there. I was patient and hit some good shots. I made a nice long putt at 13 and birdied 14, so I righted the ship pretty quickly and got her going in the right direction.”

As for the thought of a fourth straight win here, Stricker was just happy still to be around for the third round.

“You’ve got to make the cut to be able to try to win the tournament,” Stricker said. “That’s always my first goal, believe it or not, in tournaments: make sure you’re playing on the weekend.”

Matteson, meanwhile, was pleased with the way he handled the pressure of following up a stellar first round. “It’s just always tough when you shoot a low one to come to the golf course the next day,” Matteson said. “I got here early. You get a little out of sync because you’re anxious to get out there and play and see what you do. But, you know, all in all I felt pretty good with what we did today.”

Christian added a five-under 66 to his first-round 65 and said afterwards he was delighted with the way he played. “This would be the nearest thing to approaching the mythical zone,” he said. “Almost there. Not quite there.”