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Villegas adds to logjam at Canadian Open

Young Colombian Camilo Villegas fired a 64 to share the second-round lead at the Canadian Open yesterday and move into contention…

Sat Sept 09 2006 - 01:00

Young Colombian Camilo Villegas fired a 64 to share the second-round lead at the Canadian Open yesterday and move into contention for his first PGA Tour win.

Twice a runner-up this season at the Doral and FBR Opens, Villegas bogeyed the first hole but then played sizzling error-free golf, carding seven birdies to join Sweden's Jesper Parnevik and Americans Arron Oberholser and Jonathan Byrd atop the leaderboard at seven-under 133.

"It wasn't easy out there," Villegas told reporters. "The wind was blowing, it was gusting but I was able to roll in some great putts.

"If you guys had seen my tee shot I hit on one, you should have said I would shoot 80.

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"I managed to make a bogey there but I just had a good attitude towards the day."

Byrd, Parnevik and Oberholser, who claimed his maiden PGA Tour win this season at Pebble Beach, all posted two-under 68s in difficult scoring conditions at the Hamilton Golf and Country Club.

Parnevik, who had not made the cut in his last five events, began his day on the back nine with back-to-back birdies on 11 and 12.

The veteran Swede, chasing his first PGA Tour win since the 2001 Honda Classic, dropped a shot at the third but finished his round in style by rolling in a 13-foot birdie putt at his last.

Lurking just one shot back on a congested leaderboard were a pack of nine players bunched at six-under 134.

They included first round joint leaders Justin Rose and Jim Furyk, who followed up their professional course record 63s in the opening round with 71s.

Brett Quigley matched their course record with an error-free 63, propelling himself up the leaderboard alongside fellow Americans Sean O'Hair (69), Tom Pernice Jr. (68) and Eric Axley (66).

Joining the logjam were Australian Nathan Green (70), South Africa's Trevor Immelman (66) and Japan's Ryuji Imada (68).

The chances of Canadians seeing the first home winner of the national championship in 52 years suffered a setback when Stephen Ames, winner of the Players Championship this year, withdrew midway through his second round with a sore back. Mike Weir missed the cut by five shots.