Date: June 16, 2012
Author: Omnisport

Tiger gunning for Open win

Tiger Woods shares the lead at the halfway mark of the US Open but defending champion Rory McIlroy was among the high-profile casualties as Australian Adam Scott produced one of the best rounds of the day. Both Scott and Woods posted even-par 70 rounds on Friday (local time) at the Olympic Club in San Francisco – the only better rounds were from American amateur Hunter Hamrick who shot 67 and a few players who signed for 69s – but Scott&aposs opening-round six-over 76 means he&aposs still a long way off the pace, which is being set by Woods, David Toms (70) and Jim Furyk (69) at one-under overall. The best of the Australians is still Alastair Presnell, who finds himself five strokes off the pace after he followed up his even-par round on the opening day with a four-over 74 on Friday. Presnell is one stroke ahead of John Senden (72,73) while Scott and Jason Day (75, 71) are a further stroke behind, with Rod Pampling (seven over, 74, 73) the only other Australian to make the cut. But Geoff Ogilvy (10-over), Brendan Jones (11-over), Anthony Summers (11-over) and Aaron Baddeley (14-over) were not so fortunate. Woods, however, needed to recover from an early slump to post an even-par 70 in his second round. He is joined on that mark by fellow Americans Furyk (69), who won this event nine years ago, and former US PGA champion Toms (70), two shots clear of their nearest rivals. Woods, though, posted three consecutive bogeys from the fifth to the seventh holes but recovered with two birdies on the back nine to put himself in prime position for a 15th major title – and first since the 2008 US Open. “That was not easy,” he said. “It got dried out and the wind was swirling a little bit. It was really, really tough and I just had to stay as patient as possible. “I think I&aposm in a good spot. This tournament, you just keep plodding along.” Furyk&aposs round included three birdies and two bogeys, while Toms fought back from two bogeys on the front nine with birdies on the 11th and 13th to grab a share of the lead. Overnight leader Michael Thompson is one of four players at one-over after seeing his three-shot lead evaporate on the front nine on Friday. Thompson struggled to a five-over 75 – nine shots worse than his opening 66 – to sit alongside 2010 US Open champion Graeme McDowell (72), American John Peterson (70) and Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts (69). One of the biggest surprises of the day was the performance of 17-year-old high school student Beau Hossler, who led the field at one stage after going 11 holes without a bogey before settling for a 73 and a share of ninth place at three-over. While the youngster will see weekend action, McIlroy and world No.1 Luke Donald will not. The 23-year-old Northern Irishman – who won by eight shots last year – fired a three-over 73 to add to his opening 77 to finish at 10-over, two shots shy of the cut. Donald carded a second-round 72 as he crashed out at 11-over to still find himself without a major title. Among the other big names to miss the cut were 2010 British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen, US Masters winner Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson, who won last week&aposs St Jude Classic. Over in France at the Saint Omer Open, Aussie defending champion Matthew Zions continues to struggle as Sihwan Kim maintained his lead at the halfway mark. The 23-year-old South Korean, in his first season on the European Tour, built on his joint overnight lead with a two-under 69 to move to six-under-par overall. South African Darren Fichardt moved up to outright second at five under with Englishmen and overnight leaders Simon Wakefield and Adam Gee taking a share of third at three under. Ireland&aposs Simon Thornton and Wil Besseling matched rounds again with a pair of 69s to go with their opening round 71s and share a tie for fifth at five under. Zions, though, is at three over, nine strokes off the pace, with compatriot David McKenzie a shot back at four under. Their countrymen Daniel Gaunt (six over), Andrew Tampion (six over) and Scott Strange (nine over) all missed the cut. But in some better news for Australia, Rebecca Artis leads the Ladies Swiss Open by two strokes after the second round on Friday. Artis backed up her career-low eight-under 64 in the first round with a one-under-par 71 in the second to lead three players tied for second at the Golf Gerre Losone in Ticino, Switzerland. She mixed four bogeys with three birdies inside 14 holes but finished well with birdies at the 16th and 18th. Italians Veronica Zorzi and Diana Luna are at seven under with Briton Florentyna Parker. At Koh Samui, Thaworn Wiratchant had to settle for a share of the lead after the third round of the Queen&aposs Cup, having dropped four shots over his last five holes on Saturday as the Australian contingent struggled to remain in contention. Wiratchant, though, is at four under at the Santiburi Samui Country Club, sharing the lead with countryman Varut Chomchalam, Filipino Miguel Tabuena and Bangladesh&aposs Siddikur Rahman. Wade Ormsby is the best-placed Australian at two over, seemingly too far back to mount a serious charge on the final day of the Asian Tour event. Rick Kulacz and David Gleeson (four over) are further back, while Gavin Flint (six over), Scott Barr (10 over), Tim Stewart (11 over) and Paul Donahoo and Kieran Pratt (both 12 over) have disappointed.