Omaha, Neb. ? Former Kansas University golfer Chris Thompson dropped to fourth place after the second round of the Nationwide Tour’s Cox Classic on Friday.
Thompson shot a 71 after firing a 60 on Thursday and is four strokes behind Roland Thatcher, who shot 63 on Friday.
Thatcher is two strokes ahead of Scott Sterling (68) and four clear of Miguel Carballo (63), Michael Walton (64) and Thompson (71).
Singh soars to the top
Vijay Singh shot a 6-under 65 to move one stroke behind leaders Steve Allan and John Mallinger after the second round of the Canadian Open.
Allan added a 68 to his opening 64 to match Mallinger (66) at 10-under 132 on Angus Glen’s North Course. Allan birdied the par-3 17th, hitting his tee shot within inches on the 206-yard hole, and saved par on the par-4 18th with a 10-foot putt. Mallinger had five birdies in his bogey-free round.
Tripp Isenhour (68) joined Singh at 9 under.
Mike Weir nearly missed the cut for the second straight year and 11th time in 16 starts in the national championship, following his opening 71 with a 70 to qualify for weekend play by a stroke at 1 under.
Ryan Palmer (67) and Michael Putnam (68) were 8 under, and defending champion Jim Furyk (66) was another stroke back along with Cliff Kresge (65), Doug LaBelle II (68) and Brandt Snedeker (68). Hunter Mahan, the first-round leader after matching the tournament record with a 62, shot a 74 to drop four strokes back at 6 under.
Watson surrenders lead
Tom Watson missed a 5-foot putt at the last hole and tossed away a share of the lead at the Senior British Open, while overnight leader Nick Faldo lost his putting touch and slipped to sixth.
Watson finished with a par 71 and handed the lead to Des Smyth, who shot 70 and held the clubhouse lead with a 2-under 140 total for more than six hours at windswept Muirfield. No player broke 70 in the second round.
A five-time British Open winner – including on the same Muirfield links in 1980 – Watson was tied for second with Eduardo Romero (71), Gordon J. Brand (73) and Stewart Ginn (70) at 1 under. Faldo shot a 74, two strokes behind the leader after opening with a 68 Thursday in his senior tour debut.
Englishmen share lead
Zane Scotland and Lee Slattery shared the second-round lead at the Deutsche Bank Players Championship with 9-under, 135.
Scotland shot a 68 and Slattery a 69 as gusts of wind and rains made things difficult for the golfers. Oliver Wilson and Andres Romero, who was a surprise third at the British Open, were a stroke back at 136.
However, first-round leader Simon Khan missed the cut after following his opening-round 65 with an 80. Henrik Stenson, ranked ninth in the world, was disqualified after losing count of how many shots he had taken. Given a 12 on the par-5 17th, he was unable to sign his scorecard.
D’Alessio tied at the top
Diana D’Alessio of the United States and Jin-joo Hong of South Korea shared a three-stroke lead after the second round of the Evian Masters on Friday.
Michelle Wie, the 17-year-old from Hawaii, rebounded with a 1-under 71 for a 144 total and made the cut. She had gone 24 consecutive rounds without breaking par.
D’Alessio shot a 68, while Hong had four birdies and two bogeys in her round of 70 as both totaled 7-under 137. They were followed by Annika Sorenstam of Sweden (69), Jang Jeong of South Korea (71) and Brittany Lincicome of the United States (74).
Juli Inkster of the United States, who won in 2003, shot five birdies in the first seven holes for a 68 to be in a large group at 141. The group included Laura Davies (70) and Japan’s Momoko Ueda (67). Karrie Webb, the defending champion from Australia, was 2-under 142 after a 72. Lorena Ochoa from Mexico was also at 2 under after she shot a 70.
