Rose on top in Hong Kong
Englishman at 9 under as Dustin Johnson misses cut.
Justin Rose shot a 4-under 66 to grab a oneshot lead after the second round of the Hong Kong Open on Friday despite making his first bogey of the tournament on the penultimate hole.
Rose was on his way to a second straight errorfree performance at the Fanling Course but bounced back from his late bogey with a birdie at the last hole to move to 9-under 131.
“I’m in a wonderful position going into the weekend,” Rose said. “I played a clean round yesterday but today it was a bit more of a struggle and I made a few mistakes and was happy to salvage par quite a few times.”
Lucas Bjerregaard of Denmark shot a second consecutive 66 to sit in second place, with Ian Poulter and Lu Wei-chih another shot behind at the jointly-sanctioned European Tour and the Asian Tour event.
Poulter also shot a 66 while Lu, who held a share of the overnight lead, carded a 69 after a double bogey on the par-5 third hole.
Poulter flew in late to Hong Kong after accepting a last-minute berth vacated by American Richard Beem so that he could fulfill his obligatory 13 tournaments this season to keep his European Tour membership.
Dustin Johnson was the biggest name to miss the cut after a 72, which put him one stroke above cut level of even par.
“I played terribly. I didn’t drive it good and didn’t hit my irons good. I didn’t do anything good really,” Johnson said.
Also missing the cut was former major winner Padraig Harrington of Ireland (72), defending champion Scott Hend of Australia (74) and Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez (73). Jimenez was chasing a fifth Hong Kong title.
LPGA Tour: Ji Eunhee took a one-stroke lead over Lydia Ko in the LPGA Taiwan Championship, overcoming back pain and a double bogey in windy and rainy conditions. The 29-year-old South Korean finished with a 3-under 69 to reach 9-under 135 at Miramar in Taipei.
The second-ranked Ko birdied the par-5 18th for a 67. The 18-year-old New Zealander is trying to regain the No. 1 spot in the world from South Korea’s Inbee Park.
England’s Charley Hull and China’s Lin Xi-yu, both 19, were tied for third at 7 under. Hull shot a 69, and Lin had a 70.
Morgan Pressel, tied for third after an opening 68, dropped off the leaderboard with a 75.