Dufner takes Zurich Classic lead
AVONDALE, La. — Jason Dufner moved into position for yet another bid to win his first PGA Tour title, shooting a 7- under 65 on Friday to take the second- round lead in the Zurich Classic.
Dufner lost a playoff to Keegan Bradley last year in the PGA Championship for one of his three runner- up finishes in 163 winless starts on the PGA Tour. He capped his bogey free round with a 30- foot eagle putt on the par- 5 18th to reach 12 under at TPC Louisiana.
Russell Knox, John Rollins and Arkansan Ken Duke were tied for second. Knox shot 64, Rollins 66, and Duke 68. Greg Chalmers holed out from 137 yards for an eagle on the par- 4 first hole and finished with a 64 to join Steve Stricker and Ernie Els at 10 under. Striker and Els shot 68.
Defending champion Bubba Watson had his second- straight 71 to make the cut by a stroke in his first tournament since his playoff victory in the Masters.
Second- ranked Luke Donald was 6 under after a 65.
Dufner opened with a 3- foot birdie putt on No. 1, and added three straight birdies on the par- 4 fifth and sixth holes and the par- 5 seventh. He also birdied the par- 5 11th.
He’s second on the tour in pre- cut scoring, but is 98th in third rounds and 108th in final rounds. He shared the 36- hole lead at the Masters with rounds of 69- 70, but closed with consecutive 75s.
Knox, a Nationwide Tour graduate playing in his ninth tournament, had seven birdies, an eagle and a bogey.
Stricker had four consecutive birdies to tie Dufner, then missed a 2- foot birdie putt on the 11th that would have given him sole possession of the lead. He stumbled home with two bogeys.
Donald also holed out from the fairway on the first hole, marking the first two eagles on the hole since the tournament was first played at the course in 2005, although the event moved to English Turn in 2006 following Hurricane Katrina.
John Daly, playing on a sponsor exemption, missed the cut. He followed his opening 73 with an 80.
Mobile Bay LPGA Classic
MOBILE, Ala. — Stacy Lewis will gladly take a round with few dramatic putts — or significant blunders — after making an early exit from her last tournament.
Owning the lead at the mid- point is a nice bonus, too.
Lewis, an NCAA champion while at the University of Arkansas, birdied five of her final nine holes for a 5- under 67 and a one- stroke lead Friday after the second round of the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic. She had a 9- under 135 total on The Crossings course at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail’s Magnolia Grove complex, and marked turnaround a week after going 6 over missing the cut in Hawaii.
“It was really one of those weeks,” the 2011 Kraft Nabisco Championship said about the missed cut. “I had a lot of stuff going on. Mentally I was kind of not there. I’m a lot more relaxed this week. I just kind of chalked one up to a bad couple of days, and I’m just kind of moving on.”
Karin Sjodin tied the tournament course record with a 64 to finish a stroke back along with Lindsey Wright, So Yeon Ryu and rookie Sydnee Michaels. Ryu shot 67, Michaels 68, and Wright 69.