HONG KONG — Justin Rose shot a 4-under 66 to grab a one-shot lead after the second round of the Hong Kong Open Friday despite making his first bogey of the tournament on the penultimate hole.
Rose was on his way to a second straight error-free 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.
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.
Dustin Johnson was the biggest name to miss the cut after a 72, which put him one stroke above cut level of even par.
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.
Hearn, Thompson, Hubbard share lead
In Las Vegas, Canada’s David Hearn and Americans Michael Thompson and Mark Hubbard each fired seven under par 64s Thursday to share the lead in the darkness-halted first round of the US PGA Shriners Hospital for Children Open.
American Tyler Aldridge, level with the leaders at seven-under through 16 holes, was among 13 players unable to complete the opening round due to darkness and set to finish round one early Friday.
Hubbard made back-to-back birdies at 14 and 15 and a 30-foot birdie at the par-5 16th before a bogey at 17 dropped him into only a share of the lead.
Hearn birdied four of his first seven holes and each of his final three holes, the seventh from 14 feet and the last two from 18 feet each, to grab his share of the lead.
Among those sharing fourth in a clubhouse pack on 65 were Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa, England’s Greg Owen and South Korean D.H. Lee.
Swede Henrik Norlander was on six-under with two holes remaining.
Ji keeps halfway lead
In Taipei, South Korea’s Ji Eun-Hee, overnight leader in the $2 million Fubon LPGA Taiwan Championship, carded a three-under-par 69 Friday for a two-day total of 135 and a halfway lead into the weekend.
Kiwi golfer Lydia Ko, who was three shots behind Ji for a tie of seventh place after the opening round, fired a five-under 67 for a total of 136 that put her only one shot away from Ji.
Another shot behind for a tie of third place were British Charley Hull and China’s Lin Xi Yu, followed by Korean duo Ryu So Yeon and Yoo Sun Young who both had a two-day total of 139.
Suzann Pettersen of Norway fired a six-under-par of 66, the lowest of the day, which made her two-round total 140 and put her in joint seventh place. — Agencies
