Justin Rose was still on the course
and still atop the leaderboard when the sun went down Friday.
Rose, coming off a 12-under 60 on Thursday, was 17 under through
16 holes when the second round in the Funai Classic at Disney was
suspended because of darkness. Clubhouse leader Tag Ridings was
second, four strokes back after a 66.
Rose also had a four-shot lead when the round started following a
70-minute fog delay. The 26-year-old Englishman shot the 60 on
Thursday on the Palm Course and barely missed three putts over that
final six holes that left him one stroke away from tying the PGA
Tour scoring record.
He was nearly as good Friday on the much tougher Magnolia Course.
``The enjoyable thing as a pro golfer is being in that focused
zone,'' Rose said. ``It doesn't come around every day or every
week.''
Rose started the second round with consecutive birdies. He added
four more over a five-hole stretch to extend his lead to seven
strokes.
``You have to come back with a completely fresh mind-set and
almost forget about the day before,'' Rose said. ``Starting
birdie-birdie was a good thing and got me back on the horse.''
Rose hit nearly every fairway, was on just about every green in
regulation and had no par putts longer than 3 feet over his first 12
holes. He was cruising along until the par-5 fourth hole, his 13th
hole of the round.
His tee shot landed next to a tree in the rough, forcing him to
lay up. From the middle of the fairway, his wedge shot flew past the
pin and landed in a bunker. With little sand under his ball, his
bunker shot zipped by the hole.
He had a 30-footer for par, but came up about 2 feet short. It
was his first bogey of the tournament.
He rebounded with four consecutive pars before the horn sounded.
Rose had a 10-footer for birdie _ a chance to move to 18 under _ on
No. 8 when he called it quits for the night.
Ridings was at 13-under 131. Troy Matteson (65) was 12 under, and
Robert Damron (65) and Marco Dawson (66) were another stroke behind.
Mike Weir of Bright's Grove, Ont., ended the day tied for 22nd
with a 66, while Cambridge, Ont., native Ian Leggatt also finished
the round 22nd with a 70 on the Magnolia Course.
Rose was among eight players on the course when played ended. The
second round will be completed Saturday morning. Barring a collapse,
Rose will finish his last two holes, then return to play in the
final threesome of the third round with Ridings and Matteson.
Damron and Dawson will be just ahead.
``It's certainly not ideal,'' Rose said of having to finish the
second round, then wait to tee off again. ``Those are the things you
have to deal with.''
While Rose will be seeking his first PGA Tour victory, Ridings,
Damron and Dawson might have even more to play for _ a chance to
move up enough on the money list to possibly keep their tour cards
and avoid qualifying school.
The top 125 on the money list retain their full cards. Ridings is
ranked 150th, with Dawson (163) and Damron (167) not too far behind.
``I must need a little excitement in my life,'' Damron said.
``It's not the way I planned it. But I'm totally at peace with
whatever happens. If I don't make a couple of big cheques and keep
my card, I don't. I go to Q-school. ... Whatever happens, it just
happens. I put a lot more pressure on myself in the middle of the
year and it didn't work out.''
Damron is playing his eighth consecutive week in hopes of moving
up the money list.
Dawson and Ridings, meanwhile, are each playing their ninth
straight event.
Ridings said he wanted to avoid gauging his chances to move up
the list.
``The key is to not think about that,'' Ridings said. ``You can
think about whatever you want. So I'm going to think about one shot.
If you're focusing on (the money list), you're focusing on the wrong
thing.''
Notes: The projected cut was 4 under, likely leaving notables Mark
O'Meara, Tom Lehman, Camilo Villegas, Paul Azinger, Ben Curtis and
Justin Leonard with the weekend off. ... John Huston had four eagles
in the first two rounds, but was just 4 under. ... The second round
will resume at 9 a.m. ET, with the third round beginning two hours
later. Players will be grouped in threesomes and start on the front
and back nine.
© The Canadian Press, 2007