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SINGAPORE, Jan 28: Young Englishman Nick Dougherty fired a five-under 67 to upstage his more high-profile European rivals and take a one-stroke lead at the halfway mark of the Singapore Caltex Masters on Friday.
The 22-year-old former European Tour rookie of the year, who started the day in equal second place after a first-round 68, began slowly with a one-over 37 on the back nine, which he played first.
But he torched the front nine at the Laguna National Golf and Country Club with an eagle on the 7th and five birdies to end the day at nine under. In second place was 41-year-old Scotsman Colin Montgomerie, the defending champion and first-round leader who followed up a flawless round of 65 on Thursday with a lacklustre 71 that included three birdies and two bogies.
Ryder Cup team mate Thomas Bjorn of Denmark grabbed a share of the third position at six under after firing a 66. Malaysian surprise packet Danny Chia, Jamie Donaldson from Wales and China's Liang Wenchong were level with Bjorn at six under after all shooting rounds of 68.
England's Lee West wood, the highest ranked player competing in Singapore at 25, was well back at one under and eight shots off the lead after rounds of 70 and 73. Dougherty was full of confidence after his sizzling second nine, likening some of his shots to those of the great Tiger Woods and world number one Vijay Singh.
LEADING SECOND ROUND SCORES:
135 Nick Dougherty 68 67
136 Colin Montgomerie 65 71
138 Thomas Bjorn 72 66, Danny Chia (Malaysia) 68 70,
Jamie Donaldson 70 68, Liang Wen-chong 70 68
139 Soren Hansen 69 70, Maarten Lafeber
140 Peter Hedblom 71 69, Gregory Havret
OGILVIE GRABS LEAD
LA QUINTA: Joe Ogilvie fired a nine-under par 63 here Thursday to grab a three-stroke lead after the second round of the 90-hole PGA Bob Hope Classic on Thursday.
The American stood on 17-under par 127 after a round that included eight birdies and an eagle at the par-5 18th, offsetting his lone bogey of the round on the previous hole. Reigning Masters champion Phil Mickelson and Sweden's Fredrik Jacobson, who fired a 10-under 62, shared second at the 4.7 million-dollar event on 130.
SECOND ROUND SCORES:
127 Joe Ogilvie 64 63
130 Fredrik Jacobson 68 62, Phil Mickelson 66 64
131 Billy Mayfair 67 64, Jason Allred 66 65, Fred Couples 65 66, Robert Damron 64 67, Peter Lonard 67 64
132 Tim Herron 68 64, Ted Purdy 64 68, Joe Durant 66 66
133 Pat Perez 67 66, Duffy Waldorf 64 69, JL Lewis 67 66, Bill Haas 67 66, Jesper Parnevik 68 65, Justin Leonard 66 67
134 Fred Funk 64 70, Brian Davis 68 66, Ryan Palmer 67 67, Brian Bateman 67 67, Joey Sindelar 68 66. -Agencies
