Saturday 11 October 2014 09:42, UK
Martin Laird holds a one-shot lead at the halfway stage of the PGA Tour's season-opening Frys.com Open in California.
The Scotsman fired a second-round 67 at the Silverado course in Napa to lead Sang-Moon Bae and Zachary Blair by a stroke heading into the weekend.
Laird birdied the fifth, but gave that shot back at the next hole before a key run of four birdies from the eighth hole leapt him back into contention.
A final birdie came at the long closing hole and it proved enough to see the three-time winner head into Saturday's third round on top of the leaderboard.
"Last year was a grind," Laird said. "A couple of bad shots and my confidence would go or frustration would come in.
"It's awfully refreshing to be actually enjoying it and looking forward to the last two rounds rather than worrying about what might be coming.
"I putted really well today. A few holes I played smart to the middle of the green and made some nice 20 to 25-footers."
Korean Bae, who was one of two first-round leaders, carded a second-round 69 to stay well in touch - he had three birdies and managed to avoid any dropped shots. Andres Gonzales, who was tied at the top on Thursday, dropped back to a tie for 22nd with a sloppy 74.
Blair also shot a flawless round with no bogeys, but he had six birdies in a 66 to make a big move through the field.
Three more players are tied for fourth on eight-under; Sweden's David Lingmerth and American pair Scott Langley and Mark Hubbard.
Hubbard was also one of two players to record a hole-in-one on Friday, finding the cup with his tee-shot at the seventh, while Billy Hurley's approach to 15 went straight in to the hole without troubling the green - Hurley missed the cut though.
There was also good news for three members of the defeated United States Ryder Cup team, including defending champion Jimmy Walker who comfortably made the cut after a second-round 66 - he had been way off the pace after opening with a 75.
Hunter Mahan is in a tie for eighth place after a round of 68, one stroke ahead of Matt Kuchar who also made it around in four-under for the day.
And Lee Westwood improved on his opening 73 with a second-round 69 to make the cut by a couple of strokes on two-under.
