ASSOCIATED PRESS
Brian Davis teed off on No. 9 yesterday on his way to an 8-under total after two rounds of the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., good for a one-shot lead.
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Davis tops volatile Honda leaderboard
Associated Press
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. » Dudley Hart spent some of yesterday afternoon poised to turn The Honda Classic into a runaway. Later in the day, it was Brian Davis' turn to take what seemed like a huge lead.
But PGA National eventually caught up with them.
And by nightfall, the Honda leaderboard was muddled again.
Davis shot a 3-under 67 to finish the day at 8 under, one shot better than Matt Jones (67) and two shots ahead of Hart -- a former South Florida resident whose last victory was at the 2000 Honda, and who peeled off six straight birdies in a 66.
"Around this course, I think you'd need about a 20-shot lead with one round to go," Davis said. "You know around here, it's going to come down to the last nine holes, just the way the course is set up. I can't see anybody getting a six-shot lead out there tomorrow."
He almost had one yesterday.
After a bogey-free opening round, Davis started his second round just as precisely, getting to 10 under at one point and four shots clear of the field.
Then this diabolical course -- as it typically does -- began to fight back.
Davis made a double bogey at the par-3 seventh, his 16th of the day, then missed the green to the right and slid a 10-foot par try just past the cup on his final hole.
"I'm sure every player's got a few hiccups around here," Davis said.
Some fewer than others, though.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tadd Fujikawa and Michael Letzig talked while waiting to putt on the 17th green during yesterday's second round of the Honda Classic. Fujikawa missed the cut by 10 strokes.
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First-round leader Luke Donald shot a 74, including a quadruple bogey on the 14th, to fall six shots back.
Hart played in the afternoon, when the wind picked up and the course, theoretically, was significantly harder than in the morning session. But he went out in 29, and only a double bogey at the par-3 17th kept him from finishing the day with a share of the lead.
"You don't birdie six in a row very often," Hart said. "You know, everybody out here has gone through stretches where they have done that. It's just hard to describe, really. Just things are clicking right, and the putts are falling, and good things are happening."
Most players at PGA National didn't have the same sentiment.
Defending champion Mark Wilson shot his second straight 73 and missed the cut, along with other notables Mike Weir, Chris DiMarco. Rich Beem and Fred Funk. Tadd Fujikawa, the 17-year-old Moanalua junior, still hasn't made the cut as a pro after missing by 10 shots, and David Duval missed by six.
The cut was 4-over 144, and 77 players made it -- meaning the tour's new "second cut" policy won't come into play after today's round. If more than 78 advanced yesterday, the tour would have trimmed again to the low 70 and ties following the third round, under an amended plan newly installed this week.
Duval, like Hart, has a major medical exemption this year because of health problems endured by his wife in 2007. Hart -- whose wife fell seriously ill last year but is now healthy -- is only about $150,000 shy of what he needed to make this year, yet says he isn't spending much time thinking about it.
"I came out this year and I just said, you know, I'm going to try to work hard, play well and if I make the money and do it, then great," said Hart. "But if I don't, it's not going to kill me. I have three kids, a healthy wife at home and a lot of good things going on there."
Ochoa dominating in debut
SINGAPORE » Top-ranked Lorena Ochoa took a seven-stroke lead in the inaugural HSBC Women's Champions, following her season-opening 66 with a 65.
The Mexican star, an eight-time winner last year, is making her first start of the year after skipping the World Cup and the LPGA Tour's opening events in Hawaii.
Annika Sorenstam (67) and Paula Creamer (71), the winners in Hawaii, were tied for second at 6 under with South Korea's In-Kyung Kim.
Kapur and Park tied
GURGAON, India » India's Shiv Kapur shot a 7-under 65 for a share of the second-round lead with Australia's Unho Park in the Johnnie Walker Classic.
Park had a 66 to match Kapur at 10-under 134 on the DLF Golf and Country Club.
India's Jyoti Randhawa (65) and Japan's Taichiro Kiyota (67) were a stroke back, and Australia's Adam Scott (68) topped a group at 8 under. The tournament is sanctioned by the European, Asian and Australasian tours.