ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ernie Els shot an 8-under 65 yesterday to take a three-stroke lead over Bob Estes in the Mercedes Championships.
Els up halfway KAPALUA, Maui >> Ernie Els spent a lot of time smiling and touching the brim of his cap during yesterday's second round of the $5 million Mercedes Championships.
through Mercedes
The South African has a 3-stroke lead
Estes improving out of limelight
on Estes after 2 rounds
Second-round leaders
By Paul Arnett
parnett@starbulletin.comIf he wasn't blasting drives toward the island of Molokai, he was hitting iron shots so close to the pin that he needed only 28 putts to post an 8-under 65 as conditions on the Plantation Course remained ideal.
"Well, same weather conditions today," Els said. "I just felt like I needed to be aggressive again today. You know, just go after my shots and play the way I know I can play. I know the course pretty well. Just got to try to keep it up."
Els' 17-under 129 broke the 36-hole record set by David Duval in 1999 by one shot and gave him a three-shot advantage over Bob Estes. The University of Texas graduate fashioned consecutive 66s to stay cozy with Els at 132.
Korean K.J. Choi is alone in third entering today's key third round of the winners-only tournament. He managed back-to-back 67s for a 12-under 134. Another stroke back at 135 are defending Sony Open champion Jerry Kelly, 2001 U.S. Open winner Retief Goosen and Nevada-Las Vegas product Chris Riley.
Goosen followed up his ho-hum 70 with a 65 to equal the best round of the day. Kelly and Riley turned that trick Thursday, but cooled off somewhat yesterday with 3-under 70s. Jim Furyk, who shared the first-round lead with Els, fell into a tie for seventh with Ian Leggatt at 136.
But for now, the show belongs to Els. A change in the weather is expected today as a cold front pushes its way through the island chain. If the winds switch from Kona to trades, then Els could find himself second-guessing a lot of his shots.
"Days like we've had the past two days, you just have to freewheel and make as many birdies as you can," Els said. "When the wind starts blowing, the north wind is coming (this afternoon) I hear, I've never played here in that wind. It will be a new challenge for me. You just have to stay focused and play the shots you have to play."
That approach has worked well so far. The South African posted a bogey-free round that included one eagle and six birdies. He has three eagles and 13 birdies in two days. His only hiccup was a double bogey at the par-3 eighth on Thursday.
Still, he's not clear of the field just yet. Estes kept things close with a solid second-round 66. The winner of last year's Kemper Open is playing in his second Mercedes since it moved to Maui. He finished in a tie for 10th here last year. He also played in the Kapalua International three times and believes he has the shots in his bag to earn the title, particularly if the wind blows.
"Actually, some more wind would make it a lot better for somebody like me or Ernie or whoever has played here a number of times," said Estes, who is a 14-year veteran on tour. "It can totally change what you hit off the tee, how you plan approach shots, things like that.
"But yeah, for the most part, you just have to play a little smarter. You can't freewheel as much when the wind starts blowing because you will get a lot of crosswind shots, you have to keep the ball down, keep it out of the wind, keep it in play because it can get away from you."
Els said he was never much of a wind player until his recent success at the British Open. He won that major title last year, mastering the breezes of Muirfield.
"I got to realize how to play in the wind," Els said. "Around this place, this golf course is built for the wind. You have to figure out the shot you want to play, not get too flustered with the breeze.
"It will make it tougher for the guys to really shoot low. You've got to try to hang on. It's kind of a similar situation we had at Doral last year (a tournament Els won). The wind just kept blowing. It made it difficult for the guys. Tiger (Woods) was the only guy to shoot low on that Sunday."
With no Woods around and Furyk fading yesterday, ghosts of Mercedes past might not be around to haunt Els this weekend. In 2001, he led after the second round, only to lose to Furyk on Sunday. In 2000, he eagled the final hole, but it wasn't enough to hold off Woods, who still caught Els to beat him in a dramatic playoff.
"The last two times I was here, I just got beat," Els said. "The guys played better than I did. I've got to be watching out for them again the next couple of days. Low numbers to be made out there.
"But by the same token, I like playing this golf course. I enjoy coming here. I really feel like the season's right for me. Might as well make a good start of it. It's a nice place to do it."
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Mercedes Championships
At Kapalua, Maui
Yardage: 7,263
Par 73
Second-round leaders
Ernie Els 64-65 -- 129 Bob Estes 66-66 -- 132 K.J. Choi 67-67 -- 134 Retief Goosen 70-65 -- 135 Jerry Kelly 65-70 -- 135 Chris Riley 65-70 -- 135 Ian Leggatt 69-67 -- 136 Jim Furyk 64-72 -- 136 K.Sutherland 71-66 -- 137 J.Byrd 68-69 -- 137 Gene Sauers 65-72 -- 137 Nick Price 69-69 -- 138 Vijay Singh 68-70 -- 138 P.Tataurangi 68-70 -- 138 L.Roberts 68-70 -- 138 S.Maruyama 66-72 -- 138
Mercedes Championships
