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DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Michelle Wie reacted after missing a putt on the 16th hole during yesterday's second round.

Maruyama up;
Wie out

The Japanese star pulls ahead
of the pack, while the Honolulu star
misses the cut by seven strokes

Tiger Woods may not be on the Waialae Country Club course, but for the Sony Open in Hawaii, having Shigeki Maruyama at the top of the leaderboard is a suitable replacement.

The popular Japanese player grabbed the second-round lead with a stellar 65 yesterday in relatively calm conditions for a two-day total of 8-under 135. He holds a one-shot advantage over Justin Rose and Brett Quigley.

Rose shot a 4-under 66 to move from a tie for fifth to a tie for second, while Quigley's 3-under 67 dropped him from a tie for first. He had an opportunity to hold on to the top position, but had to settle for par at the normally giving 18th hole.

Maruyama's sudden surge helped ease the pain of Michelle Wie's exit from the field. Despite her struggles for most of the afternoon, Hawaii golf fans turned out in force to follow the 15-year-old Punahou School student.

The crowds were often seven-deep and extended halfway down the fairways to watch the wunderkind shoot a 74 to finish at 9-over 149. Wie tied for 128th in the 144-golfer field. Unlike last year, when Wie missed the cut by one shot, neither the magic nor the conditions were with her this time around as she fell seven shots shy of her goal.

"I think it was all momentum today," Wie said. "I should have made a couple of birdies, the first couple when I had a chance, so I could keep the momentum going. After missing putt after putt and just making that triple, that kind of let me down a little bit.

"But I still had not given up. I thought, OK, make six birdies instead of three. It's a little bit more tough, but I really tried out there."

DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Shigeki Maruyama shot a 65 yesterday to take over the lead through two rounds.

With her departure, the storyline for the first full-field event on the PGA Tour focuses on world No. 1 Vijay Singh and two-time defending champion Ernie Els. Both flirted with missing the cut of 142, but managed strong finishes to be within shouting distance of the leaders. At one point, Els was 3 over for the tournament before he went 5 under through five holes to finish at 2-under 138.

Singh is one shot better at 137, thanks in part to an eagle at the final hole. Both golfers said they shot themselves back into the tournament as the weekend stage is set for sure drama. Past Sony Open champions Jeff Sluman and Paul Azinger are tied for fourth after both shot 2-under 68s for a 36-hole total of 135.

Joining them in this logjam are U.S. Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman (68), Andrew Magee (68), Robert Gamez (66) and Stewart Cink (69), who also shared the first-round lead. Australian Adam Scott is another shot back after he equaled Maruyama's 5-under 65. Dick Mast had the best round of the day with a 6-under 64 for a two-day total of 138.

Thanks to more placid conditions, 43 golfers shot 69 or better, a feat only 29 managed in the windy conditions that whipped through the par-70 course on Thursday. Maruyama welcomed the changes, putting him in position to win for the first time here. He did not have a victory on the PGA Tour last year.

"It's really difficult to read the wind," Maruyama said through an interpreter. "It's not as strong as yesterday, but it's coming from a little bit different direction. My golf was very steady today from the tee box to the green. Everything is going very well. One of my goals this year is to win a tournament, any tournament."

DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Brett Wetterich found the going tough on the first hole en route to a second-round 75 and a missed cut.

Quigley feels the same way. Close several times in his career to procuring his first tour win, the nephew of Champions Tour iron man Dana Quigley sees this as an opportunity to do just that. Twice before, he has finished tied for second since turning pro in 1997.

"It's funny, but I really wasn't nervous today at all," Brett Quigley said. "It was just a good day, a patient day. I had a nice stretch there in the middle, and maybe got a little ahead of myself the back nine thinking about shooting a real low score and made a bunch of pars.

"I have good memories here. And it's pretty similar to the conditions in Florida with the Bermuda grass and the wind blowing. I hate to say Dana got me ready, but I think he did, for at least this week. Just don't print that. I don't want to give him any credit."

Credit Rose for having one of the better stretches in this 2-day-old event. He birdied four of the first seven holes on the difficult frontside to put himself into contention. Rose is the least known of the South Africa-born golfers, but like Els and U.S. Open champ Retief Goosen, he's got game.

"When the wind whips up, you can swap the pars of one and nine, really," Rose said as if anyone would argue. "One is playing pretty tough, so, to make a birdie there is a huge bonus. And I managed to do that by holing a bunker to start. So, perfect start, really.

"And I played really well through the next six holes, getting myself good chances. But I think the key was I stayed really patient. I've been working hard at staying calm."

Rose has plenty of talent around him entering the weekend. Azinger, Sluman and Lehman are able to stay calm in pressure situations, and may have a shot at getting one of those rare wins in their 40s. Azinger's last victory on tour was here in 2000. Sluman managed a victory in 2002 at the Greater Milwaukee Open and Lehman's last time in the winner's circle was 2000 at the Phoenix Open.

"It would be nice to get another win out here," Azinger said. "I've always enjoyed playing over here. It's nice to be near the top of a leaderboard. But there's still a lot of golf left. You've got to go low all four days to win here."

Round 2 scores

a-denotes amateur

Shigeki Maruyama	67-65	--	132
Justin Rose	67-66	--	133
Brett Quigley	66-67	--	133
Paul Azinger	67-68	--	135
Jeff Sluman	67-68	--	135
Tom Lehman	67-68	--	135
Andrew Magee	67-68	--	135
Robert Gamez	69-66	--	135
Stewart Cink	66-69	--	135
Adam Scott	71-65	--	136
Tom Byrum	66-71	--	137
Jason Allred	69-68	--	137
D.J. Trahan	70-67	--	137
Vijay Singh	69-68	--	137
Chad Campbell	67-71	--	138
Woody Austin	67-71	--	138
Jeff Maggert	70-68	--	138
Ernie Els	71-67	--	138
Shaun Micheel	70-68	--	138
Jonathan Kaye	67-71	--	138
Paul Gow	70-68	--	138
Dick Mast	74-64	--	138
Dean Wilson	69-70	--	139
Brent Geiberger	68-71	--	139
David Toms	71-68	--	139
Craig Parry	69-70	--	139
Rich Beem	70-69	--	139
Franklin Langham	71-68	--	139
Hank Kuehne	66-73	--	139
Briny Baird	68-71	--	139
Ryan Palmer	69-70	--	139
Bart Bryant	70-69	--	139
Larry Mize	70-69	--	139
Loren Roberts	70-70	--	140
Peter Jacobsen	72-68	--	140
John Cook	72-68	--	140
Todd Hamilton	69-71	--	140
Tim Herron	68-72	--	140
Charles Howell III	70-70	--	140
Bob Estes	71-69	--	140
Sean O'Hair	69-71	--	140
Nick Watney	70-70	--	140
John Riegger	72-68	--	140
Arron Oberholser	71-69	--	140
Jim Furyk	71-69	--	140
Craig Stadler	71-69	--	140
Tommy Armour III	69-71	--	140
Rob Rashell	73-67	--	140
Ben Crane	71-70	--	141
D.A. Points	71-70	--	141
Joe Durant	69-72	--	141
Jesper Parnevik	72-69	--	141
Zach Johnson	76-65	--	141
Brian Gay	71-70	--	141
Pat Perez	71-70	--	141
Tom Pernice, Jr.	69-72	--	141
Luke Donald	74-67	--	141
Greg Meyer	71-70	--	141
Jason Bohn	71-70	--	141
Omar Uresti	70-72	--	142
Tom Kite	71-71	--	142
Billy Mayfair	71-71	--	142
Daniel Chopra	73-69	--	142
Chris Riley	71-71	--	142
Retief Goosen	72-70	--	142
Steve Jones	73-69	--	142
Joey Snyder III	71-71	--	142
Ryuji Imada	73-69	--	142
Sean Murphy	70-72	--	142
Steve Allan	75-67	--	142
Steve Flesch	73-69	--	142
Heath Slocum	72-70	--	142
Rory Sabbatini	72-70	--	142
Jonathan Byrd	73-69	--	142
Duffy Waldorf	74-68	--	142
Charles Warren	74-68	--	142
Greg Owen	69-73	--	142
D.J. Brigman	73-69	--	142

Failed to qualify