Australian Adam Scott fired a three-under par 67 in Atlanta on Friday to grab a share of the lead with American Joe Durant after the second round of the United States PGA Tour Championship.
The 26-year-old Aussie and 42-year-old US veteran both stood on four-under-par 136 after 36 holes, three strokes ahead of their nearest rivals at the $6,5-million showdown of the season’s 30 top money winners.
Scott, winner of the 2004 Players Championship, has three top-three finishes on the US tour this year but no victories.
”For guys like me and Ernie [Els] who have not won, we’re really thinking we want to win this,” he said. ”This would be a great way for me to finish the year and really feel like I’ve gotten something out of my good play throughout the year.
”I’ve probably played the best I ever have over the period of a year, but have nothing much to show for it.”
Scott was most pleased about his accuracy off the tee, saying it will be key to winning at East Lake, once the home of golf legend Bobby Jones.
”It’s one of the most important things around here, getting it in the fairway,” Scott said. ”That helps make it a stress-free round and it’s going to be very important the next two days.”
World number one Tiger Woods and Masters champion Phil Mickelson elected not to play in the event, but one of those on hand will gladly collect the title at the season-ending tournament.
Scott put himself in position to collect the crown with four birdies on the front nine, starting at the third hole and continuing with a long putt at the par-three sixth, a short putt at the par-four eighth and an eight-footer at the par-five ninth.
Scott began the back nine with his only bogey of the round, then finished with eight pars, near-missing over the final three holes on putts that would have put him alone atop the leader board had they dropped.
”If I keep hitting good putts, a few will go in,” Scott said. ”[The key is] doing a lot of the same stuff I’ve been doing. When you don’t drop shots, it makes life a lot easier. I think the key to that is to put it in the fairway off the tee.”
Durant has enjoyed a superb late-season campaign, including a victory two weeks ago.
”Two months ago I couldn’t wait for [the season] to end, but I hate to see it go now,” Durant said. ”I didn’t hit it great today, just tried to stay very patient. It was not near as windy [as Thursday], but the pins were tougher, so consequently the scoring was just about the same, I guess.”
Durant took a bogey at the second hole and had a run of four birdies in nine holes starting at the fourth and finishing at the 12th. He dropped a stroke with a bogey on the par-four 13th and parred his way home.
”I was trying to stay very patient. That’s part of the key to getting around this golf course,” Durant said. ”I was a little tentative starting out. I don’t know why but after the birdie at four I got over that.”
On the 18th hole, Durant blasted out of a greenside bunker to 10 feet and sank the clutch putt finish a round of 68 to stay level with Scott atop the field. ”I was very fortunate to make par there,” Durant said.
Sharing third on 139 were South Africans Retief Goosen and Trevor Immelman, Australian Stuart Appleby and American Brett Quigley. Immelman fired the day’s best round, a 66, to move up the list of contenders.
England’s Luke Donald was on 140 alongside Americans Jim Furyk and Zach Johnson with Fiji’s Vijay Singh joining Americans Arron Oberholser and Tom Pernice on 141 and South Africa’s Ernie Els on 143. — Sapa-AFP