Golf: Rose hits stride to take 1-stroke lead

England's Justin Rose shot the best score of the tournament yesterday, a 6-under 64, to build a one-shot lead over Australian Jason Day and Charlie Wi going into the weekend of the AT&T National.

Rose won his first PGA Tour event last month, at the Memorial, and was poised to win again in the Travelers Championship last week until losing a three-shot lead in a disastrous final round.

Tiger Woods, who won this tournament last year, also made the cut - but much further down the field. Woods hit the ball well but missed a 50cm putt late in the round to finish with a 70. He was at 3-over 143, which made the cut on the number, although he was never in serious danger of going home early.

"I'm driving it on a string right now, and that's fun," Woods said. "But if you don't make putts, no matter how good you hit the ball, you're not going to shoot good scores."

The scoring improved in the second round, especially in the afternoon as the wind began to calm at Aronimink Golf Club. Rose said his round was helped by being in the same group with Sean O'Hair (68) and J.B. Holmes (69). They combined for 13 birdies and only one bogey over the 54 holes they played collectively.

In his first tournament since winning the Memorial by closing with a 66, Rose had a three-shot lead at the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut, when it all fell apart. He shot 39 on the back nine for a 75 and tied for ninth.

"I turned up here Monday morning feeling like I was a better player than I was on Sunday, because you learn," he said. "My game doesn't go away overnight. You have an experience like that, and if you ask yourself the right questions and if you deal with it in the right way, you become better."

It might have been different had he not just won his first title in America.

He hit his stride yesterday. He never had a par putt longer than 1.8m, and he seized the outright lead late in his round with a 10m birdie putt on the par-3 17th, making it two straight weeks with the 36-hole lead. Now he needs to close better.

Day wasn't nearly that optimistic, missing fairways and greens down the stretch but dropping only one shot.

Day, 22, won the Byron Nelson Championship two months ago for his first PGA Tour victory. South Korea's Wi is still searching for his first, and he got into contention by holing out from 160m in the 12th fairway for eagle.

Jeff Overton had a 68 and was at 4-under 136. Australian Robert Allenby, who hasn't won on the PGA Tour since 2001, had a 67 and was in the group at 3-under 137 that included Bo Van Pelt (68) and Ryan Moore, who bogeyed his last two holes for a 70.

Woods is nowhere near the lead, even if it looked as though he would get in the mix. .

"I've just got to put together two good rounds and see where that leaves me," Woods said.

- AP