April 20 (Reuters) – American Ben Crane held the clubhouse
lead at the Texas Open after rain effected Friday’s second
round, with more than 20 players unable to complete their round.
Curtis carded his second successive bogey free five-under
par round of 67 at the TPC San Antonio to stand at 10-under for
the tournament, two strokes clear of David Mathis, who also shot
67.
“I’m playing obviously really well,” Curtis said.
“The key around here is if you can drive it straight, keep
it in the fairway, give yourself a chance to get at some of
these pins, with the slope of the greens and stuff like that, it
makes it a lot easier from the fairway. I did that.
“I hit a lot of good iron shots. Left them, for the most
part, on the right level and made a few putts and, you know, it
was a pretty easy round two.”
The 34-year-old Curtis, winner of the 2003 British Open, is
searching for his first PGA Tour win in almost six years.
Matt Every, who set a new course record with his bogey-free
63 on Thursday, had a very different round on Friday.
He failed to make a single birdie and gave up four bogeys
through 12 holes, but grabbed back two strokes with birdies on
the 14th and 16th before his round was halted due to bad light.
He will finish the round early on Saturday.
Cameron Tringale made a strong move with an impressive
seven-under 65, avoiding any bogeys as he took advantage of the
better early conditions with less wind.
The projected cut is at four over and among those expected
to miss out includes Australian Stuart Appleby, who shot 81 on
Friday, 10 strokes more than he shot in the first round.
American Boo Weekley withdrew after seven holes of his
second round with an illness, joining Kevin Na and Kevin
Chappell on the withdrawal list.
(Reporting By Simon Evans; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
