Allenby leads after record round

Australian Robert Allenby blitzed the Sahalee layout in Seattle Friday with a course record eight-under 63 to share the lead after the second round of the World Championship of Golf’s NEC Invitational.

Allenby birdied five of the last six holes and was seven-under on the back nine to join American Steve Lowery, who carded a six-under 65, on 10 under.

South African Retief Goosen, overnight leader with Japan’s Toshi Izawa, could and should have been up with them and even in the lead, but missed three eminently puttable chances on the last three greens and finished a shot back on nine under after adding a three-under 68 to his opening 65.

Allenby started the day on two under and was three under at the turn before launching his storming run home with an eagle on the par-5 11th.

He landed consecutive birdies on the 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th holes and finished the day with a birdie on the last.

"Until now I haven't played anywhere near the way I played last year or the year before, when I won twice in each year, but things turn around, and I've been patient," " the wire and whipcord Aussie said afterwards

Bearded Lowery started his round the way Allenby finished his - with
birdies on four of his first five holes.

He missed two short par putts on the back nine - one from 18 inches – for his 65.

Behind third-placed Goosen a further stroke back, is the
ambitious 22-year-old Englishman Justin Rose who had his second straight 67 and was on 134.

Rose leads world No 2 Phil Mickelson by a shot and Loren Roberts and the ever-smiling ever gesticulating Fred Funk by two and will probably find himself teamed with fellow European Tour campaigner Goosen in Saturday’s third round.

A revitalized Lee Westwood is a further shot back in a large logjam on five-under after adding a 69 to his first round 68, but Colin Montgomerie has been forced to pull out of the tournament due to injury.

Meanwhile Tiger Woods' hopes of becoming the first player in 75 years to win the same event four years in a row is going to need him to come up with something special over the final 36 holes.

On a day when superb birdies were followed by awful bogeys and when putts slid by or lipped out, Woods could only manage
a 1-under 70 that left him six strokes off the pace on 138 tied with Open Champion Ernie Els, American Chris diMarco, Australian Craig Perks and Izawa, whose 73 dropped him back from his lofty overnight perch.

That's the widest margin the world No 1 has faced after any round in the three-year history of the NEC Invitational.

"It wasn't pretty," Woods said. "You can't make too many
mistakes on this golf course."

Nor can you can you afford to fall too far behind.

While there is no cut in the 78-man field, 48 players were at
par or better, and Woods had 16 players in front of him with two
rounds to go.

"You have to shoot low, because the guys are going to continue
to shoot low," he said.

Allenby was all aggression as he tore up the tree-lined Swiss type
mountain course to break the record matched by Goosen and Izawa with their 65s in the first round.

"If I feel comfortable, I'll go at the flag," he said. "If I
commit to every shot, which pretty much on the back nine I did, I'm
going to hit some pretty good shots. And that's what I did today."

His 63 was Allenby's lowest competitive round ever on tour - at least
over 18 holes.

His best score in the record books is a 54 in the 1994 Chemapol
Trophy Czech Open on the European tour. He opened with rounds of
58-54 and still finished seven strokes behind.

That’s because there was so much ice on the course that only 14 holes
were played in each round

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