Trio lead into the weekend

Charles Howell III was a little surprised to be sharing the lead with Steve Lowery and Matt Gogel after the second round of the Western Open on Friday.

Despite excellent scoring conditions, especially in the morning, few players were able to shoot low numbers at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club.

Howell carded a four-under 67 for a six-under total of 136 to move into a tie for the lead with Lowery (68) and Gogel, whose 64 was the best round of the day.

Australians Geoff Ogilvy and Mark Hensby were tied for fourth place, one shot adrift. Robert Gamez, Scott Hoch, DJ Brigman and Australia's Robert Allenby, a former Western Open champion, were joint sixth on 138.

World number one Tiger Woods added a 73 to his opening 70 to stand seven shots off the pace.

"It's amazing," Howell III told reporters. "I thought yesterday the scores would be a lot lower than they were.

"I played in the afternoon and it was absolutely zero wind. If you would have said there's going to be no wind on Thursday and Friday, I would have thought at least by now 10, 12-under would have been leading."

Loren Roberts, who led on 64 on Thursday, slumped to a 75 in the second round to drop into an eight-man tie for 10th on 139.

The 49-year-old Roberts, who played in the afternoon when the wind picked up, was one of several leading competitors who slipped down the field on Friday.

Canada's Stephen Ames, tied for third after an opening 67, had a 73 while JL Lewis, who also shot a 67 on Thursday, slumped to a 74. Chad Campbell began with a 67 but then ballooned to a 76.

The most dramatic fall from grace, however, belonged to British Open champion Ben Curtis, who followed his first-round 67 with a 78 to miss the cut by one stroke.

Woods, who is aiming to win this title for the fourth time, said it was difficult to get near the pins because the greens were "springy".

"It's hard to get the ball close, especially with these front pins," he said.

"Now the wind is up a little bit and it's starting to swirl a little bit in the trees, and it's tough to get a direction where it's coming from."

The 64 by Gogel was by far the best round of the day. Only Australia's Stephen Leaney, who carded a 66, came close.

Gogel agreed with Woods's assessment of the putting surfaces.

"To me these greens are very, very thatchy, and the ball doesn't explode into the turf, it bounces like a trampoline and it takes off a lot of spin," he said.

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