Howell & Dougherty lead at halfway

David Howell and Nick Dougherty produced a delightful English double act for the joint halfway lead at the inaugural US$5 million HSBC Champions tournament on Friday.

On a foggy and wet day over Sheshan International Golf Club, world number one Tiger Woods of the United States remained in the title hunt following a battling three-under-par 69 for a share of third place with Australian Nick O'Hern, who returned a second straight 67. They are two strokes behind the leaders.

Chinese ace Zhang Lian-wei delighted his army of supporters by outscoring playing partner Woods by one stroke with a fine 68 to lie in equal fifth place, three off the pace, alongside Thai stalwart Thaworn Wiratchant, who carded a 68.

Fresh from his best season in Europe , Howell charged up the leaderboard with a bogey-free 67 as he stayed firmly on track for a memorable first visit to China . The Ryder Cup star, who has a 12-under-par 132 total with Dougherty, was thrilled to jointly lead a top-class field at the HSBC Champions, Asia 's richest golf tournament. Dougherty carded a 68.

" It was just no mistakes out there, I was really pleased to get in without a bogey, and holed a couple of good par-saving putts. Other than that, I wasn't in too much trouble. I picked up the birdies with some fairly good shots close and didn't hole any long putts. It was a solid day's golf," said Howell, who finished the recent European Tour season in a career-best seventh place on the Order of Merit after one victory and 10 top-10 finishes.

A late bloomer in the game, Howell was rock steady as he opened his account with a two-putt birdie on the par five second hole before draining a 20-footer on the fifth. Another crisp wedge to four feet on the eighth hole saw him turn in 33 and he finished strongly with birdies on the two par fives on the inward stretch.

But the 30-year will be looking over his shoulders knowing that Woods is lurking behind. " I have to go out and shoot another couple of 67s, at least, I'm sure to win this tournament. I 've played with Tiger twice … I played with him in Dubai two years ago and thrashed him by a single shot," joked Howell. "And then I played with him in the US Masters this year and he thrashed me by 12. Tiger is obviously the best player, is playing well this week, and if he plays well he's going to be a tough person to beat."

The 29-year-old Woods, the top draw at this week's HSBC Champions, salvaged a tremendous par save at the last hole, a par five, after dumping his second shot into water. "It was a long and frustrating day. There was a good bit of bad weather out there and I just had to deal with it. I had to hang in there and grind away and just be as patient as possible because the golf course being as wet as it is, it was hard to make a bunch of birdies," said Woods.

Woods, whose mother is Thai, turned in 35 with two birdies against a dropped shot before rolling in three consecutive birdies from the 13th hole to threaten the lead. He bogeyed the short par four 16th after finding thick rough and then made a huge par save at the last which earned a roar of approval from the gallery.

"I made a little run on the back nine and let it slip away at the end 18. But overall I am very pleased. I am right there in the ball game, only two back and we've got a long way to go," said Woods, a 10-time major champion.

Local hero Zhang tamed the Tiger with an outstanding finish, shooting four birdies over his last five holes for a 135 total to put the shade on his more illustrious playing partner. "Although I was one stroke better today, overall I'm still one more than Tiger. He's still the number one in the world," said Zhang.

Putting has often been Zhang's Achilles heel but this week, he has rolled the ball beautifully. " My putting has been very satisfying and I have been patient out there. I'm only three behind and hopefully I can keep up and challenge for the title. It would mean a lot if I can win the first HSBC Champions as it's a big purse and we've got Tiger in the field. It would help grow golf faster in China ," said the 40-year-old, a five-time winner on the Asian Tour.

Current Asian Tour Order of Merit leader Thaworn, who has won three titles this year, was delighted to stay in touch with the leaders, more so when he outscored playing partner Vijay Singh of Fiji , the world's number two, by a single stroke.

A master of the short game, Thaworn's highlight was a sensational birdie from the greenside bunker on the par three 17th. "That was really nice as I was only aiming for a par save," said Thaworn. "Today, I played very good and I'm now in a good position. Hopefully I can maintain my form but the conditions are tough out there as I don't like the rain and cold," said the Thai.

England 's Kenneth Ferrie, who produced the HSBC Champions' first hole-in-one on the sixth hole with a four iron, Ryder Cup stalwart Paul Casey of England and Dutchman Robert Jan Derksen share fifth place with Zhang and Thaworn on 135.

A further stroke back were Thomas Bjorn of Denmark, Singh, Korea's Choi Kyung-ju, US Open champion Michael Campbell of New Zealand, Ian Poulter of England and Australian Peter O'Malley.

Leading second round scores

132 - David Howell (ENG) 65-67, Nick Dougherty (ENG) 64-68

134 - Nick O'Hern (AUS) 67-67, Tiger Woods ( USA ) 65-69

135 - Kenneth Ferrie (ENG) 66-69, Paul Casey (ENG) 67-68, Thaworn Wiratchant (THA) 67-68, Zhang Lian-Wei (CHN) 67-68, Robert-Jan Derksen (NLD) 65-70

136 - Peter O'Malley (AUS) 64-72, Ian Poulter (ENG) 67-69, Thomas Björn (DEN) 67-69, Vijay Singh (FIJ) 67-69, K J Choi (KOR) 65-71, Michael Campbell (NZL) 66-70

137 - Graeme Mcdowell (IRE) 70-67, Jean-Francois Remesy (FRA) 70-67

138 - Charl Schwartzel (RSA) 68-70

139 - Peter Hanson (SWE) 69-70, Arjun Atwal (IND) 69-70, Paul Lawrie (SCO) 64-75, Lee Westwood (ENG) 70-69

140 - John Bickerton (ENG) 68-72, Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (ESP) 70-70, Steven Bowditch (AUS) 71-69, Simon Wakefield (ENG) 68-72, Prayad Marksaeng (THA) 70-70, Thongchai Jaidee (THA) 67-73, Titch Moore (RSA) 69-71

141 - Terry Pilkadaris (AUS) 69-72, Wang Ter-chang (TPE) 71-70, Padraig Harrington (IRL) 69-72

142 - Adam Le Vesconte (AUS) 72-70, Steve Webster (ENG) 72-70, Jyoti Randhawa (IND) 73-69, Miguel Angel Jiménez (ESP) 70-72, Liang Wen-chong (CHN) 72-70, Euan Walters (AUS) 70-72

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