Martin Laird, still to complete round, in the top 10
Dustin Johnson trails Hoffman at Houston
Open, Donaldson (3 holes to play) in the mix
Dustin Johnson trails Charley Hoffman by two strokes. (USATSI)HOUSTON -- Charley Hoffman had a 2-under 70 for a one-shot lead over Jamie Lovemark at the Houston Open on Friday.
Lovemark was a former NCAA champion seeking his first PGA Tour
title after having his career affected by back surgery. He was one
of four players to shoot the day's low score, 68, under
conditions that worsened as the afternoon went on, which helped
protect Hoffman from the field. Dustin Johnson
was among those chasing Hoffman, who opened with a 64 Thursday,
but Johnson dropped back to 8 under with a bogey on 17, closing
with a 71 after narrowly missing a 10-foot birdie putt on 18. Johnson was in the last group to finish the round before darkness stopped play.
A 93-min morning weather delay brought on by rain and lightning
in the area ensured that 27 players will have to complete the
second round Saturday morning. They include Scot Martin Laird who is in the top 10 on the scoreboard. ''It was really
tough ... cold and the wind was blowing,'' Johnson said. ''The
course played difficult, especially the last four, five holes. I
still managed to get a round under par, a pretty decent score under the
conditions. I'm happy with that.'' Roberto Castro
and Jamie Donaldson, are also at 8 under with three holes still
to play, sharing third place with Johnson and Chez Reavie. Reavie
shot 70 Friday to go with a first-round 66. Johnson and Castro had
both opened at 65. The 39-year-old Hoffman moved to
11 under with a birdie on No. 17, but gave the stroke back by
bogeying 18, considered to be one of the most challenging
finishing holes on the PGA Tour and made more difficult by wind
gusts. ''I had a fairly straightforward bunker shot
but caught it a little heavy,'' he said. ''That's a tough hole.
They moved the tee up today, but there's still a big water hazard
to the left and the wind was blowing in off the right. It's tough
to putt in the wind. It was blowing my ball.
''Tee to green I did pretty well, but the putts weren't dropping like
they did yesterday. I'm happy where I'm at. Anytime you're near the
lead after 36 holes you're happy.'' Charles Howell III
eagled the par-4 10th hole and was making a run at Hoffman before
bogeying the par-3 16th and taking a double-bogey on 18 to finish
with a second consecutive 69, leaving him in a large group four
shots back. Jordan Spieth, who will be trying to defend his Masters title
next week, struggled with his putting and, for the second day in a
row, put a ball into a water hazard on a par-5 hole. The end
result was three bogeys on his back nine - the Golf Club of
Houston course's front nine - and he finished with a ragged 73.
''I'm close,'' Spieth said. ''It's the dumb stuff ...
those water balls. That's four shots right there. It really stinks
to keep on making those mistakes. And I've got to putt better
before next week. ''I'm losing a couple strokes (to)
the field on putting and normally we're gaining strokes. I can't
get into a rhythm. I'm stepping off putts. That's a tough feeling.
It kind of bleeds into the rest of your game because you feel
like you've got to be more aggressive.'' The
22-year-old Texan lost this tournament in a play-off a year ago
before going to Augusta and leading start to finish, tying Tiger Woods' tournament-record 18-under score. Spieth is one of 34 players within six shots of Hoffman.
SECOND ROUND SCOREBOARD +Several players have still to finish rounds Saturday morning
par 144 (2x72)
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