Golf roundup: Brendan Steele keeps lead at Frys.com Open

Rory McIlroy lamented a “frustrating” putting performance in the Frys.com Open second round in northern California yesterday while Brendan Steele increased his lead to two shots despite shooting seven strokes worse than his opening round.

Brendan Steele felt no different about his game Friday than when he tied the course record with a 63 in his opening round at the Frys.com Open.

Wilcox is making his first Frys.com Open start, while Varner is a USPGA Tour rookie.

Pre-tournament 5-1 favourite Rory McIlroy has putted poorly and shares 39 place, eight shots behind Steele. “I don’t expect to hole everything, but I expect to hole more than I am at the moment”.

Bohn missed a 15-foot birdie on the last hole, but it was a mistake earlier that really cost him.

“The course asks you to be aggressive a little bit, but you have to be very smart out there”, Grillo said. His next wedge slid 8 feet by the hole and he two-putted for a bogey.

The world No 3 was again hampered by inconsistency on the greens in a 71 which featured five birdies and four bogeys – including three in four holes on the back nine.

“It’s definitely better – better from tee to green than I was at the Tour Championship a couple of weeks ago, so it’s definitely a step in the right direction”, McIlroy said.

The title is wide open going into the final round with 16 players separated by only four shots.

One better off on 13 under were Andrew Loupe and Kevin Na, who respectively made 63 and 64 on moving day.

McIlroy noted that he’s also playing in China next month, a World Golf Championship event that not only counts on the European Tour but on the PGA Tour as well.

SUVA, Fiji – American Matt Kuchar shot a 3-under 69 to maintain a two-stroke lead in the wind-swept Fiji worldwide.

“I was fairly focused on 16 where I just kind of laid the sod over it and chunked it”, Bohn said. Whenever you don’t see anything go in, it makes it harder and harder each and every hole that goes by.

McIlroy was not able to get much going on Saturday, although Rose found a spark late in the round to get into contention.

“The way I like to look at it, if the leader goes out and plays well and stretches out with the lead, good for him”.

He has one win as a PGA Tour player, that coming at the 2011 Valero Texas Open.

Van Aswegen birdied two of the last three holes to at least have a chance at a playoff until Grillo and then Na each made birdie. “They filled me with two bags of fluid and said I had severe dehydration and vertigo”. The difference was seven shots.

The Englishman recently gained a new driver, and said on the pgatour.com website: “This is a golf course where you have to drive it well and if you do drive it well round here you set up a lot of birdie chances”.