Four Share Lead At PGA Championship

Medinah, IL (Sports Network) - Henrik Stenson, Billy Andrade, Luke Donald and Tim Herron share the lead at eight-under-par 136 after Friday`s second round of the PGA Championship at Medinah Country Club. Stenson and Donald both shot 68s on Friday, while Herron fired a 67 and Andrade a three-under 69. This quartet better be on their game because the three players one shot back are all major champions, including the top player in the game. Tiger Woods, a two-time PGA Champion and the reigning British Open winner, rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt at the 18th hole on Friday to polish off a four-under 68. He was joined in fifth place by this season`s U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy (68) and 1997 PGA Champion Davis Love III (69) at seven-under-par 137. Woods had an eventful first hole when his drive headed left until a fan reached out and knocked the ball down. He scrambled for a par and broke into red figures for the first time with 20-foot birdie putt at the fifth. He added another front-nine birdie at the other par five, the seventh, to reach minus- five. Woods played steady golf along the back nine and could not reach the green in two at the par-five 14th. He spun his third inside a foot and tapped in for birdie. At the closing hole, Woods split the fairway with his drive and left himself with 191 yards. He stepped on a seven-iron and hit it 20 feet past the stick. Woods sank the birdie putt to get within one of the lead 36-hole lead. "I wanted to make something. I wanted to end the day on a positive note," said Woods, who collected his first of back-to-back PGA Championships the last time Medinah hosted in 1999. "I felt like I hit the ball really well on that back nine and I didn`t really get a whole lot out of it." Phil Mickelson, the defending champion and the Masters victor earlier this year, had trouble with his irons on Friday. He made a spectacular birdie after driving in the rough at 18 for a one-under 71. Mickelson is tied for 18th place at four-under-par 140. "Obviously I am not striking the ball very well and I fought hard the first two rounds to keep myself in it," said Mickelson. "I`m only four back with two rounds to go." Mickelson is four back of a quartet with zero major championships between them. Stenson, ranked 17th in the world thanks in part to a share of third at The Players Championship, flew out of the gate on Friday with a birdie at the first and a near ace at the par-three second as his seven-iron tee ball nearly landed in the hole. Stenson closed his front nine with a birdie at nine to make the turn at three-under-par 33. Stenson birdied the 11th, then hit a four-iron 15 feet over the flag to set up birdie at 13. Stenson was able to make par from a divot at 14, but could not at 15 when his ball once again found a divot in the fairway. The Swede fell back to eight-under par for the championship, but birdied another par-three, the 17th, thanks to a strong seven-iron tee ball. Stenson drove into the trees at 18 and hit a low six-iron short of the green. Unfortunately, he was unable to make a four and fell back to eight-under par. "I`m not happy with the way I played the par fives today. I only played them even-par," said Stenson, who is 10th on the European Tour Order of Merit thanks to a win and two runner-ups this season. "On the other hand, I made three birdies on the par threes, so it`s a bit of give and take." Andrade, who was the seventh alternate who got into the field because 1995 champion Steve Elkington withdrew, traded a birdie and a bogey over his first two holes. From there, Andrade ran home a five-footer for birdie at three, then birdied five to get to seven-under for the championship. At the par-five 10th, Andrade rolled in a four-foot birdie putt to match Stenson at eight-under par. He parred his next six holes, but found trouble off the tee at the par-three 17th. His tee ball sailed over the green and he could not get up and down for par. Andrade made up for the lost stroke at the closing hole. He hit the same club as 17, a six-iron, and knocked it 20 feet from the stick. Andrade sank the birdie try to join Stenson in the clubhouse at eight-under par. "I think we have a hell of a leaderboard," acknowledged Andrade, whose best finish in a PGA Championship was a sixth in 2001. "I`m looking forward to continuing to have a great time this weekend." Donald is the most well known of the co-leaders being ranked 11th in the world. He got off to a great start with a five-foot birdie putt at the first, then parred his next two. At the par-four fourth, Donald hit an eight-iron to 10 feet to set up birdie. He made it two in a row at the par-five fifth when his three-iron second shot came up just short, but he chipped to two feet. He parred the next nine holes around the turn, but hit a seven-iron to six feet for his fourth birdie of the round at 15. Donald had a good look at birdie at the closing hole, but missed from 18 feet. The Englishman, who went to college at nearby Northwestern University, said he`s ready to start winning major championships. "I`ve got to the stage in my career right now where I feel like I should be competing and having a chance to win majors," said Donald. "In previous majors, I`ve been getting ahead of myself. This major, this week, I was determined to have a little bit more fun out there." Herron, who is 17th on the United States Ryder Cup points list, started on the back nine Friday. He holed a 12-foot birdie putt at the 12th, then collected back-to-back birdies from the 16th, both from five feet. Herron played the first seven holes on his second nine in even par, then tapped in a birdie putt at the par-three eighth. He closed his round with a 30-footer for birdie to become the final member of the co-leaders. "I played pretty consistent and just kind of hung in there," said Herron, the winner of this year`s Colonial. "If you hung in there, it`s still a major championship, but you could be maybe just a little more aggressive." Billy Mayfair, two weeks removed from surgery for testicular cancer, carded his second three-under 69 in as many days. He is tied for eighth place with 50-year-old Fred Funk (69), 2001 PGA Champion David Toms (67) and overnight co-leader Chris Riley (72). The group came in at six-under-par 138. Lucas Glover, who shared the first-round lead with Riley, struggled to a two- over-par 74 on Friday. He is part of the group tied with Mickelson at four- under-par 140. The 36-hole cut fell at even-par 144 with a host of big-name players sitting out the weekend. Vijay Singh, a two-time winner, finished 36 holes at 145, followed by former U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell (146), 1991 winner John Daly (146), Fred Couples (147), Colin Montgomerie (148), American Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman (148) and Padraig Harrington (149). (Copyright 2005 by The Sports Network)