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Pádraig one off lead as Woods moves in

US TOUR NEWS: PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON fired a three-under-par 68 to claim a share of second place - one shot behind early leaders…

Sat Sept 12 2009 - 01:00

US TOUR NEWS:PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON fired a three-under-par 68 to claim a share of second place - one shot behind early leaders Mark Wilson and Tiger Woods - at the BMW Championship in Illinois yesterday.

Harrington, in a share of the lead playing the last, hit a wayward drive, took a penalty drop, before holing an 18 footer for bogey, his first of the tournament, for a halfway total of 136.

Wilson added a second-round 66 for 135 and was later joined by Woods, who added a 67 to his opening 68.

Joint overnight leader Steve Marino suffered a nightmare second round, falling from five under to one over after five bogeys and two double bogeys on his way to a dismal 77.

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Further back, Jim Furyk, Luke Donald and Sergio Garcia were among a gaggle of players on three under, while Ian Poulter was struggling to recover from a double bogey on the day’s opening hole.

The Englishman had three birdies over the next nine holes but two more bogeys left him at one under with five to play.

Donald probably wished yesterday was the final round instead of the second.

The Chicago resident entered the week ranked 32nd in the FedExCup standings, but is currently projected to finish 30th and right on the number for The Tour Championship.

Donald failed to reach The Tour Championship each of the past two years, but after a 68 yesterday could be heading to Atlanta if he can keep it up.

This year has been an up-and-down one for the Englishman. He has five top-10s, including a runner-up at the Verizon Heritage, but he has finished in the top 30 in any of his last four tournaments. Right now, hes tied for 14th and would need to finish somewhere around there, or higher, to keep his Play-offs hopes alive.

John Rollins matched Zach Johnson for the low round of the day with a six-under-par 65 that moved him up into a tie for seventh. Actually, he had the same round as Johnson on Thursday, too, with a 73.

Comparing their rounds yesterday, Rollins had seven birdies and one bogey while hitting 83 percent of his greens in regulation, while Johnson had six birdies and no bogeys while hitting just 63 percent of his greens in regulation.