McDowell Increases Lead to Three at WGC-HSBC Champions; Reed Apologizes for Thursday's Outburst


Graeme McDowell carded his second straight 5-under 67 to take a three-stroke lead heading into the weekend at the WGC-HSBC Champions. The $8 million event got underway Thursday at Sheshan International Golf Club in Shanghai, China.

The 35-year-old Northern Irishman posted five birdies and no bogeys on Friday, a day when only 27 players in the 78-man field broke par. To show how difficult the course is playing French star and 2014 European Ryder Cup member Victor Dubuisson has shot rounds of 76 and 77.

McDowell stands at 10-under 134, three strokes ahead of England's Ian Poulter, who also had a 67, and four ahead of Bubba Watson (67) and Japan's Hiroshi Iwata, who recorded the day's low round of 7-under 65.

The course yielded much lower scores last year, with winner Dustin Johnson overpowering it and finishing at 24-under 264, three shots ahead of Poulter. (Johnson isn't entered in 2014 as he's still on "indefinite" leave for personal reasons.)

But this year the rough has been allowed to grow and invade the fairways, making driving more difficult on the par-4s and par-5s.

After saying Thursday that the key to his opening round was accurate driving, McDowell relied on a hot putter to salvage another 67 with some crucial par-saving putts. "I missed a lot more fairways," McDowell said after the second round. "My putter obviously is in good form, and I hung in there. I'm right where I want to be."

But McDowell knows the tournament is far from settled. "This is a world-class field. They are bunching up behind me and I have to get out there tomorrow and keep the pedal down and position myself for Sunday and give myself a sniff on the back nine."

Watson finished eighth last year in the tournament. The long-hitting lefty and two-time Masters champion is looking to find the right recipe for success this year. Maybe he got a glimpse of that when he finished with five straight birdies Friday.

"It was a struggle," Watson said. "I hit some good shots but couldn't make some putts. Hit some bad shots and made some putts. And then to finish that strong, it was a great round of golf, or great last five holes I guess you could say. It's kind of like where I was last year. I was hanging around right there going into the weekend so I look forward to the challenge. Hopefully I can play a little better this time on the weekend."

Poulter was very pleased with his outing. "It was great. I played very, very solid. Probably the best I've played all year, which is very exciting. It was a little frustrating the first 13 holes that I was missing chances, but four birdies in the last five holes, chances started to go in at the end, and I'm very happy.

"I played with Graeme in the last round last year and he likes this golf course and played well, and I've had success around here as well," added the flamboyant 38-year-old. "So if you're within six shots, then you've got a great chance on Sunday."

Tied for fifth at 139 are South African Tim Clark (70), Sweden's Jonas Blixt (68) and Americans Kevin Na (68) and Rickie Fowler (70). One stroke further back are Denmark's Thorbjorn Olesen (68) and South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen (70).

The tougher conditions certainly bit No. 2-ranked Adam Scott on Friday. The 34-year-old Aussie was sailing along with four birdies through his first six holes before coming to the par-5, 603-yard eighth, which is proving to be a brute for the world's best. Through two rounds the hole has yielded no eagles and just 11 birdies.

The 2013 Masters champion got off to a bad start by hooking his drive into a hazard, and it went downhill from there. Scott finally reached the green with his seventh shot and two-putted for a quadruple-bogey nine.

Things didn't get much better on the par-4 ninth, which Scott doubled to give him a 2-over 38 at the turn. He rebounded on the home half, however, carding a bogey but then having an eagle on the par-5 14th and a birdie at No. 16 for a 34 to eke out an even-par 72.

Ryan Moore, who won last week's CIMB Classic in Malaysia for the second straight year, has shot rounds of 74 and 71 and enters Saturday tied for 37th.

Patrick Reed followed up his opening 71 with a 73 and is now at even-par. The 24-year-old Texan got himself in hot water Thursday after saying a gay slur out of frustration. On the very first hole of the tournament, he muttered out loud to himself during Golf Channel's live broadcast after three-putting, "Don't f***ing three-putt you f***ing f*ggot."

The outburst got the attention of the PGA Tour, which released a statement Thursday morning aimed at Reed that read: "The PGA Tour Conduct Unbecoming regulations prohibit the use of obscene language on the golf course. The PGA Tour will deal with this matter internally in accordance with its regulations."

On Friday, after polishing off his 1-over round, Reed was contrite, vowing to clean up his act. "I made a stupid error. Never should have happened. All I can do is just learn from it and move on. I'm young and growing up, I had temper issues, on and off the golf course," he said.

For all the scores, visit http://www.worldgolfchampionships.com/hsbc-champions/leaderboard.html.