CARMEL, IND. — Vijay Singh has positioned himself for a PGA Tour victory, making four birdies around the turn Friday for a 6-under 66 in the BMW Championship. His performance places him atop the leaderboard for the second time in his last four tournaments.
Tiger Woods was one shot behind. So was Rory McIlroy. Going into a storm-filled weekend at Crooked Stick, four players who have reached No. 1 in the world were among the top six.
“I’ve got to keep it going,” Singh said. “I’ve been playing well for two days for a while now, but I need four days of good playing. Sooner or later, I think four days is going to happen. And hopefully, it starts this week.”
Woods started slowly and finished strong, with birdies on his last two holes for a 67. McIlroy, coming off what he called one of the best ball-striking rounds of his life, had to overcome four bogeys for a hard-earned 68. Joining them one shot out of the lead was Ryan Moore, who had a 66.
Lee Westwood (65) and Indiana native Bo Van Pelt (69) were two shots off the lead.
Singh was at 13-under 131 on Crooked Stick, a Pete Dye course that is vulnerable to low scoring because of rain over the last several days. The second round was played early Friday to beat approaching thunderstorms, and the times were pushed back slightly Saturday to recover from whatever rain falls overnight.
These are supposed to be the FedEx Cup playoffs. The scores make it look like the old Bob Hope Classic, especially after a week in which McIlroy won on the TPC Boston at 20-under 264.
“You come to a Pete Dye golf course, and you don’t expect to see 13-under par leading after two days,” Woods said.
LPGA: Jiyai Shin followed her opening 9-under 62 with a 68 to take a one-shot lead in the LPGA Tour’s Kingsmill Championship in Williamsburg, Va.
The South Korean player had four birdies and a bogey to finish two rounds at 12 under on Kingsmill’s River Course.
American Danielle Kang was second after a 64.
Paula Creamer and Dewi Claire Schreefel were 10 under. Schreefel had a 66, and Creamer shot 67.
European Tour:Graeme Storm shot a 4-under 66 for a three-shot lead after the second round of the KLM Open in Hilversum, Netherlands.
Storm didn’t drop a shots, a day after shooting a course-record 63 on the Hilversumsche course. He has an 11-under total 129 at the halfway mark.
Three players were tied for second, with Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (65), Scotland’s Scott Jamieson (64) and Sweden’s Peter Hanson (66), all at 8 under.