WENTWORTH: Luke Donald came back to the pack in the second round of the PGA Championship here Friday and now shares the lead with Italy's Matteo Manassero and Alvaro Quiros of Spain. After his spectacular 64 Thursday Donald carded a one-over par 72 whilst Manassero was two shots better and Quiros shot a four-under par 67. The trio are tied on six-under par with England's David Horsey, Jose-Manuel Lara of Spain and Thomas Aiken from South Africa all a further two shots back on four-under. Donald made a bogey on the first when he found two bunkers, missed a four-foot putt for an eagle on the par-5 fifth and also found sand on the seventh before rallying on the home stretch. Manassero, just 18 but with two Tour wins to his name, birdied the par five last to get himself to the top of the leaderboard. On the 20th anniversary of Severiano Ballesteros' win in this event, many of the players and spectators were wearing the trademark navy blue sweater that the Spaniard used to sport. And Manassero said the memory of the five-time major champion who died recently had spurred him on. Quiros finished with three straight birdies, holing a huge putt on the 16th and from off the green on the 17th but attributed his good scoring to taking a conservative attitude on the course. US Open champion Graeme McDowell was right on the mark along with defending champion Simon Khan and Rory McIlroy. Lee Westwood, who is locked in a battle with Donald for the world number ranking, is safely through to the weekend however after a 69 left him one-under for the tournament. Overton sets pace Sergio Garcia charged into contention at the Byron Nelson Championship in Irving, Texas, Thursday just three days after pulling out of a British Open qualifier because of an infected fingernail. Despite not having played the TPC Four Seasons Resort Las Colinas in practice this week, the Spaniard holed out with a sand wedge to eagle his opening hole on the way to a sparkling four-under-par 66. Garcia also carded three birdies and a lone bogey at the par-four 15th in dazzling sunshine to end the first round two strokes behind pace-setting American Jeff Overton. Ryan Palmer, also of the United States, was alone in second after two birdies in his last three holes earned him a 65. Garcia, who withdrew Monday from the US qualifying tournament in nearby Plano, Texas, for this year's British Open, surprised himself with his red-hot start to the round. He hit a wayward drive on his opening hole, the par-four 10th, but was fortunate to end up with a good lie close to a cart path for his second shot, 115 yards from the flag. The former world number two is bidding for his eighth PGA Tour title but his first since the 2008 Players Championship. Overton, runner-up in last year's Byron Nelson Championship, took control at the TPC Four Seasons late in the day with a bogey-free 64, his lowest round this season. In pursuit of his first victory on the US circuit, the 27-year-old hit 11 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens in regulation to surge to the top of the leaderboard. “It's nice having confidence because of last year,” Overton said after recording four birdies in his last eight holes. “I was able to hit a lot of great shots and strike out early. I hope this is the beginning of a good streak for me.” Overton has posted just one top-10 in 13 PGA Tour starts this year, a tie for sixth at the Honda Classic in March.
