American Jason Dufner birdied four of his last five holes to go a stroke clear of a congested leaderboard in Friday's second round of the Byron Nelson Championship here. Three weeks after clinching his maiden PGA Tour victory at the New Orleans Classic, Dufner fired a four-under-par 66 in the toughest conditions of the day to post a seven-under total of 133. The laid-back American with the distinctive pre-shot waggle birdied 14, 15, 16 and 18 to finish ahead of compatriots Matt Kuchar (68), Chad Campbell (66), Ryan Palmer (70), Pat Perez (67) and Dicky Pride (68), plus Australian Marc Leishman (69). Defending champion Keegan Bradley (68), fellow American Charley Hoffman (69) and Japan's Ryuji Imada (68) were a further stroke back at five under. Dufner was delighted to take control of the tournament after playing in the afternoon when the gusting winds were at their strongest. “The wind picked up a good bit ... so made it premium on putting the ball in the fairway so you could be more aggressive into the greens,” the 35-year-old told reporters after mixing seven birdies with three bogeys. “It was a nice way to finish, and I'm looking forward to the weekend. I've played pretty solid ... not as clean as I would like today because of the conditions but I was able to grind it out and got fortunate there on the last couple of holes.” World No. 5 Kuchar, who won his fourth PGA Tour title at the elite Players Championship Sunday, was delighted to claw his way back into contention after dropping three shots in his first six holes. American world No. 10 Phil Mickelson and former world No. 1 Ernie Els of South Africa each carded 69s to end the day six strokes off the pace. The cut fell at two-over-par 142 with former major winners Louis Oosthuizen, Justin Leonard and Yang Yong-eun, and Australian world No. 13 Adam Scott, among those failing to advance. Lewis advances in Sybase In New Jersey, Stacy Lewis is the top American left in the Sybase Match Play Championship, and it's really not a surprise. Lewis has been the best American on the LPGA Tour all season. On Friday, Lewis won the first four holes and rolled to a 4-and-3 decision over Sandra Gal in the second round at Hamilton Farm Golf Club. The tournament has become a minefield for the tour's marque players. Defending champion Suzann Pettersen, No. 4 ranked Ai Miyazato and American stars Paula Creamer, Brittany Lincicome and Michelle Wie went down in the opening round. Cristie Kerr, last year's runner-up and the No. 5 ranked player, lost Friday along with No. 7 Jiyai Shin and No. 14 Karrie Webb. Eleven of the 20 seeded players in the 64-woman field have been eliminated. Top-ranked Yani Tseng posted a 3-and-1 win over American Katie Futcher, and No. 2 ranked Na Yeon Choi was a 3-and-2 winner of fellow South Korean Jenny Shin. There were a couple of surprises again. Jodi Ewart of England sent another Scandanavian to the sideline with a 3-and-1 win over veteran Sophie Gustafson. The 24-year-old will face Azahara Munoz. The Spaniard beat Webb 2 and 1. American Angela Stanford was impressive with a front-running 4-and-3 win over Eun-Hee Ji of South Korea. Stanford will play Hurst in the third round. Anna Nordqvist of Sweden upset Jiyai Shin 2 and 1, winning three of the final five holes.
