DUBLIN, US — Sweden's David Lingmerth fired seven birdies in a seven-under 65 Friday to grab the halfway lead at the Memorial as five-time champion Tiger Woods scrambled to make the cut on the number. Lingmerth's 12-under total of 132 gave him a one-shot lead over Ohio native Jason Dufner, who carded a 67 for 133. Lingmerth ignited his round with three straight birdies at seven, eight and nine. His four birdies coming in included both of the par-threes. Dufner, a former US PGA Championship winner, had back-to-back eagles, including a hole in one at the par-three 16th — helping him bounce back from a double-bogey five at the par-three 12th. It was a further stroke back to England's Andy Sullivan, whose sparkling eight-under 64 was the low round of the day. He had eight birdies to vault into a tie for third with American Ryan Moore, who signed for a 67. Defending champion Hideki Matsuyama, who shared the overnight lead, carded a 71 that left him sharing fifth on 135 with five other players, a group that included England's Justin Rose and Italy's Francesco Molinari. Woods, meanwhile, had to sink a testing six-foot par putt at the 18th to secure his weekend spot in the field. The 14-time major champion, who has fallen to 172nd in the world, started strong in his bid to rebound from a first-round 73 with three birdies in the first four holes. But his troubles off the tee caught up with him on the back nine, where two more birdies were outnumbered by three bogeys, including late stumbles at the 16th and 17th. He signed for a two-under par 70 for a one-under total of 143 — tied for 64th. “I just need to put myself in position so those putts are to win tournaments, not to make cuts,” he said of his par-saving effort at the last. He had to convert a similar par putt to make the cut at the Players Championship last month. Woods, playing his fifth tournament of a season in which he took time off to work on his game after a dismal start, said he needs to play more. Through two rounds he has hit nine fairways, and he hit just eight greens in regulation in the second round. Putting proved key as he made 24 putts — plus one from off a green. Pettersen, Uribe share lead Norways' Suzann Pettersen fired a bogey-free seven-under 65 to seize a share of the lead with Mariajo Uribe atop a crowded leaderboard after the second round of the LPGA Tour's Manulife Classic at Kitchener, Canada. Pettersen missed just three fairways and hit every green to sit tied with Uribe, who shot a bogey-free round of 66. The duo shares the lead heading into the weekend at 13-under 131. Cristie Kerr, who tied for the lead after the first round, carded a three-under 69 and is alone in third place at 12-under 132 at the Whistle Bear Country Club course. Tseng Ya-ni(65), Kim Kaufman (66), Victoria Elizabeth (66), Pernilla Lindberg (67), Kim Hyo-Joo (67), Brittany Lang (68) and Laetitia Beck (69) are all tied at 11-under. The cut line Friday fell at four-under 140, the lowest 36-hole cut in USLPGA Tour history. Players continued to take advantage of scoreable conditions on Friday but nothing like Thursday when Thailand's PK Kongkraphan, American Cristie Kerr and Cheyenne Woods of the US tied the course record by posting nine-under 63s. Defending champion and world No. 2 Park In-bee (68) is tied for 23rd at seven-under 137. South Korea's Pak Se-ri pulled out following the second round with a back injury. Karrie Webb (71), Stacy Lewis (72) and Morgan Pressel (71) failed to make the cut. — Agencies
