Holmes heads PGA Championship field

Long-hitting American JB Holmes posted an early two-under-par 68 to claim a one-shot lead after two rounds of the PGA Championship on Friday.

England’s Justin Rose, South Korean Charlie Wi and American Ben Curtis were tied at level-par 140, one better than David Toms and Henrik Stenson on the tough Oakland Hills layout which was playing lightning fast.

Open champion Padraig Harrington returned following last night's one-over-par 71 and opened with a birdie but then carded seven bogeys with just two more birdies to leave him at five over for the tournament after a four-over 74.

'I just ran out of steam,' Harrington said.

'It was a struggle for me. I did my best to be ready for the week but clearly I'm not.

'What can I say, the harder I tried the worse it got. I haven't got the focus this week. I'm just not with it.

'Obviously I'm still just having a hangover after winning The Open.'

The top six on the leaderboard all had morning tee times when the conditions were more favourable.

Holmes began at one over par, three shots off the pace, and made the turn at level par before a string of three birdies starting at the par-five 12th lifted him to three under par.

The stocky 26-year-old from Kentucky dropped two strokes with bogeys at the 15th and par-three 17th hole but the twice PGA Tour winner did enough to post the only sub-par total through 36 holes.

‘I played great. I hit the ball well,’ Holmes told reporters. ‘I left a few putts out there, but overall it was a very good ball-striking round.’

Three shots behind Holmes was a group of seven including 2007 US Open champion Angel Cabrera of Argentina, Spaniard Sergio Garcia, Australian Aaron Baddeley and Jeev Milkha Singh of India, the overnight co-leader who posted a 74.

‘There's one guy under par right now and conditions are exactly like the US Open,’ Baddeley said.

‘Rough being thick, greens being firm and crusty and it's playing tough.’

Also on two-over 142 were Americans Brandt Snedeker, Ken Duke and Sean O'Hair.

Phil Mickelson, a three-times major winner, was another shot back in a large group four strokes off the pace.

Robert Karlsson of Sweden, who shared the first-round lead with Singh after an opening 68, bogeyed his first four holes on the way to a 77.

Holmes hit nine of 14 fairways and reached 14 of 18 greens in regulation.

‘I hit a couple out there that might have got close to 400 (yards) today,’ said Holmes, 26, who won this year's Phoenix Open for a second time.

The scoring average was nearly five over par as players struggled to hold greens and hole putts on the severe slopes.

Colin Montgomerie helped raise the average with a 14-over 84. Only club pro Eric Manning's 88 was higher.

‘It's very difficult obviously. I made it more so,’ said Montgomerie, eight-times winner of the European order of merit.