JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Webb Simpson looked at the scores and the weather, neither of which indicated an easy time Friday at Liberty National. He quickly settled on a simple game plan Friday and made it pay off in The Barclays.
Simpson took advantage on some of the shorter holes to give him a cushion for the inevitable mistakes. It led to a 3-under 68 on a long, tough and wet afternoon that put the 24-year-old rookie atop the leaderboard for the first time all year.
"My caddie and I talked beforehand about taking advantage of the par 5s and the shorter par 4s, just because we knew we were going to make bogeys," Simpson said. "It was just one of those long, tough days. But I feel good with where I'm at."
He was at 8-under 134, two shots clear of Paul Goydos and Steve Marino, who started the second round tied for the lead and did well to get around in even-par 71.
Sergio Garcia also was tied for the lead, got stuck in the morning wave and the worst of the rain, and shot a 76.
"It was hands down — I mean, forget about the PGA (Championship) — it was the longest course I've played this year, the way it was playing," Garcia said. "I don't know how many 5-, 4- and 3-irons I hit into the greens. I hit some woods into the green."
Tiger Woods tried to hit driver onto one green on the 16th, where the tees were moved up. His shot sailed 65 yards wide of his target, over the water hazard, beyond the tee boxes at No. 17. He nearly crushed a tee marker before stopping the club a foot short, and while he made par, it summed up his frustration. Woods had a 72, yet still moved up 10 spots on the leaderboard into a tie for 17th at even-par 142. For the second straight day, he refused to meet with the reporters to discuss his round.
CHAMPIONS TOUR: At Snoqualmie, Wash., Mark O'Meara eagled the 18th hole to take a two-shot lead over a jumbled field after the first round of the Boeing Classic.
Playing the uphill, 498-yard par-5, O'Meara — still winless on the Champions Tour — knocked his second shot from about 205 yards onto the green, then made a 17-foot putt to separate himself from a pack of 15 players within three shots of the lead.
Mark McNulty shot a 30 on his first nine holes — the back nine at the TPC Snoqualmie Ridge — then stumbled to 2 over on his second nine and finished at 4-under 68. Also at 4-under were Allen Doyle, Loren Roberts and John Jacobs. Defending champion Tom Kite bogeyed 18 to finish 3 under.
U.S. AMATEUR: At Tulsa, Okla., Byeong-Hun An has advanced to the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur with his second straight playoff win.
After a 21-hole victory against Stanford junior Steve Ziegler in the quarterfinals, An stands two wins away from making history. The 17-year-old who goes by "Ben" can become both the youngest player to take the U.S. Amateur title.
EUROPEAN TOUR: At Glenagles, Scotland, Paul Lawrie shot a second straight bogey-free round with a 3-under 69, for a two-stroke lead at the Johnnie Walker Championship.
The 1999 British Open champion had six birdies and an eagle over 36 holes. Jonathan Caldwell (66) of Northern Ireland, Maarten Lafeber (67) of the Netherlands and Daniel Vancsik (69) of Argentina trailed the leader.
Jose Maria Olazabal birdied the 18th for a 68, finishing with birdies on five of his first six holes. He's tied with Soren Hansen (70), Gregory Bourdy (68) and Shiv Kapur (70).
Colin Montgomerie also shot 68, rebounding from an opening 76, to avoid missing a fourth straight cut for the first time.
LPGA TOUR: At North Plains, Ore., Beth Bader shot an 8-under 64 at the Safeway Classic Friday to take a 1-stroke lead into the second round at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club.
Bader's low score came early in the day before the winds picked up and rain moved in over the course west of Portland. Anna Nordqvist and Seon Hwa Lee each had 65s, a stroke in front of a group that were two shots back.
Bader's round was her best since 2007. It was her best start to a tournament since the season-opening event in 2003.
"It's nice to get off to a good start," Bader said. "I've had a tendency of not getting off to a very good start and I haven't been able to come back from that." Defending champion Cristie Kerr had a 69, playing in a star-studded group with Michelle Wie and Lorena Ochoa.