It was a second-successive three-under-par 67 for Retief Goosen on Friday as he climbed into a share of sixth after the second round of the US Senior Open Championship at Newport Country Club in Newport, Rhode Island.
This time, it was a bogey-free effort from the two-time US Open champion, as he started his second round on the 10th. He picked up a shot on the 12th to turn in one-under, and he made two in a row on the fifth and the sixth as he moved to six-under for the championship.
That put him five strokes off the lead which was held by Japan’s Hiroyuki Fujita, who carded a four-under 66 to move to 11-under. That was one clear of Australia’s Richard Green, while Steve Stricker of the United States and England’s John Bland were in a share of third on eight-under. Steven Ames of Canada was alone in fifth on seven-under.
“I was lucky yesterday, and I didn’t expect to play this well,” said the 55-year-old Fujita, who birdied three of his first five holes on Friday. “I didn’t expect that at all. I surprised myself a little bit. But it’s only day two, and I want to continue to play consistent and not get too high or low and see where it takes me.”
Ernie Els had a one-over 71 to slip to a share of 38th on level-par, while Keith Horne and Adilson Da Silva missed the cut after rounds of four-over 74 and six-over 76 respectively.
