SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Rickie Fowler is making his presence felt in a hurry as a professional golfer.
The 20-year-old former Oklahoma State standout, in his second tournament since turning pro, shared the lead with Englishman Greg Owen halfway through the Open on Friday.
Both shot 6-under-par 64s in the second round in ideal conditions to reach 11-under 129.
Fowler, who helped the U.S. beat Britain and Ireland in the Walker Cup last month, tied for seventh in his first PGA Tour start as a pro last week in Las Vegas.
Justin Leonard also shot a 64 and was one behind at 10-under. First-round leader Nick O’Hern (68) and Patrick Moore (65) were at 9-under in the third stop of the PGA Tour’s Fall Series.
• Champions Tour rookies Keith Clearwater and Russ Cochran shot 5-under 66s to share the first-round lead in the AT&T Championship in San Antonio, the final full-field event of the season.
Tom Kite, looking for his first home-state win as a professional, was a stroke back, along with fellow Texan Ben Crenshaw, Mark O’Meara and Andy Bean.
• Matt Every shot a course- record 9-under 63 to take a one- stroke lead in the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship in Charleston, S.C.
• Robert Allenby (66) and Martin Kaymer (67) are tied for the lead in the second round of the Castello Masters in Spain after play was suspended because of darkness.
Pavlik had a real problem
NEW YORK — Middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik said doctors were concerned he wouldn’t survive an allergic reaction to medication used to treat a staph infection.
Pavlik said he doesn’t remember being admitted to the hospital last month, but that doctors told him: “it was pretty serious. It was the worst form of reaction you could have.”
Pavlik had been dealing with a staph infection on his left hand since February. He was supposed to defend his titles against Paul Williams on Dec. 5, but the fight was canceled Wednesday.
Johnson qualifies in 15th spot
MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Jimmie Johnson, the points leader and winner in five of the past six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races on the smallest, tightest oval in the series, qualified 15th for Sunday’s race.
Ryan Newman won the pole for the race with a lap at 96.795 mph, followed by Jeff Gordon at 96.519. Mark Martin, who trails Johnson and Gordon at the midpoint of the 10-race playoff, will start fourth.
Footnotes.
Emily Sweeney, a 17-year-old junior national team member from Suffield, Conn., pulled off the first major surprise of USA Luge’s national team trials, winning a race-off in Lake Placid, N.Y. Chris Mazdzer of Saranac Lake, N.Y., won the men’s race-off.
• Noelle Pikus-Pace secured her spot on the U.S. World Cup skeleton team by being the fastest woman for the third straight qualifying session in Park City, Utah.
• Goalie Jonathan Quick and defenseman Davis Drewiske signed three-year contract extensions with the Los Angeles Kings.
The Associated Press
