under par 63 Saturday to take a five-shot lead at the halfway stage of the US PGA Tour's season-opening Tournament of Champions. Stricker, at No. 6 in the world the highest-ranked player in the 27-man field, had eight birdies and an eagle without a bogey as the American took his 36-hole total to 15-under par 131. Webb Simpson posted his second straight 68 to sit second on 136, while South Korean-born American Kevin Na climbed into third place on 137 with a sparkling 64. Stricker was already six-under for the day when he eagled the par-five 15th, where he hit a three-wood to 12 feet. He added two more birdies at 17 and 18. “This game is never easy, but I had it going today,” Stricker said. “I felt like I was going to make every putt I looked at there for a while and I gave myself a lot of opportunities — which is the key.” Na thrust himself into contention with an eagle-eagle finish. He started the day even and was still at even par for the tournament through eight holes. Na played his last 10 holes in nine-under par, including his back-to-back eagles. At 17, Na holed out with a five-iron from 221 yards and at 18 he drained a 10-footer. Na's back-nine 29 equalled the back-nine record for the par-73 Plantation Course set by Vijay Singh in 2004. The field, open only to last season's title winners, was reduced to 27 Friday when former US Open champion Lucas Glover withdrew with a sprained knee. Three of the four reigning major champions had already opted out with Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland and Charl Schwartzel of South Africa bypassing the $5.6 million event. Scotland's Martin Laird and first-round leader Jonathan Byrd shared fourth place on 138. Laird rebounded from a double-bogey at 17 with a birdie at 18 for a three-under 70, while Byrd posted a two-under 71. Oosthuizen retains title South African Louis Oosthuizen retained his Africa Open title, holding his nerve at the decisive 17th to complete a two-stroke win Sunday. Oosthuizen carded a final round six-under par 67 to end on 27-under par for the co-sanctioned tournament just ahead of his countryman Tjaart van der Walt who completed a final round 69. The 29-year-old Oosthuizen, who won the 2011 edition of the Africa Open after a three-man playoff, made a mixed start to his final round with an eagle, a birdie and two dropped shots in his first five holes. But he made three birdies between the sixth and ninth holes to reach the turn in 25-under and a share for the lead with Van der Walt before grabbing another birdie on the par-five 11th. The victory was Oosthuizen's fourth on the European Tour and made him the early front-runner in this year's Race to Dubai as he pocketed the winner's check of 158,500 euros. South African Retief Goosen finished in third place, three shots off the pace, after a final round of 69.
