Ross Fisher birdied the last hole for a 68 to take a one-shot lead over Graeme McDowell after Friday's second round of the European Open. McDowell earlier completed a 67 on the par-72 London Club course. Fisher and McDowell are 13-under and 12-under respectively with Sergio Garcia another three strokes behind following a day's best 64. Soren Hansen is fourth on 8-under after a 67, and six players are on 7-under including Colin Montgomerie (67), Ian Poulter (67) and Paul McGinley (68). Fisher shot a course record 63 Thursday and did not expect to match it. The halfway cut fell at 1-under 143 and the big casualty was Darren Clarke, who shot 76 and then was disqualified for signing the wrong score on the last hole – a four when he had made a five. But on 2-over, Clarke was missing the cut anyway. Garcia, who shot 71 Thursday, was in a bunker and picked up his only bogey at the 4th after a perfect drive. He three-putted the 5th and missed the green from the middle of the fairway at six. But the Spaniard finished eagle-birdie with putts of 9 and 18 feet. Marino seizes lead In Maryland, American Steve Marino shot a flawless five-under-par 65 to seize a one-shot lead after the first round of the AT&T National at the Congressional Country Club on Thursday. The 28-year-old, playing his second full season on the PGA Tour, birdied three of the first four holes to set the tone for the day before signing off with his fifth birdie of the round at the par-four last. “There was very little wind, the greens were perfect and soft, so you could really throw some iron shots in there,” said Marino, who grew up in nearby Fairfax, Virginia. One shot behind Marino are Americans Jeff Overton, Frank Lickliter II and Bob Estes, and Australian Rod Pampling. The tournament is hosted by Tiger Woods but the world number one was forced to skip the tournament to recuperate from a knee surgery he underwent following his triumph at last month's US Open. Woods' teammate at Stanford University, 35-year-old Notah Begay III, was among seven players tied for sixth at 67. Marino, who has had three top 10 finishes this year and earned nearly $1.1 million in prize money, conceded “there's a long way to go” in his bid for a maiden PGA Tour title. Joining Begay two strokes off the pace were Germany's Alex Cejka, Americans Billy Mayfair, Tommy Armour III and Anthony Kim, Australian Stuart Appleby and Fredrik Jacobson of Sweden. Holder K.J. Choi of South Korea carded a two-under 68 to lie three strokes off the pace, while American Rocco Mediate, the US Open runner-up, finished at three over 73.
