Alex Cejka ran off three straight birdies as he shot 5-under 67 to build a four-shot lead midway through the second round of The US Players Championship on Friday. Tiger Woods was among the late starters in steaming conditions at TPC Sawgrass, but perhaps the most daunting sight was seeing the 38-year-old Cejka at 11-under 133 and no one particularly close. Kevin Na, who played with Cejka before no more than a few dozen people for most of the round, tried to make up ground and had a 66 to finish in the group at 7-under 137, along with Jason Dufner (70) and Masters champion Angel Cabrera, who had a 65. It was surprising to see Cejka atop the leaderboard, and he would be the first to concede that. Still recovering from surgery to replace a disk in his neck last year, he felt numbness in his right arm and had an epidural last week to regain some feeling. Then again, numbness wasn't a bad way to go around a scary course like Sawgrass. “I'm pretty excited to sit here two days in a row,” Cejka said. Phil Mickelson was hopeful to be playing for two more days. He struggled with his putting for most of the round and shot a 1-under 71, making birdie on his final hole to finish at even-par 144, close to not making the cut. “You never want to give up here, because too many things can happen on this golf course,” Mickelson said. Ben Crane, the first-round leader, had a 73 and was at 138, followed by a large group at 5-under 139 that included Camilo Villegas (72), Paul Casey (69), Robert Allenby (66) and Kevin Sutherland (67). Ochoa in charge In Virginia, Lorena Ochoa, fresh from an LPGA victory in her native Mexico two weeks ago, fired a seven-under par 64 Thursday to seize the first-round lead in the $2.2-million Michelob Ultra Open. “This is only the start,” said Ochoa, who notched eight birdies and just one bogey as she opened her campaign to improve on her three runner-up finishes in this event. “We have three more days. One at a time.” The world number one was one shot in front of Australian Lindsey Wright, who is making her first start since a fourth-place finish at the first women's major of the season - the Kraft Nabisco Championship - in early April. Wright's 65 included six birdies with no bogeys and left her one stroke in front of South Koreans Hee-Won Han and Sarah Lee and Finland's Minea Blomqvist, who shared third on 66. South Korea's Seon Hwa Lee and Na Yeon Choi and Taiwan's Amy Yang had 67s and 2007 winner Suzann Pettersen led a group on 68 as a rain-soaked course yielded a wealth of sub-par rounds. Vancsik in 1-stroke lead Argentina's Daniel Vancsik wielded his putter like a magic wand to open a one-stroke lead after the Italian Open second round on Friday. The 32-year-old, who claimed his only previous win in Europe at the 2007 Madeira Islands Open, fired a six-under 65 for a nine-under total of 133. Overnight leader Gareth Maybin of Britain (70) was second on 134, one ahead of fellow countryman Anthony Wall (67), Finn Roope Kakko (64) and Iceland's Birgir Hafthorsson (65). The big-hitting Vancsik has had a torrid time of late and lies 190th on the European money-list. “It is good to hit long but in the past I've played well for two days then hit the ball all over the place,” Vancsik told reporters. “Now I'm working on hitting the driver straighter. Today I putted great too, my problem for the last two months.” Maybin is aiming for a maiden title after losing a playoff in the South African Open earlier this season. European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie missed the cut for the second week in succession. The 45-year-old Briton called his game “terrible” after an opening 72 and another 72 on Friday again left him in sombre mood. “It was a poor finish today, five-five,” said Montgomerie. “I shouldn't be missing cuts in these tournaments. Twice major champion John Daly was in contention for the title after shooting a 69 for 138, five off the pace.
