time champion Tiger Woods was let down by his approach play at the Memorial tournament on Friday as fellow American Jonathan Byrd grabbed an early one-shot lead in the second round. World number one Woods, bidding for his second PGA Tour victory this year, carded a two-over-par 74 in breezy conditions at Muirfield Village Golf Club to lie six shots off the pace. Byrd fired a flawless 68 for a seven-under total of 137, a stroke in front of compatriot Mark Wilson (70) and Canadian left-hander Mike Weir (69). Britain's Luke Donald, who set the first-round pace with a sparkling 64 in the PGA Tour event hosted by Jack Nicklaus, was among the late starters. Woods, champion here for three consecutive years from 1999, was frustrated after wasting a good display off the tee with erratic iron shots and missed putts on lightning-fast greens. Japan's Ryuji Imada birdied three of his last four holes for a 69 to lie two strokes behind Byrd at five under, level with American Matt Bettencourt. Among the other big names in a typically strong field at Memorial, South African Ernie Els was at four under after shooting a 70 and 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson of the US was level after a 73. The cut was projected to fall at three-over 147 with Ryder Cup players JB Holmes of the US and Justin Rose of Britain certain to miss out. Monty in the race European tour rookie Richie Ramsay added a second-round 67 to his opening 68 to set the pace at the halfway stage of the Wales Open in Christchurch on Friday as his fellow Scot Colin Montgomerie put himself in position to challenge over the weekend. Montgomerie's second 69 left him at four under, three shots behind former US Amateur champion Ramsay, and the European Ryder Cup captain was delighted to be back on the leaderboard after almost a year without a top ten finish. Corey Pavin, the US Ryder Cup captain who is here to get an early look at the Celtic Manor course that will host the transatlantic match next year, had a second successive 72 and only just made the cut. “I think I hit only one fairway in the first 10 holes,” Pavin complained. Pavin admitted he would have been happy enough to have had the weekend off in Wales – displaying a diplomatic touch that suggests next year's match might be played in a healthy spirit. Ramsay was a shot clear of English pair Robert Rock (68) and Ross Fisher (66).
