EAST LONDON, South Africa: Austrian Markus Brier, South African Branden Grace and Englishman Miles Tunnicliff shared the Africa Open second-round lead Friday as star attraction Retief Goosen missed the cut. Early starter Brier defied winds that reached 40kph at the par-73 East London Golf Club overlooking the Indian Ocean to card a 66 that included an eagle, eight birdies and three bogeys for a 136 halfway total. No other competitor matched that score on the day. Grace and Tunnicliff fired a four-under 69 each on a track that bared its teeth after low first-round scoring and the leading trio are one ahead of South Africans Louis Oosthuizen and Jaco van Zyl and Englishman Ross McGowan. Scot Elliot Saltman is alone on 138 and Swede Fredrik Ohlsson, Spaniard Manuel Quiros and defending champion Charl Schwartzel from South Africa lie three strokes behind the pacesetters at the halfway stage. South African Goosen could manage only a 73 and his two-over total missed out by two shots. Pettersson, Byrd in front Swede Carl Pettersson and American Jonathan Byrd took advantage of surprisingly calm conditions at the picturesque Kapalua Resort to set the first-round pace in the Tournament of Champions Thursday. Pettersson and Byrd fired matching seven-under-par 66s on the hilly Plantation Course to take joint control of the PGA Tour's elite season-opening event. Pettersson knocked in an eight-foot birdie putt at the last to join Byrd atop the leaderboard, the American having holed out with a wedge from 111 yards to eagle the par-four 10th. Ben Crane opened with a 67 while fellow Americans Jim Furyk, Bill Haas and Charley Hoffman returned 68s in the limited-field tournament which brings together PGA Tour winners from the previous season. Among the big names in the 33-strong field, US Open champion Graeme McDowell shot a 71 and Ernie Els three-putted the last from 11 feet for a 72. Honors even at Royal Trophy In Thailand, holder Europe shared the spoils with Asia at the Royal Trophy Friday, splitting the opening day's foursomes 2-2 in the matchplay event being held at a new venue in sweltering conditions. Both sides had mixed showings, with Peter Hanson and Frederick Andersson Hed the frontrunners for Europe and Liang Wenchong and Noh Seung-yul Asia's best performers, making up for an abysmal outing by Thongchai Jaidee and Jeev Milkha Singh. Welshman Rhys Davies made an impressive Royal Trophy debut alongside player-captain Colin Montgomerie, using his trademark slick putting in a confident display to carve out a 2&1 win over Ikeda and Kim Kyung
