Golf roundup: Graham DeLaet, Luke Donald tied atop RBC Heritage leaderboard

Graham DeLaet always loved playing at Harbour Town Golf Links, but rarely got the results he thought he should — until this week.

DeLaet followed up his career-best six-under-par 65 in the first round with a 67 on Friday to share the lead with Luke Donald midway through the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head, S.C.

Donald also shot 67 to reach 10-under 132, two in front of Ian Poulter and Webb Simpson. Poulter and Simpson each shot 68.

DeLaet was at one over on his first seven holes of the second round until a birdie on the difficult par-four eighth hole and an eagle on No. 9, also a par 4 where the Canadian bounced his approach shot into the cup.

DeLaet had never finished better than 14th in six previous trips here and had only twice broken 70 in his last 10 rounds before this week. DeLaet said his top-15 finish a year ago — his first and only one — continued to fan his flame for Harbour Town. “And my love and enjoyment of playing this golf course turned into, ‘Maybe I could play well here,“’ he said.

DeLaet plodded through the first part of his round until dropping his approach on the 461-yard eighth hole within 15 feet and made the putt. On the next hole, DeLaet sent a wedge from 109 yards out into the green, simply hoping to spin it back left toward the pin. Instead, it hopped in the cup to put DeLaet out front.

“We couldn’t see the bottom of the pin, but there was reaction from the crowd so we figured it was in,” DeLaet said.

Donald has finished second or third in six of his past eight visits to the RBC Heritage — and put himself in position for another stellar finish this time, too. Donald’s round took off with three straight birdies on the front nine. He held off a spate of wild drives after the turn — Donald drove way right on No. 10, played a provisional, found his first ball and made par — before chipping in for birdie on the closing, lighthouse hole at No. 18.

It was the second straight day Donald made birdie at the iconic hole. He’s shot in the 60s in 21 of his 42 career rounds here. About the only thing he hasn’t done is win, something he looks to remedy this week.

First-round leader Bud Cauley followed his 63 with a 72 and was in a group of five at seven-under that included former PGA Championship winner Jason Dufner and Sam Saunders, the grandson of golf’s late king, Arnold Palmer.

Kevin Kisner had the round’s best score, a seven-under 64, and was among six players four strokes behind the leaders.

Jang leads at Lotte Championship

Su-Yeon Jang took the Lotte Championship lead in the completion of the second round and opened a three-stroke cushion in the afternoon with a third-round seven-under 65.

The 22-year-old sponsor invite from South Korea had a 17-under 199 total at Ko Olina Golf Club in Kapolei, Hawaii. She completed her second straight 67 in the morning in the rain-delayed event.

Cristie Kerr and Alena Sharp, the 35-year-old Canadian looking for her first LPGA Tour victory, were tied for second. Kerr had a 62 to tie Lizette Salas’ tournament record. Kerr, who turns 40 this year, played the back nine in 29, with birdies on seven of her last eight holes. Sharp had a 66.

In Gee Chun, the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open champ, was at 12 under after a 65.

Tway shoots a 65 to take lead at Mitsubishi Electric Classic

Bob Tway bogeyed two of the last three holes for a seven-under 65 and the first-round lead after the second round of the PGA Tour Champions’ Mitsubishi Electric Classic.

Tway birdied the par-five sixth — his 15th — to reach nine under, then dropped shots on the par-four seventh and ninth at TPC Sugarloaf. He holed out for eagle from the fairway on the par-four 12th and played the opening nine in six-under 30.

The 57-year-old Tway is winless on the 50-and-over tour after winning eight times on the PGA Tour. He won the Georgia-Pacific Atlanta Golf Classic in 1986, the year he took the PGA Championship.

David Frost was second after a bogey-free 66. Larry Mize, the only one of the six players from the Masters in the Mitsubishi field to make the cut at Augusta National, was two strokes back at 67 along with Bernhard Langer, Stephen Ames, Kevin Sutherland, Mike Goodes and Jeff Maggert.

Miguel Angel Jimenez and fellow Spanish star Jose Maria Olazabal also shot 69. Jimenez won in 2014 at TPC Sugarloaf and is coming off a victory in the Mississippi Golf Resort Classic.

Havret leads Trophee Hassan II event

Gregory Havret took the outright lead at the Trophee Hassan II in Morocco as he moved to six under par after the second round.

The Frenchman made four birdies and an eagle at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam for his second consecutive three-under 70, opening a one-shot lead over Lucas Bjerregaard and Trevor Fisher Jr.

Denmark’s Bjerregaard carded a two-under 71 and South Africa’s Fisher Jr. a three-under 70.