Stress-free round puts Scott one shot behind

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From wire reports

Adam Scott had a breakthrough with his short game this winter, and it’s so good now that he hardly even has to use it.

Scott had a putt for birdie on 16 holes in a second round that was without a bogey and without much stress. He wound up with a 5-under 66 that left him one shot behind 31-year-old rookie Shawn Stefani on Friday at the Tampa Bay Championship.

Stefani had to scramble more than he would have preferred, though he converted all the putts he felt he was supposed to make in his round of 70.

Temperatures finally began to warm in Palm Harbor, Fla., and without much wind throughout the day, the tournament was wide open going into the weekend. Stefani was at 7-under 135, one shot ahead of Scott and past champion K.J. Choi, who had a 67.

Twenty players were within five shots of the lead at the halfway point, a group that included Keller resident Tag Ridings, 19-year-old Jordan Spieth and Erik Compton, the two-time heart transplant recipient whose 65 was the low round of the day.

It was the highest score to lead at Innisbrook in five years.

Briefly

• LPGA Tour: South Korean Jee Young Lee birdied three of the last four holes for an 8-under 64 to take a one-stroke lead over Ai Miyazato at the LPGA Founders Cup in Phoenix. Lee reach 15-under 129 and break the tournament 36-hole record. Third-ranked Stacy Lewis, coming off a victory two weeks ago in Singapore, was four strokes back after a 65.

• Champions Tour: David Frost shot an 8-under 63 to take a one-stroke lead over Fred Couples after the first round of the Toshiba Classic in Newport Beach, Calif. Frost had eight birdies in his bogey-free round, four on the first five holes on the back nine and another on the par-5 closing hole.

• European Tour: Chapchai Nirat and Liang Wenchong each shot a 6-under 66 to tie for the lead after the second round of the Avantha Masters in Greater Noida, India.

• Thailand Open: Scott Strange took a one-stroke lead at the Thailand Open after a 7-under 65 in the second round, which was suspended by darkness.

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