Faxon nightmare continues

It continued to look as though the start of the 2006 US Tour season had come too soon for some players in Hawaii today.

Brad Faxon, having opened the Mercedes Championship with an 82, bogeyed three of the first four holes in his second round to slump to 12 over par.

But he had company on that mark when fellow American Jason Gore, after beginning with an 80, also dropped a shot on the short second, ran up a triple-bogey seven on the next and then took six at the long fifth.

Gore is the golfer who came from out of the blue to lie second in the US Open with a round to play last June, only to collapse to a closing 84.

Far from returning to obscurity, however, the burly 31-year-old won three consecutive Nationwide Tour events to earn instant promotion to the main circuit, then captured the Lumber Classic and with it a place in this week’s field.

With leaders out last from the second round onwards, Olin Browne and Vijay Singh, round in 69 and 70 yesterday, had the longest wait to resume.

Playing in the group ahead of them were the only two Europeans in the 28-strong line-up.

Sergio Garcia and Carl Pettersson both began with 71s to hold a share of third place with David Toms and Australian Stuart Appleby, winner of the title the last two years.