Cink rises in Cromwell

Stewart Cink stepped up his bid to retain his Ryder Cup place with a second-round 65 at the Buick Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut, today.

Cink, down in 30th place in the American standings with only seven more weeks remaining in their race, was in a five-way tie for the lead halfway through the day’s play.

Also six under were Notah Begay, Scott Verplank, Todd Fischer and Frank Lickliter, while a 20-foot opening putt made late starter Carl Pettersson part of a nine-way tie for sixth place on five under.

Londoner Brian Davis looked to have done just enough to survive the cut, adding a 71 to his initial 69 to stand level par, while Justin Rose faced a long wait to see if his 11-foot closing birdie putt for one over kept him in the event.

Rose had three other birdies, but also four bogeys in his 70.