Durant extends advantage

Joe Durant moved two shots clear of the his nearest rival with a five-under-par 66 in the second round of the PGA Tour Mayakoba Golf Classic on Friday.

The 45-year-old Floridian produced a blistering finish on Thursday, birdying five of his final eight holes to record a seven-under 64 and secure a one-shot first-round advantage.

He did drop one shot on Friday, bogeying the par-three 10th at Riviera Maya-Cancun, but collected three birdies either side of that blip to go 12-under for the tournament and extend his overall cushion at the top of the leaderboard.

Durant led the way after round two by two shots from JP Hayes, who posted a 67 on Friday to add to his first-round 65.

Hayes was delighted to be in contention heading into Saturday's third round.

He said: "I've been playing very well since last August. I've had a lot of good solid rounds and feel very confident in what I'm doing. I'm just having fun.

"It was a beautiful day. The winds were moderate and then the last three or four holes they calmed down pretty good.

"The greens held up. It's a great surface - it putts well throughout the day. The course is in great shape."

Cameron Beckman was another stroke back at nine-under with two more Americans, Tom Pernice Jr (68) and Brian Stuard (67), a further shot adrift in a tie for fourth.

John Daly was one of 10 players lying joint 17th on five-under following a 69 on Friday, while Nick Dougherty, Steve Elkington and David Duval were among those who missed the cut.