Choi cruises to Barclays lead

Harrison, NY (Sports Network) - K.J. Choi, a two-time winner this season, posted a five-under 66 on Friday to move into the lead after the second round of the first event in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, The Barclays.
Choi, who won the events sponsored by Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods in 2007, finished two rounds at 12-under-par 130 and is two shots clear at Westchester Country Club.
Rich Beem, the 2002 PGA Champion who is only ranked 134th on the FedEx Cup list, shot a three-under 68 and is alone in second place at minus-10. He will need a big week just to make it into the Deutsche Bank Championship next week since the field will be trimmed to the top 120 on the FedEx Cup list.
"I know that unless I play well, finish well this week, I'm going home," acknowledged Beem. "No offense to my wife or kids or anything, but when you're playing well, you want to stay on the road and I want to stay on the road because I'm playing well."
This is the first of four events in the new FedEx Cup Playoffs. Six of the 144 players who qualified through the regular season points race weren't playing this week, including No. 1 Tiger Woods. Two others withdrew Thursday and Tripp Isenhour pulled out on Friday.
Because the points list was reset for the playoffs -- with all 144 players seeded according to their finish in the regular season -- each golfer was given a mathematical chance to win the $10 million top prize as the points leader after the Tour Championship in three weeks.
Overnight leader Rory Sabbatini only managed an even-par 71 on Friday, but is tied for third place with Steve Stricker (67) and 2006 U.S. Open winner Geoff Ogilvy (66). The group came in at minus-eight.
Phil Mickelson, fourth on the list, shot a one-under 70 and is tied for 13th place at minus-five.
"I needed to go a little bit lower but maybe a good round tomorrow will give me a chance on Sunday," said Mickelson. "That's the goal, just to get in position for Sunday."
He fared better than Vijay Singh. The No. 2 player in the playoff race shot an even-par 71 and missed the cut at four-over-par 146.
That opens the door for Choi to move up the FedEx Cup list.
Choi began his second round on the back nine and wasted little time in breaking into red figures. He hammered a drive down the fairway at 10, then wedged his approach to a foot. Choi tapped in for birdie, then parred his next eight holes on his first nine.
At the par-three opening hole, Choi came up short of the putting surface with a six-iron. No matter, as the fifth-ranked player on the FedEx Cup points list chipped in for birdie.
Choi continued his strong play early on his second nine. He played a seven- iron to four feet to set up birdie and reach 10-under par for the championship.
At the short, par-four seventh, Choi once again hit his drive down the fairway. He played a sand-wedge right at the hole, then watched as the ball went in for an eagle.
Things got worse for Choi after the eagle at seven. His approach at the par- four eighth landed in a greenside bunker and the best he could muster was 20 feet for par. Choi two-putted for bogey, but a two-putt birdie from 60 feet got him in at minus-12.
"I'm very happy to have played the way I did this week, the past two days," said Choi. "I figured that two-under every day would be a good score for the tournament. But now that I am at 12-under, I'm very excited being in the position that I am right now."
As the first week of the Playoffs unfold, no one personified some of the confusion surrounding it more than Choi. At the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, Choi stated that if he won the FedEx Cup, he would donate the $10 million first-place prize to charity.
The only problem is that the money is deferred to a player's retirement fund, so Choi would have to wait several years to donate.
"After that press conference when I had said that, my friend, Charlie Wi, called me and told me about it," said Choi. "I didn't really know about the deferred payment back then when I said it. But, you know, even if I did know, my plan would not have changed."
Ernie Els (71), Kenny Perry (67), Anthony Kim (68), Sergio Garcia (67), Retief Goosen (68), Adam Scott (69) and Bill Haas (68) are knotted in sixth place at six-under 136.
The 36-hole cut fell at even-par 142 and Singh was not the only high-profile player to miss the weekend.
U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera (143), Luke Donald (143), David Toms (144), last week's Wyndham Championship winner Brandt Snedeker (145) and Charles Howell III (150) all missed the cut.