OHL Classic: Robert Karlsson and Kevin Stadler share lead

Robert Karlsson and Kevin Stadler topped the OHL Classic leaderboard at 12 under when second-round play was suspended because of darkness in Mexico.

Sweden's Karlsson played 36 holes on Friday, shooting an eight-under 63 in the rain-delayed first round and adding a 67 in the afternoon on the Mayakoba Resort's El Camaleon course.

American Stadler had rounds of 67 and 63 in a 34-hole day and birdied five of the last seven holes in the second round as he stormed up the leaderboard.

Karlsson, who earned his place in the field by tying for 10th in last week's McGladrey Classic when playing on a sponsor's exemption, finished with a birdie on the par-four 18th after making bogeys on the 16th and 17th.

Only 29 of the 127 players were able to complete the second round as after lengthy delays on Thursday, there was a further 26-minute delay on Friday afternoon.

More than four inches of rain has hit the course since Wednesday afternoon and players were allowed to use preferred lies in the first two rounds due to the wet conditions.

South African Rory Sabbatini and American Chris Stroud, who have one and three holes to play respectively, are tied for third place at nine under.

Ryan Moore (67), Jhonattan Vegas (68), Pat Perez and Jay McLuen are all on eight under with the latter pair both having four holes to play.

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DP World Tour Championship: Henrik Stenson on course for Race To Dubai crown

Halfway leader Henrik Stenson says he is delighted by his play so far in the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

Stenson carded a second-round 64 on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates to finish 12-under par, one shot ahead of Spain's Alejandro Canizares.

The 37-year-old Swede is one of three players in control of their own destiny, knowing that a win on Sunday would secure overall victory in the Race to Dubai, status as European number one and a million dollar bonus.

McGinley and Roe on R2

Justin Rose and Graeme McDowell can still deny Stenson the title with victory here, with Rose best placed on seven under after a 67 and McDowell four under after a 68.

A win for Ian Poulter would leave Stenson needing to finish second to claim the Harry Vardon trophy, with Poulter alongside Rose on seven under following a 68.

Game plan

"I have my game plan cemented on this course and it's been working out great the first two days," said Stenson, who carded eight birdies and no bogeys.

"It could have been a bit better but there is no point being greedy. I am delighted with the first two days' work.

"I keep track of what's happening with the other players, I'm too curious not to. I saw both Justin and Ian are seven under so they are chasing me as hard as they can.

Henrik Stenson: 64

"They are not going to back down so I better keep my foot and my head down, play another two good rounds and see where that takes me. I am in a great position to have a shot at winning and hopefully I will be there on Sunday afternoon."

Stenson admitted he is battling fatigue from a long season as well as an ongoing wrist injury, but added: "The two days I had off on Monday and Tuesday have helped.

"I got the club stuck in the ground on the sixth tee and felt it there but thankfully I don't think that made it flare up."

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Carlos del Moral eases to five-stroke victory at Qualifying School in Spain

Carlos del Moral coasted to victory at the European Tour's Qualifying School in northern Spain, winning the 108-hole event by a comfortable five strokes.

The 28-year-old from Valencia posted a closing five-under-par 67, with playing partner Fabrizio Zanotti his closest challenger after six rounds in Girona.

Del Moral had taken control of the tournament in round four when he carded a 63 - as he completed the final 54 holes in 21-under-par.

Zanotti from Paraguay was, in turn, six strokes clear of Italian Marco Crespi in third place.

On Friday, del Moral opened with a bogey before making a trio of birdies in six holes to reach the turn in 35.

His win was secured early on the back nine when he went birdie-eagle-birdie from the 11th, with his impressive 67 the lowest score of the final day.

Welshman Stuart Manley and England's James Morrison were the only Brits to finish in the top-10.

The pair tied-for-eighth, with Manley and Morrison closing with rounds of 72 and 73 respectively.

Rewarded

The top-25 and ties - as it happened 27 pros - were rewarded with their European Tour cards for the 2014 season.

But disappointment for Oliver Wilson, who played in the 2008 Ryder Cup, after the Lincolnshire golfer missed out by two strokes following a level par 72.

And spare a thought for young Frenchman Edouard Espana who posted a first round 62 and had been in the top-25 all the way through the tournament until making a bogey on his final hole.

Espana had been tied-for-fourth after 72 holes only to end the tournament with a brace of 74s - to finish tied-28th.

Card holders for 2014:

402:Carlos Del Moral (Spa) 67 71 69 63 65 67 

407: Fabrizio Zanotti (Par) 66 70 67 68 68 68 

413: Marco Crespi (Ita) 71 70 67 68 67 70 

414: Gary Stal (Fra) 71 68 69 68 68 70

415: Mikael Lundberg (Swe) 69 68 70 71 66 71, 

        Adrien Saddier (Fra) 71 66 69 71 67 71, 

        John Hahn (USA) 66 66 73 68 71 71 

416: Connor Arendell (USA) 72 70 71 65 70 68, 

        Wade Ormsby (Aus) 69 67 70 69 70 71, 

        Stuart Manley (Wa) 68 71 67 69 69 72, 

        James Morrison (Eng) 72 67 63 70 71 73 

417: James Heath (Eng) 69 71 70 69 69 69, 

        Simon Wakefield (Eng) 69 68 67 69 75 69, 

        Jens Dantorp (Swe) 66 68 68 72 73 70, 

        Brinson Paolini (USA) 70 71 68 64 72 72, 

        Patrik Sjoland (Swe) 66 72 67 67 73 72 

418: Kevin Phelan (Irl) 73 67 68 71 70 69, 

        Andreas Harto (Den) 67 70 69 72 69 71, 

        Daniel Brooks (Eng) 65 71 69 66 76 71, 

        Thomas Pieters (Bel) 64 73 72 68 68 73, 

        Lucas Bjerregaard (Den) 65 70 69 69 72 73 

419: Jason Knutzon (USA) 70 69 71 69 69 71, 

        Mikko Korhonen (Fin) 69 71 68 70 70 71, 

        Estanislao Goya (Arg) 66 70 67 73 72 71, 

        Jack Doherty (Sco) 68 70 66 71 73 71, 

        Adam Gee (Eng) 66 70 71 69 69 74, 

        Alastair Forsyth (Sco) 65 70 70 69 71 74

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Robert Allenby hopes to find game, health in Mexico

Coming off a painfully frustrating season in which losing battles to neck, elbow and hand injuries caused him to miss 18 of 24 cuts and finish with just one top-10, Robert Allenby is looking for anything positive to lift his health, spirits and game.

One would think the perfect place to provide such healing powers would be an idyllic section of southeast Mexico that kisses the Caribbean Sea and features the Greg Norman-designed El Camaleon Golf Club in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, home to this week's OHL Classic at Mayakoba.

But this golf paradise winding through a tropical jungle and mangrove swamps while opening up to sand and sea is a proverbial double-edged sword for the veteran from Down Under. The last time Allenby, 42, was in these parts, his stellar play for 71 holes gave him a two-shot lead on the final hole, but an errant drive resulting in a double-bogey sent him to extra holes, where he lost an excruciating 8-hole playoff to John Huh in the 2012 edition of the event.

"It's kind of good and bad," Allenby told USA TODAY Sports about his return visit to the region. "It's good because I love the golf course. But there are some bad memories because (2012) didn't finish the way it was meant to finish. If I had hit the 3-wood off the 72nd hole like I wanted to, things may have been different. But, in saying that, it was entirely my fault for what happened and you have to take full responsibility sometimes and I do.

"I just did the wrong thing. Knowing I had a 2-shot lead, to mess it up the way I did, was not a really good feeling and left a stale feeling in my mind. So hopefully the good memories overpower the bad ones."

He's also hoping his health issues continue to turn for the better. Because he won just $204,000 last year, Allenby's streak of finishing inside the top 125 in official money ended at 13 seasons. It also forced him to use a career money exemption as one of the top 25 career money winners on the PGA Tour (he's won in excess of $26.5 million) so he'd have full playing privileges in the new 2013-2014 wrap-around season.

As the 2013 portion of the new season wraps this week in the Mayakoba, Allenby has made just one cut and fell short of making the cut by one stroke in his two other starts.

"It's not too bad," the four-time Tour winner said of his health. "I have a bit of a nerve problem in my right hand stemming from my neck but I'm getting treatment. It has its moments."

The course, at least, favors the player who hits it right-to-left, which is Allenby's bread-and-butter. And his mindset concerning use of his career exemption is not as unsettling as it may seem. He knows he has to play well this season to earn his card for the 2014-15 season.

"I earned the right to have an exemption," Allenby said. "It's not the greatest thing mentally to approach, but at the same time, I hadn't been feeling well but this is the best way to do it. I can set my schedule, which will help me mentally and physically. Now I'm ready get my health back, get my confidence back and get my game back."

Traveling man: Brian Gay has been up in the air a lot lately. When he finally touches down in his hometown of Orlando next week he will have traveled more than 23,000 miles to play the last four tournaments in as many weeks – in Malaysia, China, Georgia and Mexico. Gay, the only player to play in all four events, said he's feeling OK, much better than how he felt after shooting a surprising 63 in the first round of last week's McGladrey Classic in the Peach State when he felt like he was in a fog. Gay still finished in a tie for fourth.

Ryder Cup: The influence of the new wrap-around season can be seen in many places – the FedExCup race, the money list and the invitations to the Masters. But while it's early, the 2013-2014's impact also is clear in the Ryder Cup standings. The first five winners of the new season have been Americans – and all five are presently in the top 7 of the standings for the biennial match-play bout with Europe Sept. 26-28 in Scotland (the top 9 automatically make the team while captain Tom Watson fills out the squad with three captain's picks). Last week's win in the McGladrey Classic vaulted Chris Kirk to No. 7 in the standings. Other winners include No. 6 Jimmy Walker (Frys.com Open), No. 5 Webb Simpson (Shriners Hospitals for Children Open), No. 4 Ryan Moore (CIMB Classic) and No. 3 Dustin Johnson (WGC-HSBC Champions). Phil Mickelson and Jason Dufner hold the top-2 spots while Jim Furyk is No. 8. Gary Woodland, who lost in a playoff to Moore, is No. 9. Holding the 10th spot is world No. 1 Tiger Woods, who has not played an official event.

Race to Dubai: Henrik Stenson is trying for an unprecedented double this week. The Swede, who is battling a right wrist injury, can become the first player to win the FedExCup and the European Tour's Race to Dubai in the same year at this week's season-ending DP World Tour Championship at the Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai. Stenson, who won the Deutsche Bank Championship and The Tour Championship in the FedExCup playoffs to win the FedExCup title and the $10 million bonus, will have to hold off a strong field that includes 2013 U.S. Open champion Justin Rose, Graham McDowell, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy.

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Dave Stockton mixes passion for golf, hunting

PALM DESERT – Two groups that have always been criticized as lacking compassion for conservation and the environment have been golfers and hunters.

Meet Dave Stockton, golfer, hunter and executive vice president of the Bighorn Institute in Palm Desert.

"Hunters make some of the best conservationists there are," said Stockton, best known for a golf career that included two PGA Championship wins and who is now a renowned short-game instructor. "I have enjoyed it. It has been a great thrill."

Stockton brings together his passions for golf, hunting and the Bighorn Institute this month when he hosts a fundraising tournament for the institute Nov. 25 at Stone Eagle Golf Club, just a few miles from the Bighorn Institute in the hills of south Palm Desert.

Stockton, 72, is no longer an active tournament player, devoting his golf efforts to teaching with his sons Dave Jr. and Ron.

A Southern Californian who was born in San Bernardino, Stockton played his high school golf at Pacific High School, college golf at USC and has always spent time in the desert golfing or hunting. Stockton sees no conflict between his love of hunting birds or elk or bear and his work to preserve the bighorn sheep.

"My dad owned a sporting goods store. I've hunted and fished all my life," said Stockton, an inductee into the Southern California Golf Association Hall of Fame. "I'd fish during the golf season and hunt during the offseason. The reason I do the hunting is when you just play golf, you gain weight."

But Stockton also flips though photos on his phone to show off some of his recent hunting exploits, as well as a beautiful pink and orange sunrise near the Salton Sea.

"That's why I do it," he said, looking at the pictures. "I get a kick out of it. Anything I do I am passionate about. When it came to the bighorn and seeing what Jim DeForge and his wife Amy have created, they have put an awful lot of sheep back into the wild."

Stockton's support for the institute was ramped up at the suggestion of an old golfing friend.

"President Ford got me on the board," Stockton said. "It's all conservation people except for a couple of us, Bob Howard and myself who are hunters. Everyone else is a conservationist. So we come from a different view point."

Stockton is more than just a high-profile figure on the board. He easily talks of lambing seasons, of the institute's lambing pins and of how he is concerned about three new home sites at the south end of Bighorn Country Club that come uncomfortably close, he says, to the institute's property.

"It's really too bad that (the new lots) are going in, because unfortunately lambs always are born on the north side of a mountain," Stockton said. "Well, that's the closest it is to Bighorn here. And I think 400 yards was the original buffer and all of a sudden these three lots pop up in there. That's where I'm at now, there is land (homeowners) could build on. I was shocked when that went through."

Without question one of Stockton's biggest contributions to the work of the institute is the golf tournament that instantly became one of the institute's biggest fundraisers each year.

"They had this gala, and the gala was a big production and all this stuff, and made $10,000 or $20,000 at the end," Stockton said. "I said I can put this golf tournament together and we'll make $100,000 and make a hell of a lot more and not work nearly as hard. Because golfers generally are really the ones that support causes like that."

"It's fun to be a part of it," Stockton added. "You get done at the end of the day and you say, gee, I wish there was something else they could do. But I don't know what else the institute could do that can make the kind of money we are going to bring end."

In the end, Stockton believes there can be a blending of all of his passions.

"I want to be playing golf whether I am playing at Indian Wells or PGA West or Bighorn or Stone Eagle, I want to play and I want to see a bighorn," he said. "Well, they are there. The last couple of years when they have played the Bob Hope (the Humana Challenge) they have shown the bighorn coming down."

Bohannan writes for the Desert Sun.

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Robert Karlsson, Kevin Stadler share lead in OHL Classic

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico (AP) — Robert Karlsson and Kevin Stadler topped the OHL Classic leaderboard at 12 under Friday when second-round play was suspended because of darkness.

Karlsson played 36 holes Friday, shooting an 8-under 63 in the rain-delayed first round and adding a 67 in the afternoon on Mayakoba Resort's El Camaleon course.

Stadler had rounds of 67 and 63 in a 34-hole day. He birdied five of the last seven holes in the second round.

LEADERBOARD: OHL Classic

Karlsson finished with a birdie on the par-4 18th after making bogeys on 16 and 17. The Swede tied for 10th on Sunday in the McGladrey Classic, playing on a sponsor exemption, to earn a spot in the field this week.

Only 29 of the 127 players were able to complete the second round. After lengthy delays Thursday, there was a 26-minute delay Friday afternoon.

More than 4½ inches of rain has hit the course since Wednesday afternoon. Because of the wet conditions, players were allowed to use preferred lies in the first two rounds.

Rory Sabbatini and Chris Stroud were tied for second at 9 under. Sabbatini had one hole left when play was suspended, and Stroud had three to go.

Ryan Moore, Jhonattan Vegas, Pat Perez and Jay McLuen were 8 under. Moore (67) and Vegas (68) finished the round, and Petez and McLuen each had four holes to play.

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Henrik Stenson leads European Tour closer by a shot

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Henrik Stenson moved a step closer to capturing the European money title, shooting an 8-under 64 Friday for a one-stroke lead after two rounds at the season-ending World Tour Championship.

He is looking to become only the second Swede in 76 years to win the European title. He was five shots ahead of his Race to Dubai rivals. Countryman Robert Karlsson in 2008 won the European Order of Merit.

"They are chasing me as good as they can, and I know neither one of the guys are going to back down," Stenson said. "So it is better I keep my foot down and my head down and try and keep the momentum going."

Stenson had eight birdies in a bogey-free round to move to 12-under 132 halfway through this event at Jumeirah Estates.

Spain's Alejandro Canizares (67) was at 133. At 136 were France's Victor Dubuisson (66), last week's Turkish Open champion, and Australia's Marcus Fraser (69).

Justin Rose, second in the Race to Dubai, and Ian Poulter, who is fourth, lost ground to Stenson. They were in a group at 137. Graeme McDowell, third on the money list, had a 68 and was eight strokes behind Stenson.

Stenson has yet to win on the European Tour this year.

"The key for me this summer was that I have been up so many times, and when I needed the putts to drop they did in Boston (Deutsche Bank Championship) and when I played really well to win in Atlanta (U.S. Tour Championship)," he said.

Rose, the U.S. Open champion, says it is becoming increasingly difficult to catch Stenson.

"I thought that 5-under par would be good enough for me to just stay in the tournament, which I am happy about," Rose said. "But then this golf course seems really tailor-made for Henrik. He just seems to be able to take advantage of all the par-5s, and he's playing really, really well. It will be tough to catch him."

Defending champion Rory McIlroy shot a 5-under 67 that included a 14th-hole eagle, to be tied for ninth on 6 under.

"It's nice to know going into the weekend you still have a chance to win the golf tournament, and that's the stage I've been trying to get to for the last few months," he said. "I finally feel like I've got to the stage now where I can contend week-in, week-out."

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Adam Scott grabs share of Australian Masters lead

MELBOURNE, Australia — Defending champion Adam Scott grabbed a share of the second-round lead at the Australian Masters, with birdies on his first three holes Friday and two of his final four giving him a 5-under 66 at Royal Melbourne.

Scott, who won the Masters this year and last week's Australian PGA, had a two-round total of 9-under 133, tied with fellow Australian Nathan Holman, who shot a 65 on Friday.

They had a one-stroke lead over Australians Matthew Griffin (65) and first-round leader Nick Cullen (69). American Matt Kuchar (66) was four strokes behind and in fifth place, while Vijay Singh was seven strokes back after a 68.

"It was a great start, but unfortunately I couldn't keep it going," Scott said. "I'm in good shape for the weekend, but this course can jump up and get you."

Leukemia survivor Jarrod Lyle shot an even-par 71 to make the 36-hole cut in his first tournament in 20 months. He was 1-over, 10 strokes behind Scott and Holman.

The 32-year-old Lyle said his legs felt heavy but he would draw on his "fighting instinct" to finish the weekend.

"If I have to crawl those last 18 holes, I'm crawling them," Lyle said. "Nothing's going to stop me from finishing."

Lyle, then a regular on the PGA Tour, was diagnosed with leukemia in March 2012 just before the birth of his daughter, Lusi. Lyle's wife, Briony, became pregnant despite medical advice that Lyle's first bout of cancer and the resulting chemotherapy would leave him sterile.

He has a medical exemption to return to the PGA Tour whenever he feels he's ready. But Lyle said Friday he won't be rushing back to the U.S. until he knows he's physically capable.

"I don't want to waste the medical starts that I have," he said.

Otherwise, he was enthused about his return.

"I've done it; I've come here and achieved the biggest goal I've set myself for the week and that was to play four rounds of golf," Lyle said. "I couldn't be happier than what I am."

Scott said he and the other Australian golfers were all hoping Lyle would make it to the weekend.

"It's phenomenal. He's a beauty," Scott said. "I'm so happy for him. To see him finish 1-over, it's great. We love having him back."

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Adam Scott takes four-shot lead at Australian Masters AP

MELBOURNE, Australia— Defending champion Adam Scott shot a 5-under-par 66 Saturday to open up a four-stroke lead at the Australian Masters and close in on a second consecutive win Down Under.

The Masters winner and last week's Australian PGA champion had a three-round total of 14-under 199 at Royal Melbourne.

There was a four-way tie for second, including 50-year-old Vijay Singh, who is looking for his first tournament win since 2008.

Singh's 63 left him level with Australians Matthew Griffin (69), Nick Cullen (69) and Nathan Holman (70).

Singh bogeyed the par-4 ninth with a three-putt, but had three birdies on the back nine to move into contention. He started the day seven strokes behind Scott.

He credited a recent switch from a long putter to a conventional one with his strong play Saturday.

"The first nine holes was incredible. I thought I could have birdied every hole. I was 3 under, but the first eight holes I didn't hit anything outside of 10 feet," Singh said.

Singh will play in the final group with Scott, a rare Sunday occurrence for the Fijian veteran who has battled injuries over the past several years.

"After '08 I had a couple of operations on my knee so that kind of got me back two years," Singh said. "And then you start to limp and your whole body kind of reacts differently — I started to have a lot of back aches. But last year it started to get better, and I'm much stronger, healthier and happier."

American Matt Kuchar was tied for sixth after a 67, five back of Scott. Jarrod Lyle, continuing his comeback from a 20-month layoff due to leukemia, shot 70 Saturday and was at even par.

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Nordqvist, Ryu, Phatlum lead Lorean Ochoa Invitational

GUADALAJARA, Mexico— Sweden's Anna Nordqvist and South Korea's So Yeon Ryu each birdied the final hole for a share of the second-round lead with Thailand's Pornanong Phatlum on Friday in the Lorena Ochoa Invitational

Nordqvist and Ryu shot 5-under 67 to match Phatlum at 9-under 135 at Guadalajara Country Club.

Nordqvist and Ryu played in the same group.

LEADERBOARD: Lorena Ochoa Invitational

"I'm always really happy to play with Anna," Ryu said. "We have so much fun always, so I love it. We pretty much played so well, especially on the back-nine. We hit a really great shot and she made every birdie putt. I was really excited to see her, to see how she is playing."

Nordqvist is winless on the tour since the 2009 LPGA Tour Championship.

"We're only halfway through and, obviously, the best golfers in the world are here so you can't really think about winning or leading the tournament right know," Nordqvist said. "We have two more days, so you have to try to play your game and put low scores out there."

Phatlum, the first-round leader in the 36-player event, had a 69.

"I'm very happy with my score, but the putting not very good," Phatlum said. "I just missed a few short putts."

South Korea's Inbee Park was a stroke back along with Americans Lexi Thompson and Gerina Piller. Thompson had a 64 for the best round the first two days. Piller shot 65, and Park had a 68.

The 18-year-old Thompson won the LPGA Malaysia last month for her second tour title.

"I just went into today playing fearless and just committed to my lines," Thompson said. "I dropped a few more putts today, and that always helps."

The top-ranked Park swept the first three major championships of the season and has three other LPGA Tour wins this season. She's winless in eight starts since the U.S. Women's Open in late June.

Second-ranked Suzann Pettersen and No. 3 Stacy Lewis were tied for ninth at 6 under.

Pettersen had a 68. The Norwegian player is coming off a successful title defense in the LPGA Taiwan, her third victory in her last five starts and fourth of the season.

Lewis shot a 66.

Michelle Wie had a 73 to drop into a tie for 20th at 2 under. She won the 2009 tournament for the first of her two LPGA Tour victories.

Defending champion Cristie Kerr was 27th at 2 over, following a 77 with a 67.

Tournament host Lorena Ochoa won 27 LPGA Tour titles before retiring in 2010.

"It's been great. I love Mexico," Piller said. "Most people don't know this, but my maiden name is Mendoza. I don't speak much Spanish, but I love the food, love the people and it's just a great tournament. I never got to play with Lorena, but she's been a huge inspiration."

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HSBC Champions 2013: Dustin Johnson leads Ian Poulter by three shots at World Golf Championship

Double bogey at final hole of Dustin Johnson's third round gives defending champion Ian Poulter hope for WGC win in Shanghai

With Chinese greens as receptive as dartboards the Sheshan International course has provided the perfect setting for Ian Poulter to turn his exasperating season around. “I’ve been saying it ever since I got off the plane in Shanghai,” he claimed, with characteristic bullishness. “It feels as if my game is as good as it has ever been.”

After an admission to “beating myself up pretty good” about a year-long stretch without a tournament victory, Poulter looked a player revived his exhilarating round of 63 here at the HSBC Champions, exhibiting a gossamer touch around the greens. While there might be 500 more gifted ball-strikers on tour than the Englishman, he has compensated for any tee-to-green deficiencies this week with a wondrous short game and ferocious competitiveness in his efforts to keep runaway leader Dustin Johnson honest.

It is one of the more astonishing statistics in golf that of the 12 men who accomplished the ‘Miracle of Medinah’ at the Ryder Cup, only two of Europe’s triumphant team – Justin Rose and Graeme McDowell – have registered a win so far this year. The absence of Poulter from the winners’ circle is arguably the most surprising, given his defining performance in Chicago, but his sequence of eight birdies in 11 holes yesterday served as a reminder that there are none more blinkered within sight of the prize.

McDowell, despite two wins in the summer at the French Open and Volvo World Matchplay, has also engineered a sudden change of fortune. The 2010 US Open champion’s campaign has been a curious hybrid of stellar weeks and dispiriting displays at the majors, but he also appeared rejuvenated with a beautifully controlled round of 64 to book his place in the final threeball alongside Poulter and Johnson.

Clearly, the task of trying to overhaul Henrik Stenson for a £1 million-plus bonus in the Race to Dubai has helped reinforce the Northern Irishman’s motivation.

Elsewhere Germany’s Martin Kaymer, the champion here two years ago, rebounded from the periphery with a stunning course record of 62 as the absence of wind – exacerbating a moderate smog above Sheshan – triggered the equivalent of target golf.

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Rory McIlroy loses ground to Dustin Johnson in HSBC Champions in China

Two-time major winner on seven under and five shots behind American Dustin Johnson after second-round back-nine collapse in Shanghai

Dustin Johnson was once witheringly described by US satirist Rick Reilly as "so dense, light bends around him". It is a reputation derived both from his somnolent South Carolina drawl and a penchant for spectacular miscalculations on the course - his wild flail out of bounds while contending at the 2011 Open being a prime case in point. Here at the season's final World Golf Championship in China, the 29-year-old was living up to his billing as an immovable object by building a five-shot lead over Rory McIlroy, thanks to yesterday's consummate second round of 63.

The 7,200 yards of Sheshan International represent a bomber's paradise and Johnson, a loping 6ft 5in athlete capable of dunking a basketball, plundered without mercy to erase McIlroy's overnight advantage and eclipse his rivals with no fewer than 10 birdies. "This course seems to fit my eye pretty well," he reflected. Would that we could have said the same of McIlroy, whose resurgence in Shanghai veered off track as he followed his opening 65 with an error-strewn 72, a detour to the lake at the 18th leaving the sourest taste.

While Johnson, five clear at 12 under par, ought to be installed as an early favourite to seize his maiden WGC title, nothing with this prodigiously talented yet maddeningly mercurial player ever quite proceeds to plan. He led into the final round of the 2010 US Open only to shoot 82, derailed his Open chances at Royal St George's by driving into the hay with five to play, and sabotaged his tilt at the 2011 USPGA by grounding his club in a bunker to incur a two-stroke penalty. The mental game is not exactly his forte.

Johnson is one of 22 Americans who have decamped across the Pacific to Shanghai, less for a love of all things Chinese than the fact that this is the first year the tournament counts towards the PGA Tour's £7.5 million FedEx Cup bonus. The extent of cultural appreciation was best expressed by Boo Weekley, who famously expressed his distaste for the 2007 Open at Carnoustie by saying: "Ain't no sweet tea, and ain't no fried chicken". Weekley appears not to have embraced the joys of travel in the six years since, to judge by his responses to local journalists after he moved alongside McIlroy and fellow Floridian Bubba Watson in joint second at seven under.

How did he like being in China, they asked. "It doesn't matter. We're here." Had he learned more about local life and people since a visit to the World Cup in Shenzhen? "Can't understand them." What authentic delights had he sampled during his week in Shanghai? "Hotel, golf course." When you come to a different part of the world, should you not try to see something? "I don't need to see nothin'."

With that eloquent contribution to Sino-American relations, Weekley beat his retreat. The only priority for a man who enjoys hunting hogs back home in the southern states was to chase down leader Johnson, who on previous evidence would struggle to keep the lead in his school play. McIlroy, likewise, was optimistic that he could bridge the gap quickly. "I'm in a decent position," he said, as he aims to win his first title of the year. "I still have a great chance of winning this."

So, too, does defending champion Ian Poulter, who surged into contention yesterday with a fine round of 67 to move to six under. There is a restlessness about the Englishman as he seeks to make sure that he doesn't end 2013 without a victory to his name. "You beat yourself up about it, that's for sure," he said. "But I'm playing well enough and making enough birdies to believe that I'm going to be close here."

Graeme McDowell was also ominously poised last night after a 69 to draw level with Poulter. The 2010 US Open champion has endured a fluctuating season, with two tour triumphs interspersed with dismal performances in the majors. "It has been a puzzling year, and one that I'll probably learn the most from," he said. His form has recovered of late, although he confessed yesterday that he found it "pretty demoralising" to be outdriven by 50 yards on every hole by playing partner Johnson. "He was putting it past me by the distance of a four-bedroom house," the Northern Irishman lamented. "With a nice garden."

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Simon Dyson facing prospect of European Tour ban following his disqualification from the BMW Masters

European Tour may ban Simon Dyson after his disqualification for signing for an incorrect score in the second round of the BMW Open

Simon Dyson could face a three-month suspension from the European Tour after being charged on Thursday with a serious breach of the rules and summoned to appear before a disciplinary committee in a fortnight’s time.

David Garland, director of tour operations, decided that extra investigation was necessary after the Yorkshireman was disqualified last week for tapping down a spike mark with his ball in the third round of the BMW Masters in Shanghai.

After an initial report that claimed he had “no recollection” of the incident, officials are understood to have collected evidence on other violations of which Dyson, a six-time winner on tour, has been accused this season.

The three-man committee deciding the 35-year-old’s sanction will comprise a lawyer, a former player and an administrator, and are likely to meet soon after next month’s season-ending World Tour Championship in Dubai.

In the meantime Dyson will play as planned in Turkey next week, albeit with the shadow of the alleged breach threatening to engulf him.

He neglected to add a two-shot penalty to his card after the incident at the eighth at Lake Malaren, where he was shown on television replays to have touched the line of the putt after marking his ball.

Dyson said in a statement on Thursday night: “I would like to say that I have never deliberately broken the rules, either on this occasion or in the past. It was simply an accidental mistake, which I have no reservations in apologising for – particularly to my fellow professionals and to the Tour for any embarrassment caused.”

The committee last met in a similar situation in 2010, when Scot Elliot Saltman was given a three-month ban for repeatedly marking his ball incorrectly at a minor tour event in Moscow.

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