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Rose blossoms in second round at Oakland Hills

09/08/2008

England's Justin Rose is in contention to win his first major title after carding a second round of three-under-par at the USPGA Championships.

Rose is one shot behind leader JB Holmes, who is on one-under-par, at the halfway stage of the tournament and is level with Charlie Wei and Ben Curtis.

Both Rose and Curtis carded rounds of three-under, which was the best of the day, to move up 41 places on the leaderboard.

Overnight leader Jeev Milkha Singh carded a 74 to drop to two-over-par for the tournament while Sweden's Henrik Stenson managed to stay in touch with a round of 70.

Rose started his second round well, making two birdies in the first four holes. Steady form saw him score a further two birdies on the back nine to put him level with Holmes.

But a dropped shot on the final hole meant he had to settle for second place at this stage.

However, the 28-year-old believes he could win his first major this weekend.

Rose said: "You can't always keep saying, 'Well, I'm gaining experience, I'm gaining experience'. There is a time to start believing; this is the time to do it - the time is now."

Holmes took advantage of an early start to card a round of two-under and claim the lead. He notched five birdies and three bogeys during his round.

As conditions worsened in the afternoon the likes of Sergio Garcia and Phil Mickelson saw their chances fade.

Garcia carded a round of three-over, which included a double-bogey at the per-three 17th. While Mickelson's second round 73 dropped him four shots behind Holmes.