Adam Scott was frustrated by hitting good shots and signing for mediocre scores. After a spirited chat with his caddie, both were determined to squeeze everything they could out of the second round at the Memorial in Dublin, Ohio.

Scott flirted with perfection yesterday at Muirfield Village, missing four putts inside 12 feet and still shooting a 10-under 62.

It gave him a one-shot lead over Rod Pampling, and he hopes it will be enough to shake off the golf gremlins that have been holding him back since his victory in Houston two months ago.

"We just told each other what we thought about what’s going on out there, a bit of a heart-to-heart, because we knew I was close to playing really well," Scott said of his talk with Tony Navarro. "Our idea was to come out and be focused, and neither of us make a mistake."

He made one, hitting a heavy 7-iron that tumbled off the front of the green and into the bunker on the par-3 16th, and his 12-foot par putt rippled over the edge. He followed that with a 20-footer on the 17th for his 11th birdie of the round.

Scott was at 12-under 132, one shot ahead of Pampling, who played bogey-free for a 68. Bubba Watson had a chance to tie for the lead until he went long on the 18th for a bogey for a 68, leaving him at a 10-under 134 with another Aussie, Aaron Baddeley (68).

It was another day of good scoring conditions, with stifling heat, mild breezes, fairways with plenty of roll and greens that held approach shots and rolled smoothly.

That wasn’t the case for Tiger Woods.

The three-time Memorial champion hit the ball decently enough but couldn’t make anything outside 6 feet until he rolled in a 10-foot birdie on the final hole for a 72, leaving him 10 shots behind.

"You look at a lot of guys up there, they’re making a bunch of putts, and not just from 6, 7, 8 feet. They’re making them from 20 feet," Woods said. "I just haven’t done that."

Scott didn’t really need to. He hit the ball so pure that except for hitting into the bunker on the 16th and going into the first cut of rough beyond the 18th green, he had only one putt longer than 15 feet.

● LPGA: Step aside Annika and Michelle. Lorena Ochoa showed who’s the LPGA Tour’s true star attraction at the Ginn Tribute in Mount Pleasant, S.C.

Ochoa shot a 5-under 67 yesterday to move to 9-under through two rounds, three shots ahead of first-day leader Angela Park (72) and four in front of Paula Creamer (71).

The world’s No. 1 player and already a two-time LPGA Tour winner this season, Ochoa took control at RiverTowne Country Club with her bogey-free round. She carded only one score higher than 4, a par on the par-5 ninth hole and continued her stellar run with her sixth straight round under 70.

● Champions: Tom Purtzer and Eduardo Romero took advantage of perfect scoring conditions in the Boeing Championship in Destin, Fla., matching the course record with bogey-free 9-under 62s to share the first-round lead.

Jim Thorpe and Jay Haas opened with 64s in the Champions Tour’s event, and nine players - including Senior PGA Championship winner Denis Watson - had 65s on the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort’s Raven Golf Club course.

Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Advertisement