Byrd rides birdies to share of lead

In the PGA Tour's last full-field tournament of the year, Jeff Sluman and Jonathan Byrd are tied for first after two rounds.

Byrd birdied five holes on the back nine yesterday to shoot his second straight 66 at the Chrysler Championship in Palm Harbor, Fla. Sluman was eight shots worse than his course-record 62 in the opening round, but still shot a 1-under 70.

Vijay Singh, moving closer to a $10 million year, had a 69 and was only two shots behind at 8-under 134. Rod Pampling (65) and Tommy Armour 3d (64) are also two shots back.

Masters champion Phil Mickelson shot a 76 and missed the cut with a 4-over 146. Paul Azinger bogeyed the last two holes and missed the cut by one shot after shooting a 68.

LPGA -- Carin Koch and Grace Park each shot a 6-under 66 and shared the first-round lead at the CJ Nine Bridges Classic in Jeju, South Korea. Jill McGill and Karen Stupples are one shot back after 5-under 67s.

Mexico's Lorena Ochoa was another stroke back after a 68 that included a hole-in-one on the par-3 13th.

Top-ranked Annika Sorenstam finished at 1-under 71.

European -- Sergio Garcia recovered from a poor start, closing the second round with two birdies for a 2-under 69 and a one-stroke lead at the Volvo Masters in Sotogrande, Spain.

Garcia's birdies at the end put him at 6-under 136, one shot ahead of Alastair Forsyth (69). Ian Poulter had a 67 and was another shot back.

Darren Clarke shot an 11 on the par-5 17th, which dropped him from the lead to 25th place after his 72.

Nationwide -- South Yarmouth's Jason Caron shot a 4-under 68 in the second round of the Tour Championship in Prattville, Ala. He is in fourth place, three shots behind leader Justin Bolli (64--131).