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Singh leads Woods, McIlroy at BMW Championship after two rounds

The former PGA champion went low again for a second day at the third event in the FedEx playoff chase in Indiana.

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Singh would settle for just one win at this point. His last victory was the Deutsche Bank Championship in 2008, the year he won the opening two FedEx Cup playoff events and essentially clinched the $10 million bonus. He would not have guessed that would be his last win. Since then, he has coped with nagging injuries and has been regaining his form and his confidence.

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He shared the 36-hole lead at the PGA Championship with Woods and Carl Pettersson, but a 74-77 weekend sent him plummeting to a tie for 36th. Two weeks ago, he was one shot behind going into the weekend at Bethpage Black until a 76-75 weekend dropped him into a tie for 46th. The big Fijian had a good weekend in Boston, but that only covered up a poor start.

As for what's keeping him from four solid days, Singh isn't sure.

"I have no idea," he said. "I guess I want it so bad that I get in my own way. So I just have to get out of my own way and just play. Last weekend I played better, but I didn't play well the first two days. Hopefully, I can go out there and just shoot two comfortable rounds this week."

A comfortable round might not be enough.

The pins were a little tougher for the second round, but that's not nearly enough to stop the best players in the world who can lift, clean and place their golf balls in the short grass before going after flags on rain-softened greens that putt smoothly because of only 70 players in the field.

It's the perfect recipe for low scoring on any golf course, and that's been the case over two days at Crooked Stick.

The average score over two days have been 69.6. Anyone not at 69 or better was losing ground. There already have been 21 eagles and 621 birdies over two days, which at least gives the sold-out gallery something to cheer.

Bill Haas had the best round Friday at 64, despite a bogey on the 17th hole. There were 32 rounds in the 60s, and only 10 players failed to shoot par or better. That included three U.S. Ryder Cup players — Matt Kuchar, Webb Simpson and Steve Stricker, who had a 73 despite a hole-in-one with a 6-iron on the sixth hole.

Hunter Mahan, concerned about an "empty feeling" after not being selected for the Ryder Cup, had a 73.

Moore tied for 16th a year ago in the BMW Championship and finished third in 2010, both times at Cog Hill. He is at No. 35 in the FedEx Cup, needing to get into the top 30 to advance to the Tour Championship in two weeks for a shot at the $10 million bonus.

Haas is at No. 28, and helped himself immensely with a 64. Haas won the FedEx Cup last year, saving par out of the water during a playoff, but a strange piece of history is working against him. No FedEx Cup champion has ever made it back to East Lake for the Tour Championship the following year.

Much like Singh, however, Haas a lot of work left. Given the low scoring — and there's nothing to indicate that will change — the final two rounds of the BMW Championship would be wide open. Twenty players were within five shots of the lead, a group that includes Graeme McDowell, Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson.

"Let's be honest," McDowell said. "You've got to keep going low this weekend."

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