Rookie Barnes is setting the pace

PGA TOUR rookie Ricky Barnes posted the target to shoot for at the rain-hit US Open halfway mark as the rain returned to Bethpage Black and Tiger Woods headed the right side of the projected cut line. Barnes, the 2002 US Amateur champion who earned his tour card this year after six years as a professional, shot a five-under-par second-round 65 in the best of the conditions playing back-to-back rounds on Friday and yesterday morning at Bethpage Black. The American leads at eight under par, one shot ahead of overnight leader Lucas Glover, who posted a six-under-par 64, and another shot in front of first-round leader Mike Weir, the 2003 Masters champion from Canada who added a 70 to his opening 64. Barnes, 28, had begun the day in second place at five under and carded three more birdies on a course that yielded just one under par total, that of Woods, when the US Open was first staged there in 2002. "It's pretty cool," Barnes said. "At the beginning of the week you didn't think that score was out there. "But also if you would have told me I would have been eight under and only a one-shot lead, I would have said, 'You're kidding me', but I'll take it. It was solid play. And I'm happy with the position I'm at." With the halfway cut determined by the low 60 scorers and ties, defending champion Woods found himself on the projected cut line at three over par. With a band of rain reaching Long Island, the leaderboard remained dominated by Barnes' initially late-starting side of the draw. In addition to the top three, Japan's Azuma Yano shot a 65 to get to three under alongside former Open champion David Duval, who added a 70 to his opening 67, and Peter Hanson of Sweden, who finished with a 71. England's Ross Fisher shot a two-under 68 to take a share of seventh place at two under with American amateur Nick Taylor, following a 65, with former Open champion Todd Hamilton and Sean O'Hair at two under. World No 2 Phil Mickelson carded a 70 to get to one under par while fellow American Gary Woodland was also on that mark after carding a 66. American Steve Stricker was four under for his round, one under for the week, while Lee Westwood birdied his first three holes to get to one under before two bogeys saw him stall. But he recovered to finish the day on two under. England's Justin Rose finished his second round at eight over following a 75, with Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland shooting a 76 to fall to 10 over, while South Africa's Ernie Els finished with a 77 to complete a miserable week at 15 over par. LEADERBOARD 132: Ricky Barnes 67 65; 133: Lucas Glover 69 64; 134: Mike Weir (Can) 64 70; 137: Peter Hanson (Swe) 66 71, Azuma Yano (Jpn) 72 65, David Duval 67 70; 138: Ross Fisher (Eng) 70 68, Sean O'Hair 69 69, Todd Hamilton 67 71, Nick Taylor (Can) 73 65, Lee Westwood Eng), 72, 66; 139: Steve Stricker 73 66, Phil Mickelson 69 70, Gary Woodland 73 66, Ryan Moore 70 69; 140: Hunter Mahan 72 68, J.B. Holmes 73 67, Adam Scott (Aus) 69 71, Oliver Wilson (Eng) 70 70, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 70 70, Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 73 67, Stephen Ames (Can) 74 66; 141: Michael Sim (Aus) 71 70, Graeme McDowell (NIrl) 69 72, Retief Goosen (Rsa) 73 68, Soren Hansen (Den) 70 71, John Mallinger 71 70, Dustin Johnson 72 69, Jim Furyk 72 69, Rocco Mediate 68 73, Drew Weaver 69 72 142: Anthony Kim 71 71, Rory McIlroy (NIrl) 72 70, Jeff Brehaut 70 72, Camilo Villegas (Col) 71 71, Stewart Cink 73 69, Matt Bettencourt 75 67; 143: Tiger Woods 74 69, Billy Mayfair 73 70, Angel Cabrera (Arg) 74 69, Ben Curtis 72 71, Andrew McLardy (Rsa) 71 72, Kenny Perry 71 72, K J Choi (Kor) 72 71, Carl Pettersson (Swe) 75 68, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 73 70