Bubba Watson claimed a one-shot halfway lead at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
Donald five back as he chases top ranking
Bubba Watson edged one clear at the halfway point of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans as he bids for his second PGA Tour title of the season.
The 32-year-old, who won the Farmers Insurance Open in California back in January, ended day one in a share of top spot with Australian Matt Jones at six-under-par and made a flying start to his second round on Friday.
Watson teed off at the 10th and claimed an eagle three at the 11th - as he had in the first round - and also birdied 13 and 14 to move to 10-under-par, where he stayed after a bogey at 18 was balanced out by a birdie at the seventh.
The left-hander signed for a 68 and is one ahead of Josh Teater, who shot a six-under 66 to move into second place at nine under, with John Rollins a further shot back after a second-round 69.
Joint first-round leader Jones dropped back into a tie for fourth alongside four other players at seven under, including fellow Australian John Senden and American Dean Wilson, whose eight-under-par 64 was the best round of the day.
Donald in contention
England's Luke Donald, still aiming to claim the world number one ranking on Sunday after missing out at The Heritage last weekend, was one of the early starters and his one-under-par round took him to five under overall, putting him in a tie for 12th and five shots behind Watson.
He started his day at 5am and before he went out on the course he watched some of the Royal Wedding back in the UK.
"My wife, on the other hand, got up at 4am to watch a little more," Donald said. "She's Royal Wedding-crazy. So she watched a bunch of it."
Donald knows he needs to improve his short game over the weekend if he is to challenge at the top of the leaderboard, having taken 30 putts in each of his first two rounds.
"Thirty is a lot for me. So I'll go hit the putting green and try to figure it out," Donald added.
"I think the greens are only going to get firmer. They're already starting to turn a little yellow in colour, so it will be a tough weekend. Hopefully I can find my speed on the greens which wasn't that great the last couple of days and make some putts."
Donald's fellow Englishman Brian Davis is two shots behind at three under, but reigning US Open champion Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland and another Englishman, Justin Rose, both missed the cut.
