The Live Report: Rd. 2, Mercedes-Benz Champ.

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Geoff Ogilvy continued his steady play in round two with a 5-under 68 Friday at the Mercedes-Benz Championship.

The Mercedes-Benz Championship is the first event of the 2009 PGA TOUR season. PGATOUR.COM is on the scene at Kapalua. We'll provide updates all day long, so check back often. (All timestamps listed for Eastern Time.)

BOO-BOO DOWN THE STRETCH (11:10 p.m.) -- Boo Weekley's putter had been uncooperative for the last several holes. When he misread that 12-footer for birdie at the 18th, though, all you-know-what broke loose.

His 5-footer for par lipped out. So did that 9-inch putt for bogey. Weekley finally ended his misery when he successfully negotiated a 7-inch putt for the double and his second-straight round of 70.

The birdie would have left Weekley in a tie for third with Ernie Els at 9 under. Instead, he'll start the final round tied for 10th with Adam Scott at 6 under, five strokes off the pace set by Geoff Ogilvy.

"It was a good day (overall)," Weekley said. "I just got aggravated."

Weekley had played the front nine in a bogey-free 32. The momentum changed on the back, though, as he began to have trouble reading the break on Kapalua's big greens.

"It started wearing on me," Weekley said simply. "Finally, right here, when I hit that putt on the front of the green, I miss-read it totally, 15 feet away, that's just a total miss-read. We should be pros and I should be better at this by now. But I just get aggravated." -- Helen Ross

WRAPPING UP ROUND TWO (10:45 p.m.): The second round of the Mercedes-Benz Championship is now complete and with the winds mostly down all day only seven players shot rounds worse than par.

The low score of the day was a 7-under 66 from D.J. Trahan, moving him to within one shot of leader Geoff Ogilvy, who made his first bogey of the tournament on the par-4 17th. Nonetheless, the Australian is playing awfully well and it's hard to imagine him losing the lead.

That said, he has company. Els is two shots back after a 4-under 69 and Kim four back after a 68. They'll play together tomorrow in what clearly will be the best pairing of the day.

The saying goes that Saturday is moving day. Given how Kapalua has played the first two days, that will definitely hold true tomorrow one way or the other. -- Brian Wacker

MCLACHLIN AT HOME IN MAUI (10:35 p.m.): Parker McLachlin, who grew up in Honolulu, used to volunteer at the Mercedes-Benz Championship. He worked as a standard bearer and picked balls on the range, among other duties.

After winning the Reno-Tahoe Open last summer, he earned another trip to Maui -- only this time, he gets to play in the tournament. An opening 77 was hardly the start he wanted, but McLachlin rebounded well with a bogey-free round of 4-under 69.

"I was like a whole different man out there," McLachlin said. "I. didn't feel like i was a 12-year-old junior golfer gouging my way around out there. I felt like i belonged here as a professional." -- Helen Ross

Kim

A.K. AND OU (10:28 p.m.): Anthony Kim had a simple explanation for GOLF CHANNEL announcer Rich Lerner when asked about his round of 5 under on Friday.

"I was pretty fired up about the Sooners not playing so well so I figured I had to come out here and represent Oklahoma," said the die-hard fan and former All-American. -- Helen Ross

CINK'S TWO EAGLES: (10:10 p.m.): The first was pretty conventional. Driver, 6-iron and a 5-foot putt. Stewart Cink's eagle was one of two made at the par-5 fifth, which also yielded birdies and played as the easiest hole at Kapalua on Friday.

Cink's second eagle, though, was one to write home about as he holed a wedge from 85 yards out in the fairway on the par-4 14th.

"There's a discrepancy in the yardages out there and we couldn't figure out exactly what it was," Cink said. "So I told Frank (Williams, his caddy) I was just going to take the longer yardage and play safe to the middle of the green and hopefully, it would spin back. And I hit it behind the hole and it spun straight back into the hole."

The eagle moved Cink to 7 under for the day and 6 under for the tournament. He gave a shot back at the 17th hole, though, and failed to birdie the par-5 18th, but still moved from a tie for 23rd into the top 10.

"I was really pleased with the way I hit the ball," said Cink, who had shot 1 over in the first round. "It could have been really good. I left a lot of putts out there; a lot of birdies that I didn't make. So that was disappointing, and I didn't finish that great. But overall, it was a good round. Anytime you can shoot 6 under -- it's not the easiest course in the world."

Cink punched his ticket to Kapalua when he won the Travelers Championship last year, ending a four-year victory drought. He wanted to be ready to play when he got to Maui, too, so he spent some time in Florida during the offseason working on his game.

"In the past, I've kind of used this tournament to get ready to play and I don't think that's the right way to prepare for the year," Cink said. "I was excited (to play). Still a little caution yesterday just not know exactly what to expect but today ... I got to free it up." -- Helen Ross

INSIDE THE NUMBERS (9:48 P.M.): Here's a quick look at some statistics for the field as we wind down the second round from Kapalua:

Driving accuracy: 69.26 percent

Driving distance: 277.1 yards

Greens in regulation: 82.2 percent

Proximity to the hole: 37 feet, 8 inches

Putting average: 1.801

Click here for each shot hit throughout the tournament. -- Brian Wacker

FANTASY UPDATE: (9:35 p.m.): Raise your hand if you used one of your fantasy golf selections on Geoff Ogilvy this week. If you did, chances are you nabbed the Aussie at an excellent value. Sure, now that he's 11-under for the tournament through 14 holes today, it seems like an obvious, logical choice. But Ogilvy remains one of the game's most under-the-radar, big-game performers; one of only five players to have claimed both a World Golf Championship and a major championship (Ogilvie, Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Mike Weir, DavidToms).

The Australian is an excellent wind player and a strong front-runner, (wire-to-wire at Doral last year) the ideal combination to hold off this limited field this week.

I think he not only nails down the Mercedes, but also wins another major this year. I just wish I had the sense to put him on my fantasy squad this week! -- John Swantek

D.J. MAKES A MOVE: (9:10 p.m.): D.J. Trahan just made the first eagle of the day at the par-5 15th, rolling in a doble-breaking 37-footer.

That's now two birdies and an eagle in his last four holes. He now has twice as many birdies as he did yesterday with six and has moved into second place at 9 under, two back of Geoff Ogilvy.

Coming from behind is nothing new to Trahan. He earned his trip to Maui thanks to a final-round 65 at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, where he rallied from four back to beat Justin Leonard. His other victory, at the 2006 Southern Farm Bureau Classic, came in a playoff when he birdied the par-5 18th hole three times.

Check out Trahan's scorecard below, or click here to follow it live. -- Brian Wacker

CAN ANYONE CATCH OGILVY? (8:55 p.m.) Geoff Ogilvy has history on his side. He has never finished worse than third after holding the first-round lead. Furthermore, the past seven winners at the Mercedes-Benz Championship are foreign-born players.

Close on his heels are a group of Americans, young and old, who don't spend a lot of time paying attention to history.

Anthony Kim, Boo Weekley and D.J. Trahan are all tied for second place at the moment, four shots back. Sean O'Hair, Justin Leonard and Stewart Cink are all hanging in the top 10.

If any of the Americans are going to mount a charge against the former U.S. Open champion, however, it won't be easy. -- John Maginnes

MORE OGILVY, PLEASE (8:25 p.m.): Error-free golf is one way to describe the way current leader Geoff Ogilvy is playing right now. Really good is another.

Ogilvy still hasn't made a bogey this week at Kapalua, and so far today he's ,issed just one green. He just made his fifth birdie of the front nine and became the first player this week to reach double digits under par at 11 under with another birdie on No. 10.

Ogilvy also hasn't missed a putt inside a putt inside of 5 feet -- he's 21-for-21 this week -- and he's more than 14 feet better than the field in terms of proximity to the hole at 22 feet, 9 inches with a putting average of 1.60.

Meanwhile, Stewart Cink was doing his best to keep up with a pair of eagles -- at the par-5 fifth and the par-4 14th (more on that below). At the moment, Cink is 6 under on the day, Ogilvy 5 under. -- Brian Wacker

IN CINK (7:59 p.m.): At 6-foot-4, Stewart Cink is hard to overlook. He might as well have done a disappearing act, though, after shooting a 1-over 74 in the first round.

Cink was tied for 23rd, seven strokes out of the lead, when he left the Plantation Course yesterday. A pair of eagles on Friday, though, have him right back in the tournament.

The former Georgia Tech All-American birdied the first hole, then reached the green at the par-5 fifth hole in two and rolled in an 8-footer that moved him into red numbers at 2 under.

He made birdies at the sixth and 13th holes, too, and then holed an 80-yard shot from the fairway at No. 14 to move to 6 under for the tournament and 7 under for the day.

Follow Cink's round shot-by-shot with ShotTracker by clicking here, and check out his scorecard through 14 holes below. -- Helen Ross

Weekley

BOO BIRDS (7:40 p.m.): Fans of Boo Weekley have plenty to crow about today. Weekley just rolled in his fourth birdie of the front nine, tapping in on the par-5 ninth after coming up just short on his eagle putt.

It's the second day in a row that Weekley has parred the ninth and through the first two rounds he's played the front nine in 5 under, with a double-bogey 5 on the par-3 second during yesterday's round his only blemish.

Weekly has yet to miss a green in regulation today. -- Brian Wacker

ELS MAKING IT LOOK EASY AGAIN (7:20 p.m.): It looks like Ernie Els really is refreshed coming in here. After an opening-round 68 that left him just one shot off the lead, Els is 1 under so far today with a bogey on No. 3 and birdies on Nos. 4 and 5.

You have to wonder if it's the swing changes -- staying wide, allowing himself more room coming into the ball -- he's been working on with Butch Harmon.

Though this is Els' first trip to Kapalua since 2005, it's not as if he had a terrible year last season, however. In fact, quite the opposite.

When you're talking about a player of Els' caliber, however, the number that stands out in that chart is 1, as in finishing first, something Els did for the first time since 2004 when he won three times on the PGA TOUR.

His swing looks great this week and it'll be interesting to see if if holds up, or if his scores do. Birdie opportunities should be fewer on the back nine, where the winds have picked up. It remains calm on the front -- protected by a ridge that separates the front and the back -- but the first five holes of the back nine should play tougher. -- Brian Wacker

MOTHER LOVE (6:42 p.m.): Penta Love, Davis Love's 83-year-old mother, was back in his gallery on Friday.

Someone had mentioned to Love on Thursday that she had walked more holes in the first round than some of the reporters. He was quick to add "then my wife and sister, too," who were back at the hotel pool.

"We were trying to say just stay right there and we'll come back," Love said, marveling at his mother's resourcefulness and stamina. "But she would be right there with the microphone guy,"

Love says his mother still comes to a fair amount of the events he plays, particularly those in the Southeast. "She always liked coming to Kapalua, so it's nice to have her out," Love said. -- Helen Ross

WHO'S UP, WHO'S DOWN (6:30 p.m.): Everyone's on the course at Kapalua and, so far, no one is really burning it up. More than half the field is at even par or worse for the day and even those who have made a move -- like Stewart Cink -- have slowed what looked to be a torrid pace.

Ogilvy

Camilo Villegas had four birdies on the front nine, but gave one back with a bogey on No. 8. Cink, on the other hand, has two birdies and an eagle, but he could only manage a par at the very birdieable par-5 ninth.

D.J. Trahan and overnight leader Geoff Ogilvy continue to stay at or near the top of the leaderboard by playing mistake free. Neither has made a bogey yet. -- Brian Wacker

BIRDIES FOR MCLACHLIN AND JUNIOR GOLF (5:45 p.m.): Parker McLachlin made a four foot birdie putt at the fifth for his first birdie of the day. That moves McLachlin to 1 under for the second round after a disappointing 4-over 77 in the opening round.

However, this birdie and all of Parker's birdies on the west coast have far reaching effects for junior golf here in his native Hawaii. McLachlin and his long-time sponsor, Waikoloa Beach Resort, have joined forces to establish Birdies for Juniors. For every birdie he makes in the six tournaments on the west coast he and the resort will each donate $50 to the Hawaii State Junior Golf Association.

That's a nice gesture for the only man in the field to come through the Hawaii junior golf associatoin. You can read more about the program by clicking here. -- John Maginnes

BIG HITTER, BIG NUMBER (5:25 p.m.): It looks like J.B. Holmes won't be adding to his record of top 10s before April, at least not this week.

Six of his eight career top 10s have come in the first quarter of the season, but so far this week Holmes is struggling. His five birdies yesterday were offset by four bogeys, and he's already 3-over for today after a bogey on No. 2 and a double bogey on No. 3, where he blasted his tee shot OB, or to "unknown" as ShotTracker likes to call it.

Meanwhile, Daniel Chopra has come back to earth , closing out his front nine with a bogey on No. 8 and a second straight double-bogey on No. 9 to fall back to 1-under for the day and 5-over for the tournament. -- Brian Wacker

MAKE THAT 4 UNDER (5:01 p.m.): Daniel Chopra birdied the sixth hole for a second straight day, sinking an 8-footer to get him to 4 under on the day and within two strokes of getting back to even par for the tournament.

Chopra

Even though he struggled yesterday, remember, this is a guy who knows how to play well here -- he shot a final-round 66 here last year before eventually winning in a playoff. -- Brian Wacker

FROM WORST TO ...? (4:40 p.m.) Maybe playing solo actually is helping Daniel Chopra. A day after opening with a 6-over 79, the defending champion is 3-under through five holes with birdies on Nos. 1, 3 and 5.

Chopra rolled in a 32-footer for birdie on the first, then hit his approach shot to 15 feet on the third before sinking the putt. On the 532-yard, par-5 fifth, he reached the green in two before two-putting from 74 feet for another birdie.

That's a much better start than yesterday when he found trouble off the tee at No. 1 before making the first of four bogeys (not to mention three double bogeys). He also took 32 putts in the first round and has taken seven so far today. -- Brian Wacker

ROMERO'S STRUGGLES CONTINUE (4:20 p.m.): The 2008 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year seems to be undergoing a little bit of the dreaded sophomore slump, at least this week anyway.

Romero

A day after opening with a 5-over 78 that featured seven bogeys, six pars and four birdies, the young Argentine started off the second round with a double-bogey on the first hole. He hit his tee shot into the left rough before hitting his second into the junk on the right, leading to a penalty stroke.

Romero is here thanks to his win at last year's Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where he finished off a third-round 65 on Sunday morning before closing with a 68 in the afternoon. -- Brian Wacker

More on Romero: Rookie of the Year: Romero | Romero's player profile | Q&A with Romero | Romero's best images from '08

SUNNY START (4:02 p.m.): Sun-kissed skies greeted the opening tee shots Friday -- a stark contrast to the light rain that fell during yesterday's opening ceremonies.

Temperatures are expected to dip into the 80s with very light winds of 10 mph. The weekend forecast hasn't changed. Hazy conditions are expected Saturday and rain is on tap for Sunday. -- Helen Ross

GOING IT ALONE (3:45 p.m.): Yesterday, Marc Turnesa had the honors of going out first. Today, it's Daniel Chopra.

Chopra, who is the defending champion, got off to a rough start yesterday with a 6-over 79, so maybe some alone time today will help.

Chopra is still looking for his first top 10 since winning this event last year, but it's not like he hasn't had his chances. He dominated the Buck Open last June before a final-round 75 sent him to a tie for 17th. He also broke 70 in all four rounds of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, but finished 15th.

The problem yesterday was putting. After averaging 29.3 putts per round in 2008, Chopra took 32 putts yesterday. He was hardly the only one who had trouble with the flat stick -- Camilo Villegas took 37 putts.

In any event, the wind could again be a factor. It was yesterday, especially early in the day, and depending which way it's blowing, or if it's not blowing, it could affect the scores we see today.

In the meantime, here's a look at some groups to keep an eye on. -- Brian Wacker

Groups We're Watching

Tee time Players   4:30 pm ET (11:30 am in Hawaii) J.B. Holmes, Stewart Cink Watch Holmes bomb 'em (he ranked third in driving distance in '08) and watch Cink for his overall game (he ranked seventh in all-around stats).   4:40 pm ET (11:40 am in Hawaii) Vijay Singh, Adam Scott Hey, it's never too early to talk Presidents Cup, especially for these two big guns on the International squad.   6:10 pm ET (1:10 pm in Hawaii) Ernie Els, Kenny Perry Paired for the second straight day. Maybe Perry, who won three times last year at age 47, can give Els, who turns 40 in October, a few tips.

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