Four-way tie for Congressional lead

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Oliver Goss surged into a four-way tie for the lead of the Quicken Loans National after carding a flawless five-under-par 66 on Friday.

The Australian carded five birdies on a difficult Congressional Country Club layout to reach the half-way stage at six-under-par alongside countryman Marc Leishman (66) and Americans Patrick Reed (68) and Ricky Barnes (69).

Goss struggled off the tee for large parts of his round and only hit four of the 14 fairways, but his approach play was superb, reaching 14 of 18 greens in regulation.

“I don’t think I hit one fairway until the 11th… but I scrambled my way pretty good today,” he told PGA Tour Radio.

“I was able to get it up and down (for par) every time I missed the green.

“It’s only my second week as a pro and being on the top of the leaderboard, it just gives you a boost of confidence.

“I didn’t really have too many expectations. After last week, I was a little bit disappointed but I came here pretty fresh and open-minded. And I’m on top of the leaderboard. I couldn’t be more pleased.”

Reed, who won the WGC Cadillac Championship in Miami in March, carded three birdies in his final five holes to claim a share of the lead.

“Yesterday I hit a lot of fairways which allowed me to attack the greens but today the tee shots weren’t there so I was playing a lot out of the rough (and) I had to make some smart decisions on key holes,” said Reed.

One stroke behind the leaders were Stuart Appleby (67) and Hudson Swafford (68), while four players were in a tie for seventh on four-under.

They were Morgan Hoffmann (68), Billy Horschel (68), George McNeill (69) and Fredrik Jacobson (71).

Several big names misses the cut at Congressional this week, including Jason Day, Jason Dufner and Tiger Woods, who is playing in his first tournament since March this year.

Woods was predictably rusty and finished on seven-over after rounds of 74 and 75.

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