Round 2 play (2pts):
Jason Dufner to beat Padraig Harrington -120 @ Paddy Power
Holding a three-shot lead so early in a tournament can be a difficult thing to defend, in much the same way as it is difficult to start a new round after such a career-round the previous day. One exception was Rory McIlroy's performance at the U.S. Open last year when his lead rose from 3 to 6 and then 8 shots over the next few days, but none of the previous seven players who have held at least three shot leads after the first round since 2005 have gone on to win. And that list includes Harrington who shot 63 in the opening round of the 2007 Nissan Open, but then every round thereafter was a higher score than the previous one. To show how difficult it is, the list includes Luke Donald who followed up his opening 64 in the 2009 Memorial Tournament with a 2nd round 76. So it is easy to back Dufner, who hit the ball further, hit more fairways and hit just as many greens as Harrington, but didn't have the career-round on the greens. He lies in 3rd place and looks set to continue his good form on this course.