Goosen wary despite sharing halfway lead

Retief Goosen refused to get carried away after another excellent round at the Qatar Masters gave him a share of a two-shot lead going into the weekend.

The South African began well with four birdies on his outward nine, however his form tailed off when coming home as he could manage only one more birdie and hit a bogey on the fifth.

However, his good start and Thursday's seven-under-par 65 saw him top the leaderboard alongside Australian Richard Green. Defending champion Henrik Stenson was three behind and Ernie Els and Sergio Garcia seven and eight behind respectively.

Goosen said it was still too early to rule his rivals out. "There are 36 holes left and a lot can happen," he said. "Being behind is nothing that serious with 36 holes to go. I have just to get a good round in [today] and hopefully make a few putts."

Tour rookie Brandt Snedeker stole the limelight from Tiger Woods for the second day in a row by retaining his lead at the Buick Invitational yesterday. Two ahead overnight, the 26-year-old from Nashville, Tennessee fired a two-under-par 70 at Torrey Pines in San Diego to forge three shots clear in the second round.

World number one Woods, bidding for his seventh consecutive victory on the PGA Tour, carded a 72 to finish seven off the pace.