Friday December 04, 2009, 04:12 PM

South African Retief Goosen recovered from the embarrassment of a putt rolling back to his feet by taking a one-shot lead Friday after two rounds of the Sun City Challenge.

The 'Goose' added a four-under 68 to his opening-round 69 at the sun-soaked Gary Player Country Club for a halfway total of 137 with Australian Robert Allenby, Argentine Angel Cabrera and Swede Henrik Stenson joint second.

Overnight leader Allenby fired a 70 on the 7,162-metre course at a north-west entertainment centre, Cabrera hit a 67 for the best round so far and holder Stenson struck a 68 for a two-shot improvement on his first 18 holes.

South African Tim Clark (72) and American Hunter Mahan (71) had higher scores than the opening round and are four shots adrift of Goosen in a 12-man invitational field.

Star attraction Rory McIlroy, the 20-year-old native of Hollywood in Northern Ireland ranked 10 in the world, continued to struggle with a three-over 76 leaving him 12 shots off the pace.

Former Challenge champion and twice US Open winner Goosen birdied three of the first four holes and parred the next three before disaster struck at the 450-metre par-four eighth.

He left an uphill putt short, agonisingly watched the ball trickle back to his feet, and had settle for a bogey five although the damage was quickly repaired with another birdie at the ninth to turn three under.

Goosen was less impressive on a back nine that delivered two birdies and one bogey as he scrambled to save par several times, but was out of luck at the final hole with a long putt lipping the cup.

Reigning US Masters champions Cabrera displayed his prowess with four first-nine birdies, two the result of lengthy putts, and added another two before bogeying the 16th for the sole blemish of the day.

Allenby had another round characterised by consistency with three birdies and one bogey, his first of the tournament, at the par-four 15th although he scrambled to salvage par on the closing two holes.

An early burst of three birdies set up Stenson for a round highlighted by superb iron play that reaped five birdies and just one bogey to say on course for back-to-back triumphs in the African 'major'.

McIlroy dreamt as a teenager of competing at Sun City, but his first visit is taking on a nightmarish slant with an eagle-three at the ninth the sole pleasure from a round that appears to have knocked him out of contention.

© 2009 AFP/sid