John Merrick retained his one-shot lead after the second round of the Mayakoba Classic.
Ferrie slips back as Californian stays ahead
John Merrick retained his one-shot lead after the second round of the Mayakoba Classic in Cancun.
The American fired a two-under-par second round of 68 to stay at the top of the leaderboard, where Brian Gay is his nearest challenger after a round of 67.
Merrick picked up two birdies in his bogey-free round at the El Camaleon Golf Club.
"I'm kind of just hitting well and putting it well right now," said the Californian, who said his tee time meant he missed some of the worst winds on a blustery day.
"I didn't get in too much trouble today," he said. "I hit the ball fairly well, maybe missed a couple fairways and when I missed a green, I chipped it pretty close.
Solid
"I'm trying to think of my longest par putt today, maybe four or five feet, so pretty solid day."
Merrick made six birdies in his first round of 64 and, although he had plenty of opportunities on day two, he was not disappointed with his score.
"I felt great about the way I played today," he said. "I missed a lot of birdie putts from eight to 15 feet.
"So, I had a lot of chances out there. I was hitting it well and it was just kind of whether or not I was going to make the putt or not."
Australia's David Lutterus is third at six under, with Steve Marino a further shot back in fourth place.
Britain's Kenneth Ferrie slipped back to a tie for fifth place after a two-over-par second round of 72.
