HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — A grueling Masters finally caught up to K.J. Choi yesterday at the Verizon Heritage, and Jim Furyk, Charles Howell III and Greg Owen took advantage to top the second-round leaderboard.

Furyk (68), Howell (67) and Owen (69) were tied at 7-under 135, a stroke ahead of a group that included two-time Verizon champ Boo Weekley and Stuart Appleby.

Choi, who played alongside Tiger Woods all four rounds at Augusta National, opened with a 64 on Thursday. However, he couldn't maintain that pace and fell three shots off the lead after a 74 at Harbour Town Golf Links.

"Yeah, the fatigue is setting in right now," said Choi, who tied for fourth with Woods last week. "But no excuses today, I had a tough time reading the greens."

Furyk didn't have Choi's problem entering Harbour Town. "I didn't play enough to get tired," he said about Augusta.

The world's sixth-ranked player missed the Masters' cut for just the second time in 14 appearances. Furyk wasn't happy with the early exit. But instead of dwelling on it, he enjoyed what was left of Masters week.

He stayed late at a Friday night party with friends and sponsors. He drove to Myrtle Beach with wife Tabitha for a "Monday After the Masters" outing put on each year by Hootie and the Blowfish, including a concert by the group.

"Had a great time and met a bunch of great people," he said. "I got my practice in but also blew off some steam and when I got here I was in a great frame of mind and ready to go to work."

Parker McLachlin, at Punahou and UCLA alum, shot 73—148 and missed the cut, which was even-par 142.

ELSEWHERE

Champions Tour: Mark O'Meara shot a 6-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead over Mike Reid and defending champion Nick Price in the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am at Lutz, Fla., while Fred Couples shot 71 in his bid for a fourth straight Champions Tour title. Two-time champion Tom Watson was tied with five others, two strokes back.

LPGA: Sweden's Anna Nordqvist won the inaugural Mojo 6 Jamaica LPGA Invitational, beating Amanda Blumenherst 1-up in the six-hole championship match in the Raceway Golf event at Montego Bay, Jamaica. She earned $350,000 in the unofficial event at Cinnamon Hill.

Nationwide Tour: Hall of Fame receiver and former San Francisco 49er star Jerry Rice shot a 5-over 76 and missed the cut in the Fresh Express Classic at Hayward, Calif. Canadian David Hearn fired a 6-under 65 for a 13-under 139 total and a two-stroke lead at TPC Stonebrae.

European-Asian Tour: South Korea's Kim Do-hoon shot a 3-under 69 to take a one-stroke lead after the second round of the China Open at Suzhou, China. Kim had an 11-under 133 total on the Jinji Lake course.