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By Mark Lamport-Stokes
San Diego - Britain's Luke Donald gave himself a chance of a third consecutive strong finish at the Buick Invitational with a five-under-par 67 in Friday's second round.
After battling to an opening 75 over the tougher South Course at Torrey Pines, Donald reeled off five birdies in an error-free display at the North Course.
That left him tied for 52nd at two-under 142, 10 strokes off the pace, with the PGA Tour event reverting to the South Course for the final two rounds over the weekend.
| 'I seem to have a good karma with this place' |
In danger of missing the cut after finishing runner-up in the tournament for the last two years, Donald knew what he had to do on the second day.
"I needed to finish one, probably two (under), at the worst," the 28-year-old Englishman said.
 
"You know you have a decent chance around here (the North Course) because it's a lot more scoreable.
"I played a little bit better today but it was an easier course. Yesterday I didn't really do anything that great."
Donald, who birdied 14, 15, three, four and seven after teeing off at the par-four 10th, benefited from increased patience in the second round.
"I knew there were birdie opportunities out here so I just tried to hit better shots, hit more fairways and just be a bit more consistent," he said.
"Torrey Pines does seem to fit my eye. I am reasonably straight off the tee and I think on a long course like this you have to be in the fairway if you want to make any birdies out there.
"Knowing I have played well here before helps a lot," added Donald, who lost out to John Daly in a three-way playoff in 2004 and tied for second three strokes behind Tiger Woods last year.
"I seem to have a good karma with this place," he said.
Having triumphed just once in four full seasons on the PGA Tour, at the 2002 Southern Farm Bureau Classic, Donald has set his sights on a return to the winner's circle.
"Although I feel I have got better every year, winning tournaments is what I should be doing," he said.
"I need to be in contention every week, having a great shot at winning tournaments.
"Majors are also a big key for me this year, trying to contend in at least two or three of them," added the world number 16, whose tie for third at last year's US Masters was his best major finish.
"Plus I want to keep moving up that world ranking as I would love to be in that Ryder Cup team as well.
"The Ryder Cup is a great thrill to play in and I don't want to miss it for the world.
"But it's not something I want to think about right now. I just want to take care of business every week and the rest will take care of itself."
Donald won two points out of four on his Ryder Cup debut at Oakland Hills in 2004 after being chosen as a wildcard pick by captain Bernhard Langer.
The 36th Ryder Cup will be played at the K Club in County Kildare, Ireland from September 22-24.
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