World Golf Championships 2012: Day 2 Leaderboard Analysis, Highlights and More

Day 2 of the World Golf Championships- HSBC Champions is officially in the books, and Louis Oosthuizen, the star of the tournament's first day built upon his seven-under opening round by shooting a nine-under on Friday.

At the end of the first day, Adam Scott sat tied with Oosthuizen at the top of the leaderboard, and though the Aussie shot a solid four-under, he now sits five back of the leader heading into the weekend.

Just behind them is Ernie Els, who like Oosthuizen shot an impressive nine-under on Friday, and looks primed to take a run at the title if the South African falters.

Also in the mix are Luke Donald, Irishman Shane Lowry and Americans Jason Dufner, Phil Mickelson, Bill Haas, Scott Piercy and Dustin Johnson, as all sit within seven shots of the leader.

Unheralded 22-year-old Thorbjorn Oleson also climbed into contention, as the young Dane shot a sparkling seven-under after a decidedly disappointing first round, and now finds himself seven back of Oosthuizen heading into Saturday.

Despite the absences of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, the tournament has shaped up to be an entertaining contest, and with a number of the sport's brightest stars, along with some lesser-known talents, all in contention, we should have an entertaining weekend of golf ahead of us.

Keep reading for a look at the leaderboards, analysis and some of the highlights from the second day of the World Golf Championships- HSBC Champions tournament.

LEADERBOARD

1	Louis OOSTHUIZEN		18	-9	65	63			-16	128
2 T	Adam SCOTT		18	-4	65	68			-11	133
2 T	Ernie ELS		18	-9	70	63			-11	133
4 T	Jason DUFNER		18	-6	68	66			-10	134
4 T	Shane LOWRY		18	-4	66	68			-10	134
6 T	Dustin JOHNSON		18	-4	67	68			-9	135
6 T	Phil MICKELSON		18	-3	66	69			-9	135
8 T	Bill HAAS		18	-5	69	67			-8	136
8 T	Luke DONALD		18	-4	68	68			-8	136
8 T	Scott PIERCY		18	-4	68	68			-8	136
8 T	Thorbjorn OLESEN		18	-7	71	65			-8	136

Highlights

Jason Dufner's beautiful birdie on No. 14 during Round 2 play. After a stunning second shot left him just a foot out from the pin, Dufner knocked down the putt for birdie.

Here is Phil Mickelson's gorgeous birdie on No. 12 on Friday. Lefty originally looked like he'd have to settle for par, but managed to sink a 15-foot putt for birdie.

On No. 17, Lee Westwood sank a pretty birdie of his own, nailing a 25-foot putt to keep himself in contention going into the weekend.

Twitter Reaction

Ping expressed its support for one of their own after Louis Oosthuizer's magical second round kept him in the lead for the second day in a row.

"

Mickelson playing HSBC with TaylorMade 3-wood: Phil Mickelson is playing the HSBC Champions in Shenzhen, China w... bit.ly/WgMBVl

— PGA News (@GolfTourNews) November 2, 2012"

And Phil Mickelson made headlines in the golf world for using a TaylorMade 3-wood, but apparently Callaway made sure to let everyone know that they weren't upset with Lefty's change of heart, er club.