TOYOTA CITY, Japan ? A wild day of golf left the American team sitting in second place, just a single stroke behind leader England. Erik Flores followed up his course-record 65 with a 71, leaving him at the number one slot in the individual competition, three strokes ahead of four golfer tied for second. The stars of the day for the U.S. team were Matt Swan and Nick Smith, both of whom shot a 3-under 69. Michael Green followed those scores up by carding an even 72; two shots better than his score from round one.

The English team now has three golfers in the top eight in the individual competition. These guys came to play, not having a single weak link, which is showing in their scores. But so did Team USA. Looking at today?s marks, it was more of a team effort, rather than riding a single horse all the way. Every player has now contributed a score and look for more of a balanced attack from the Americans the rest of the way.

The weather was a little different today. It rained early this morning, leaving the course fairly wet. By the time the Americans - who had the last tee times of the morning - stepped to the tee, not only had it stopped raining, but the sand-based course had pretty much dried out. The greens were the only difference, playing slightly slower than they had up to this point. The humidity had already set in by the time the team hit the course. I?m talking the kind of humidity where you step outside and all your clothes immediately suck to your body and just stick there. I would have taken more pictures of the guys, but my fingers were stuck together. Regardless, the guys handled it well and eventually it began to cool off as another storm started to set in as the Americans wrapped up their round.

Erik was slightly disappointed in today?s round, as he only hit three fairways all day. Still, to put yourself in that kind of hole and still come out below par is awfully impressive. Nick maintained the momentum he gained on the back nine of yesterday?s round and came out a completely different golfer than he did in round one. Matt did the same, jumping to minus-3 after just four holes and maintaining that score the rest of the way. Michael improved two shots and he did so on the back nine, a part of the course that gave him some problems in round one. Look for him to keep up his pace and find his way into the red numbers very quickly.

Cal?s (Un)official Shot of the Day goes to Mr. Swan himself. Apparently he was inspired by the bald eagle and U.S. mascot Valor that resides at different tees throughout the course. Matt found himself on the green in two on the par 5 fourth. He had left himself an eagle putt of about 35 feet straight to the left of the hole. There was a slight break in the putt, but it was exactly what Matt had predicted. He split the middle of the cup for an eagle and went to 3-under, the score that he would finish the round with.

The past 24 hours in 24 seconds: Valor, arriving 30 minutes early for the bus this time, stickiness, rain, a Swan nailing an eagle, a team effort, an individual leader (still) and a very cute girl at the front desk. Now if you?ll excuse me, I?m going to go try to learn some Japanese real quick like so I can strike up a conversation without sounding like an idiot (I know, it?s frivolous...).

1. Erik Flores, United States 65-71=136 (-8)
T2. Juan Pablo Candela, Colombia 70-69=139 (-5)
T2. Ming-Chuan Chen, Chinese Taipei 70-69=139 (-5)
T2. Juan Pablo Solis, Mexico 66-73=139 (-5)
T2. Daniel Willet, England 71-68=139 (-5)
T6. Oliver Fisher, England 70-70=140 (-4)
T6. Juan Fransisco Sarasti, Spain 71-69=140 (-4)
8. Ben Parker, England 71-70=141 (-3)