MUNICH - Ernie Els shot a 3-under 69 in the second round of the BMW International Open on Friday to maintain his one-stroke lead. The South African made six birdies, a double bogey and a bogey, leaving him at 12-under 132 halfway through the European Tour event. Els, a two-time winner of the British Open and U.S. Open, opened with a 63 Thursday. "Theres so much golf to be played. If you fall out of the lead, if youre not leading after three rounds, it doesnt really mean much at all late Sunday," Els said. "So you just want to stay in the race and keep trying to go forward." He is followed by Matthew Baldwin of England (69) and Alexander Levy of France (68). Defending champion Danny Willett of England shot a 65 for the days best round and is tied for fourth place with Bernd Wiesberger of Austria (68). Willett was six strokes off the pace after an opening 69 and is happy he is back in contention to become the first player to defend the title in the 25th edition of the competition. "Yesterday was a bit hit and miss, a little bit shaky," said Willett, whose season was disrupted by a back injury. "I havent played a lot of tournament golf in the past 14 weeks, so it was a bit rusty. And today I hit some proper golf shots again and I played really nicely." Five players — 2008 winner Martin Kaymer and Marcel Siem of Germany, Tommy Fleetwood of England, Spains Miguel Angel Jimenez and Swedens Alex Noren — are three strokes off the pace to be tied for sixth. "The gap between Ernie and me, its shrank by one. Instead of four, its only three now," said Siem, who received great support from the appreciative crowd. "The people were super cool today." Els was behind Willett and Wiesberger by the time he teed off in the afternoon. Els began with five successive pars before holing his first birdie, but ran into trouble when he found water from the tee at the par-four No. 7 and needed six shots. After four more birdies, a bogey on No. 16 looked to have cost him the lead but he finished with a simple tap-in for another birdie. "I didnt feel a lot of energy today for some reason, especially on the front nine for the first 12 holes or so," Els said. "I dont know, maybe its the jet-lag or age or something. I made an absolute mess of two holes — 16 was just an absolute mess and seven! You take those really big mistakes away and then I had a really good round." Custom Boston Celtics Jerseys . Spiller left Week 3s 27-20 loss to the New York Jets with a thigh injury, but fully practiced with the team all week and expects to be ready to go on Sunday. Dennis Johnson Celtics Jersey . -- Ryan Getzlaf grabbed the three pucks wrapped in tape and held them up to his chest in the Anaheim Ducks dressing room for a celebration nine seasons in the making. http://www.authenticcelticsproshop.com/Bill-Russell-Jersey/ . A big centre with all the tools to be an elite player, Johansen paced the Blue Jackets with a standout game Saturday night. He had a goal and two assists for a career-high three points as Columbus beat the New York Islanders 5-2 to snap a five-game losing streak. Paul Pierce Jersey . -- Kyrie Irvings last-minute 3-pointer helped seal another victory for Cleveland -- and the Cavaliers longest winning streak since LeBron James left. Reggie Lewis Celtics Jersey . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. PHOENIX -- Plate umpire Dale Scott left the game between the Dodgers and Diamondbacks in the bottom of the first inning Saturday after taking a foul ball near his chin.The count was 1-1 on Arizona leadoff man Jean Segura after he fouled off a pitch from Brandon McCarthy of the Dodgers. The ball struck Scott, who was attended to by a Diamondbacks trainerr.dddddddddddd Scott was able to remain standing while being checked and walk