Friday, August 9, 2013

Day 2 at the PGA Championship

Adam Scott is off to a solid start, and is in a very good position to capture his second major of the year.  As usual in tournaments where Phil and Tiger aren't playing well, American golfers have almost no presence on the leaderboard:

1.  A. Scott (AUS):  -7 (26 holes)
2.  J. Furyk:  -5 (18)
T3.  J. Day (AUS):  -4 (30)
T3.  L. Westwood (ENG):  -4 (29)
T3.  M. Kaymer (GER):  -4 (27)
T3.  D. Hearn (CAN):  -4 (18)

Other golfers of interest:

Mickelson is at even par through 25 holes, in a tie for 33d.
Snedeker is 2 over through 28 holes, in a tie for 65th.
McIlroy is 2 over through 26 holes; he's tied with Snedeker
Bubba Watson is 3 over through 27 holes, in a tie for 82d.

Matt Kuchar -- who at 3 under par is probably the only American golfer with a realistic chance at winning this tournament -- tees off at 12:05 Central Time.

Tiger tees off at 12:45 Central Time.

51 comments:

  1. Suddenly we have a new American challenger, as Webb Simpson (the 2012 U.S. Open winner) is 6-under for the day, on pace to match the course record. Unfortunately, Simpson shot a 72 yesterday, so he's still three shots off the lead.

    I have to say that at this point, we have a lot of impressive names on the leaderboard:

    1. A. Scott (AUS): -7 (30 holes)
    2. J. Furyk: -5 (18)
    T3. L. Westwood (ENG): -4 (33)
    T3. W. Simpson: -4 (32)
    T3. M. Kaymer (GER): -4 (31)
    T3. D. Hearn (CAN): -4 (18)

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  2. Webb Simpson makes another birdie on 6 (his 15th hole of the day). He is now 7-under for the day and 5-under for the tournament, and he's on pace to set the course record.

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  3. Indeed, Webb Simpson of Raleigh, N.C., did tie the course's competitive-round record, with a 6-under 64. So the 2012 U.S. Open winner, and my main man from Broughton, is 4-under for the tournament and tied for fifth behind ...

    -- Adam Scott of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, who won the Masters in April and who is 7-under for the tournament after completing his second round moments ago;

    -- Justin Rose of Johannesburg, South Africa, who won the U.S. Open in June and who is 6-under after also just finishing his round;

    -- Robert Garrigus of Nampa, Idaho, who has opened his second round today birdie-birdie and is now 5-under for the tournament through 21 holes, and

    -- Jim Furyk, my main man from West Chester, Pa., and the 2003 U.S. Open champ, who is also 5-under and tees off his second round in about 15 minutes.

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    Replies
    1. Justin Rose was born in Johannesburg, but he moved to England at the age of 5 and is an Englishman.

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  4. And Jason "Gypsy Blood" Duffner of Cleveland eagled (!) No. 2 to join Simpson; Martin Kaymer of Düsseldorf, West Germany; Paul Casey of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, and Matt Kuchar of Winter Park, Fla.

    And Tiger just teed off. This is a great tournament.

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  5. Phil Mickelson, who is done with his second round and sitting on the projected cutline of 2-over, just said on TNT that Oak Hill is "the ideal course" for sorting out who is hitting the ball well and who is not (and then he identified himself in this latter group). I have come to totally fall in love with Phil Mickelson.

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  6. Replies
    1. Duffner rolls in a long, long birdie putt at No. 4, and now he's 5-under.

      "War Eagle!" comments on TNT David Feherty as the ex-Auburn Tiger's fine shot falls, and it's pretty funny to hear because Feherty is from Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland.

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  7. Cool. Some pharmacy in Beaver Dam bought commercial time from the local cable provider during TNT's telecast of the PGA Championship. I assume they paid a premium for that.

    AND HERE'S VERNE LUNDQUIST! Always great to hear Verne. Maybe the pharmacy in Beaver Dam specified they wanted their commercial to air during a Verne turn in TNT's telecast. Hooray for Verne! And hooray for Beaver Dam!

    And hooray for Tiger! He just rolled in a quite-long par putt on No. 1 after having a rough tee and second shot.

    And hooray for son-of-Olympic-silver-medalist Robert Garrigus! He just went to 7-under and a tie with Adam Scott for the lead with a birdie on No. 6.

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    Replies
    1. GC Tiger Tracker ‏@GCTigerTracker
      Can't be grinding over too many pars today, though. Everyone else on the 'board is chewing this place up.
      1:03 PM - 9 Aug 13

      GC Tiger Tracker ‏@GCTigerTracker
      Iron off 2 tee blocked into the right rough. Grimacing face tells me something ain't right.
      1:09 PM - 9 Aug 13

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  8. Furyk opens Round 2 with a birdie! He's 6-under and tied with Rose for third behind Garrigus and Scott at 7-under.

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  9. Here was the leaderboard at 1:10 Central, just before Furyk's opening birdie:

    T1. A. Scott (AUS): -7 (36)
    T1. R. Garrigus: -7 (24)
    3. J. Rose (ENG): -6 (36)
    T4. P. Casey (ENG): -5 (23)
    T4. J. Dufner: -5 (22)
    T4. J. Furyk: -5 (18)

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  10. Tiger bogeys the second hole. He's now two over for the tournament, which means he is on the cut line.

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    Replies
    1. GC Tiger Tracker ‏@GCTigerTracker
      Yes, my finger is inching closer toward the button, but not pushing it yet. RT @GCowitch @GCTigerTracker time to panic?
      1:20 PM - 9 Aug 13

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  11. Robert Garrigus has made five birdies in his first 8 holes, and he now leads the tournament at 8 under par.

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  12. The gallery following Tiger's group, by the way, is one of the largest I've ever seen.

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  13. Here's the leaderboard:

    1. R. Garrigus: -8 (26 holes)
    2. A. Scott (AUS): -7 (36)
    T3. J. Rose (ENG): -6 (36)
    T3. J. Dufner: -6 (24)
    T3. J. Furyk: -6 (20)

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  14. Tiger's pars No. 3.

    I just want to say this about Tiger Woods: At least four weekends a year almost every year since he turned professional in 1996, watching Tiger Woods compete has been for me a lot of fun. I know a lot of people think he's a jerk in the way that he carries himself on the golf course, but I've always felt he has seemed at least as consistently gracious and composed as we can expect a fellow horrible-sinner human being to be given the relentless waves of expectation, adulation and scrutiny that he is subject to. And I know a lot of people will never forgive him for his affairs during his marriage, but I've always felt he ultimately said and did about that stuff what he needed say and do about that stuff at least for me. So, whatever, I am totally thankful for how totally great an athlete he was and for even how great he remains. And I don't know that I've ever said this before, but I can totally imagine that he might get more nervous in the major tournaments now than he did when he was in his 20s. And, finally, I Just Want Tiger Woods and Lindsey Vonn To Be Happy.

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  15. Keegan Bradley, incidentally, is 1-under through 21 holes for the tournament and tied for 22nd. I mentioned yesterday that Keegs is from Woodstock, Vt., and, when I did, I had exactly this same string of thoughts and very nearly wrote about them then thinking that I was having them for the first time.

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  16. Hurrah! Tiger dunks a 5-footer for birdie at No. 5, so he's back to 1-under for the tournament.

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    Replies
    1. And his drive on the par-3 No. 6 smacks down upon the green about--oh, what?--12 feet from the hole, so he'll have a chance for another birdie.

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    2. Dan Jenkins ‏@danjenkinsgd
      Two in a row for Tiger...He's only 29 players behind now. The cheer you heard was from the TV production truck.
      2:23 PM - 9 Aug 13

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    3. Exactly one week ago, Tiger shot a 61.

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  17. Tiger has made back-to-back birdies at 5 and 6 and is now at even par. Again, he is playing before what may be the single largest gallery I can remember, and they (of course) are going nuts.

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  18. Jason Dufner birdies the 11th hole and moves into a tie for the lead at 7-under par.

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  19. And good, ol' Verne has put in his 90 minutes or so, so he's headed to the 19th hole or wherever good, ol' Verne goes after another successful day at work.

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  20. Here's the latest leaderboard:

    T1. A. Scott (AUS): -7 (36 holes)
    T1. R. Garrigus: -7 (31)
    T1. J. Dufner: -7 (30)
    T4. J. Rose (ENG): -6 (36)
    T4. J. Furyk: -6 (25)

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  21. Matt Kuchar birdies the 12th hole to move to 6 under par.

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  22. Tiger Woods's birdie putt on 9 stops an inch short of the hole. Tiger taps in to remain at 1 under for the day, and even par for the tournament.

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  23. The Americans are suddenly making a charge. Eight of the top 13 players are from the good old U.S. of A.

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  24. Jason Dufner birdies the 13th hole to take sole possession of the lead at 8 under par.

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  25. Jim Furyk birdies the 10th hole to move to 7 under par, one shot off the lead.

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  26. Man, I'd like to get back to being in K.J. Choi shape.

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  27. Tiger bogeys the 11th hole to fall back to 1 over par. Oak Hill is not the place for him or Phil. You have to hit fairways and greens on this course, and that is not a game that is well-suited to Tiger or Phil.

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  28. Dufner birdies the 16th hole and moves to 9-under par. He is 7-under for the day, and will hold the course record if he pars the last two holes.

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  29. Here's the 5 o'clock scoreboard:

    1. J. Dufner: -8 (33 holes)
    T2. A. Scott (AUS): -7 (36)
    T2. M. Kuchar: -7 (33)
    T2. J. Furyk: -7 (29)
    T5. J. Rose (ENG): -6 (36)
    T5. R. Garrigus: -6 (35)

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  30. Golf Digest ‏@GolfDigestMag
    Jason Dufner has a putt on 18 for birdie and 62. If he makes it, he breaks the all-time low round in a major record.
    4:37 PM - 9 Aug 13

    Dan Jenkins ‏@danjenkinsgd
    Tiger drives the green and three-putts. They're taking the antennas down out back and packing up the truck.
    4:34 PM - 9 Aug 13

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  31. Robert Lusetich ‏@RobertLusetich
    Tiger lipped out for 62 at Southern Hills #pgachamp Now, over to @JasonDufner from about 10 feet
    4:39 PM - 9 Aug 13

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  32. Dan Jenkins ‏@danjenkinsgd
    As second days of majors go, this one is pretty darn good.
    4:40 PM - 9 Aug 13

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  33. Replies
    1. Dan Jenkins ‏@danjenkinsgd
      Jason Dufner leaves it short on 18 going for a 62. Auburn.
      4:42 PM - 9 Aug 13

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  34. Oh, my gosh ... here's Jim Nantz ...

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  35. Jason Dufner finishes with a 7-under par 63 to set a new course record at Oak Hill. He had a birdie putt on 18 that would have given him the first 62 ever shot in a major tournament -- but he left it short. He is 9-under par and he leads Matt Kuchar by one shot.

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  36. Here's the latest leaderboard:

    1. J. Dufner: -9 (36 holes)
    T2. A. Scott (AUS): -7 (36)
    T2. M. Kuchar: -7 (36)
    T2. J. Furyk: -7 (33)
    T5. J. Rose (ENG): -6 (36)
    T5. H. Stenson (SWE): -6 (35)

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  37. Tiger has three-putted 14 and 16, and is one over with two holes to go. He just cannot figure out these greens.

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  38. AT THE U.S. WOMEN'S AMATEUR, EMMA TALLEY HAS WON HER QUARTER-FINAL MATCH IN 19 HOLES. SHE WILL PLAY IN THE SEMI-FINALS TOMORROW.

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