The Daily Wrap-up, Round 2: WM Phoenix Open
By Staff and Wire Reports
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Mark Wilson charged and Camilo Villegas faltered.
The result was a two-way tie for the lead at 11-under 131 halfway through the Phoenix Open.
Wilson birdied the last four holes for a 5-under 66, while Villegas bogeyed No. 18 when he missed a 14-foot putt for par. The 28-year-old Colombian settled for a 69 after tying the tournament first-round record with a 9-under 62 on Thursday.
Eleven players were within two shots of the lead at TPC Scottsdale, where a crowd estimated at 101,709 attended the second round Friday under thinly overcast conditions.
Anthony Kim (65), Ryan Moore (66) and Rickie Fowler (67) were 10 under.
Tom Lehman, nine days shy of his 51st birthday, had a 67 to top a group of six at 9 under. Play was suspended because of darkness with one player, Matt Every, still on the course. He had a 4-footer for a birdie that would put him at 9 under.
Wilson, who said he was ill early in the week after returning from the Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun considers himself the bland one among those at the top of the leaderboard.
"I'm not a flashy player. ... I see Anthony and Rickie and Camilo up there and they're all very flamboyant characters, and it's fun to watch them," Wilson said. "So I'll be somewhat of a spectator too, but certainly taking care of my own business."
Villegas, who mixed three bogeys with an eagle and three birdies, insisted he was satisfied with his second round.
"It's tough to shoot 9 under in one day. To do it two days in a row, it's even harder obviously," he said. "Am I disappointed the fact I didn't go low-low today? No. You just want to stay in the tournament. I mean, after a great first day, you just want to keep plugging, keep staying there and give yourself a chance come Sunday afternoon."
Wilson said this is the kind of desert course, with the open par 5s and par 4s and friendly greens, where golfers can get on the kind of runs that he did late Friday.
"I made a lot of putts, so if you're seeing the lines good you can roll off a string of birdies pretty quick," he said.
As many as 150,000 fans are expected for Saturday, always the wildest day in the biggest party on the PGA TOUR.
"I have fun," Villegas said. "It's one week a year where we get to experience this."
Tee times Saturday were moved ahead an hour because of the chance of rain late in the day. Rain is more likely Sunday.
After a bogey-free first round, Villegas made the turn Friday at 1 over for the day, but regrouped with a birdie at No. 10 and an eagle on the 13th to regain the lead at 11 under. He moved to 12 under with a birdie on the 15th.
On the 18th, his tee shot cleared the lake but landed in a large bunker next to a bush. He punched his second shot onto the fairway, then his third shot left him a 14-footer for par.
TPC Scottsdale is just a short distance from the Grayhawk Golf Club, where Fowler lost a three-way playoff to Jamie Lovemark and Troy Matteson in the Frys.com Open last October.
"We had a good shot at it," the 21-year-old Fowler said. "Hopefully we'll give ourselves a better one this year."
Englishman Ian Poulter, winner of Sunday's World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship down the road in Marana, Ariz., followed a 1-over 72 on Thursday with an 8-under 63 on Friday. He felt so exhausted after last week's big win that he fully anticipated missing Friday's cut.
"I even booked a plane for takeoff at 3 this afternoon," Poulter said. "I wasn't feeling good. It's just nice to go out there and hit good golf shots, play well and put myself in a position now where I've put myself into form."
Phil Mickelson was within reach of the lead after consecutive 68s left him at 6 under.
Arizona State senior Braxton Marquez, who didn't travel with his Sun Devils golf teammates this week and earned a spot here in Monday's qualifier, shot a 65 to make the cut at 3-under 139.
| Friday's Best |
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The 595-yard par-5 13th hole was the easiest with a Friday scoring average of 4.476.
The 215-yard par-3 seventh was toughest with a Friday scoring average of 3.252.INSIDE THE ROPES WITH THE PGA TOUR NETWORK
PGA TOUR Network correspondent Michael Collins offers these observations from Friday. Listen to PGA TOUR Live coverage on XM 146/SIRIUS 209 or right here at PGATOUR.COM.
Well after the heartstring-tugging story of Braxton Marquez, who shot 74 in Round 1, he went out in Round 2 and shot 65 to not only make his smile down on him from heaven -- he's going to be playing on the weekend. (For a full story on Braxton, click here.)
As for what the guys can look forward to Saturday... With rain expected overnight and wind gusts forecast at over 30 mph, we're gonna be playing split-tee threesomes. Don't expect scoring to be anywhere near as good as we've seen the last two days, even with softer greens.
You know that stuff I said yesterday about the 16th not being as good now that it's enclosed? I do stand by that statement with 2,000 seats and only 5,500 for general admission?! C'mon y'all, it's the people's hole. At least give half to the people.
That being said, after hanging out with the ASU kids left of the tee box and checking out the "cheat sheet" they have compiled for this year's tournament, the energy and excitement at this hole is still better by far than anything in the golf world. Heck, Brian Gay ran over and threw headcovers to the crowd, and then his wife came up to me and said, "Guess he's coming out of his shell?!" That hole will make you do that.
| Going for the Green | |
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| Live Essentials | ||||
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