Notebook, Round 2: AT&T National

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Jul. 2, 2010
By Doug Milne, PGA TOUR staff

Weather: Sunny and pleasant. High of 81. Winds N/NW 6-12 mph.

Justin Rose (69-64--133) -7

Following an opening-round 1-under 69, Justin Rose followed up Friday with a bogey-free 6-under 64 to take a one-stroke lead at 7-under over Jason Day and Charlie Wi. Charley Hoffman and Jeff Overton are three back at 4-under. The 64 stands as the lowest round through 36 holes, and is his ninth sub-par score of his last 10 rounds.

At last week's Travelers Championship, Justin Rose led each of the first three rounds, taking a three-stroke lead into the final round. A 5-over 75 Sunday, however, ultimately led to a T9 finish. Rose captured his first PGA TOUR win in his last start before Hartford at the Memorial Tournament.

Interestingly, Justin Rose recorded five consecutive birdies in Rounds 1 and 2 last week in Hartford. Rose's personal best is six straight birdies at the 2006 Children's Miracle Network Classic at Disney on his way to an opening round, career-low 60.

This marks the eighth time in Justin Rose's career that he has held at least a share of the 36-hole lead, most recently at last week's Travelers Championship. His best finishes in the previous seven 36-hole leads have been a pair of thirds.

The second-round leader/co-leader has gone on to win eight of 26 stroke-play events on TOUR this year, most recently Graeme McDowell at the U.S. Open.

Two out of the past three AT&T National champions have held at least a share of the lead after 36 holes. Tiger Woods, the defending champion of the AT&T National, held a one-stroke lead through 36 holes last year before going on to claim victory. K.J. Choi, the inaugural winner of the AT&T National in 2007, was tied for the lead after 36 holes.

Jason Day (66-68--134) -6

Jason Day posted a 2-under 68 to get to 6-under, one back of Justin Rose in his 69th PGA TOUR start.

Perhaps the change in venue is just what Jason Day needed. In his previous two starts at Congressional in 2008 and 2009, Day missed the cut.

Like Justin Rose, Jason Day found the winner's circle on the PGA TOUR for the first time earlier this year with his win at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. Day has now made 10 of 16 cuts.

In Jason Day's last start prior to this week, he finished T33 to Justin Rose at the Memorial Tournament, with whom he will be paired in the third round.

Charlie Wi (69-65--134) -6

Charlie Wi followed an opening-round 1-under 69 with a 5-under 65, highlighted by an eagle-two with an 8-iron from 166 yards at No. 12. He trails Justin Rose by one stroke along with Jason Day.

Like Jason Day, a change of scenery may have been just what Charlie Wi needed as he also missed the cut at Congressional in both previous starts of 2008, 2009.

Charlie Wi has now made 11 of 16 cuts in 2010, with his lone top-10 being an eighth-place finish at The Honda Classic.

Jeff Overton (68-68--136) -4

With a second consecutive 2-under 68, Jeff Overton was one of only two players in the morning wave to manage to post both rounds in the 60s. The other was Bo Van Pelt (69-68).

Jeff Overton's 36-hole total of 4-under 136 places him on solid ground headed into the weekend, three back of Justin Rose. Still in search of his first win, Jeff Overton finished runner-up to Jason Bohn earlier this year at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

In addition to his finish in New Orleans, Jeff Overton has collected an additional pair of top-5 finishes. He finished T2 at the HP Byron Nelson Championship, won by Jason Day, and T3 a week later at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

Charley Hoffman (69-67--136) -4

Charley Hoffman improved on a first-round 1-under 69 with a 3-under 67 to get to 4-under through 36 holes. He trails Justin Rose by three strokes.

Charley Hoffman, who remains in search of his first top-10 finish of the year, has now made the cut in 10 of 15 starts.

At last week's Travelers Championship, a final-round, 6-under 64 bumped him from T58 to inside the top-30 at T27.

Tiger Woods (73-70--143) +3

Following a 3-over 73 in round one, defending champion Tiger Woods posted an even-par 70 in round two and sits 3-over for the tournament. The last time Woods was unable to break par in consecutive rounds was earlier this year at the Quail Hollow Championship, where he posted scores of 74 and 79 in rounds one and two before missing the cut.

Had Tiger Woods, who made the cut on the number at 3-over, missed the cut this week, it would've been just the 10th of his career in 259 career PGA TOUR starts.

Miscellaneous

This week's cut a 3-over 143 equals the highest cut of the (The Honda Classic).

The 2010 AT&T National is the first PGA TOUR event in the Philadelphia area since Waynesborough Country Club hosted the 2002 SEI Pennsylvania Classic (won by Dan Forsman).

Bob Estes, playing in his 566th PGA TOUR event, made his 400th career cut on TOUR this week. He opened on Thursday with a 2-under 68, and followed that with a 3-over 73 to stand at 1-over through two rounds.

The top two players, not previously eligible, from a cumulative money list taken from the PLAYERS Championship and the five TOUR events leading up to and including the 2010 AT&T National, will gain entry into the British Open. First-place money this week is $1,116,000 and second place is worth $669,600:

Rank Player Earnings First-Round Score
2 Justin Rose $1,236,000 1-under 69
3 Bubba Watson 1,110,375 Not Participating
6 Rickie Fowler 747,750 1-under 69
10 Ricky Barnes 625,945 even-par 70
11 Davis Love III 600,565 8-over 78
14 Corey Pavin 528,000 Not Participating
15 Robert Garrigus 504,860 3-over 73
18 Ryan Moore 388,340 3-under 67
20 Shaun Micheel 359,059 5-over 75
23 Fredrik Jacobson 327,932 even-par 70
24 Brendon de Jonge 318,072 even-par 70
Scoring Averages at the par-70 Aronimink Golf Club:
  Front 9 Back 9 Total Cumulative
Thursday 35.433 35.958 71.392 ---
Friday 35.992 35.387 71.378 71.385

Bogey-free rounds

R1 -- Nick Watney (66), Brett Quigley (67), Carl Pettersson (67), Bob Estes (68)
R2 -- Justin Rose (64), Charlie Wi (65)

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