Thatcher climbs out front in Cox Classic with an 8-under 63  PGA TOUR Staff OMAHA, Neb. -- A bogey-free 8-under-par 63 propelled Roland Thatcher to the top of the leaderboard at the midway point of the Nationwide Tour's $650,000 Cox Classic presented by Chevrolet on Friday.  Roland Thatcher had four birdies on his front nine Friday, and four more on his back nine. (Getty Images)
Thatcher bettered an opening-round 64 by one stroke to move two ahead of Scott Sterling (68) and four clear of Miguel Carballo (63), Michael Walton (64) and Chris Thompson (71). "That is the odd thing about golf," said Thatcher, who won earlier this season at the Peek'n Peak Classic. "It is hard to follow up a good round with a great round. So to post an 8 under after a 7 under is obviously tremendously satisfying. Hopefully I can do the same thing the next couple of days." Overnight rains totaling over two inches and a change in wind direction at the par-71 Champions Run made things a lot different for the 156 professionals on Friday. But despite the changes, Thatcher's game remained solid. "The wind direction today was completely different," said Thatcher, who ranks third on the Tour money list. "The sightlines changed on just about every tee shot. There were a lot of adjustments to make and they actually fit my eye better." Thatcher's only bogey through 36 holes came on the par-4 fourth hole on Thursday. The biggest reason for his steady play has been excellent ball-striking and a solid short game -- including just 25 putts during the second round. Highlighting the day was a 20-footer on the par-5 10th hole and a 40-foot bomb on the par-4 15th hole. "With the exception of Nos. 10 and 15, I didn't have to make a whole lot of putts today," stated Thatcher. "I struck it really well and hit a lot of close iron shots." Hitting close shots has become the norm for Thatcher this season. In 17 starts, the former Auburn University All-American has accumulated a staggering 11 top-25 finishes. In fact, prior to the last two events, every tournament he had made the cut resulted in a top-25 finish. The past two weeks, comparatively speaking, have not been to that standard. His last two starts have resulted in a 42nd-place finish at the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational and 38th place at the Price Cutter Charity Championship. Thatcher remains optimistic, however. "It has definitely been a good year if your bad weeks are still getting paychecks," said Thatcher. "I was getting a little worn down. I've had six straight weeks on the road. But my instructor caddied for me last week and we ironed out a few things ... and it is paying off this week." Sterling followed up an opening-round 61 with a bogey-free 68 to stay within shouting distance of Thatcher. While his ball-striking was equally as sharp, the putter failed to produce on Friday. "I played well again today but I just didn't make the putts I made yesterday," said Sterling, who hit 16 of 18 greens in regulation and needed 31 putts. Despite a balky putter, Sterling enters the weekend excited to finally have a chance to win the Cox Classic -- which is considered one of the Tour's premier stops. He had missed the cut in his four previous appearances here. "I'm just glad to be here on the weekend," said the 35-year-old resident of Baton Rouge, La. Second-Round News & Notes: Play was delayed for one hour at the beginning of the day due to overnight rains totaling 2.4 inches. ... Dustin Bray aced the third hole with a 5-iron from 208 yards. It was the eighth hole-in-one in Cox Classic history and the 17th of the season on Tour. ... The cut came at 5-under 137, with 66 players advancing to the weekend. The previous low cut this season was 4 under at the Rochester Area Charities Showdown at Somerby. ... At 2-over 144, Arjun Atwal saw his Tour-leading 11-tournament cuts made streak come to an end. ... Jimmy Walker, who was second on the list with 10 straight weekend appearances, also missed the cut with a 2-under 140 total ... Tommy "Two Gloves" Gainey, playing this week through a sponsor's exemption due to his "Big Break VII" victory on the GOLF Channel, shot a 5-under 66 to move to 8-under 134 and safely inside the cut. ... Daniel Summerhays, who became the Tour's first-ever amateur winner two weeks ago at the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational, shot a 7-under 64 to easily make the cut with a 36-hole total of 7-under 135. ... The 36-hole leader has gone on to win six of 19 events this season. ... There were 14 bogey-free rounds on Friday, bringing the total for the week to 27. ... Kris Blanks (64) had two eagles on Friday (Nos. 10 and 17). ... Gary Christian and Adam Riddering withdrew prior to the start of the second round. |
