ACE Group Classic: Second-Round Notebook  PGA TOUR Staff NAPLES, Fla. -- Allen Doyle, the ACE Group Classic leader after two rounds, is bidding to become the fifth player to win this event twice. Doyle claimed his initial victory on the Champions Tour here in Naples in 1999. Other multiple winners here include Lee Trevino (1990-91), Mike Hill (1993-94), Hale Irwin (1997, 2002) and Gil Morgan (1998, 2001).  Mark O'Meara is contending for his first Champions Tour win. (Kevin C. Cox/WireImage)
• Don't look for a playoff Sunday. There have only been two in the previous 19 events in Naples. The last playoff was in 2004, when Craig Stadler made a 27-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole to nip Tom Watson and Gary Koch. • In nine of the previous 19 ACE Group Classics, a player has come from behind in the final round to win, including three of the last five years (Stadler led in 2003/Roberts co-lead in 2006). • The winner of the ACE Group Classic has come out of the final grouping in each of the last six years. The last time a player won who was not in the final grouping was Lanny Wadkins in 2000, when he fired a final-round 64 to rally from three strokes back and eventually triumphed in a playoff. • The winner will earn 240 Charles Schwab Cup points and a check for $240,000. Jay Haas currently leads the Schwab Cup race with 353 points and Loren Roberts is second with 348 points. Hale Irwin is third with 290 points. At the end of the official season, the player earning the most points will receive a $1 million annuity. Allen Doyle won the inaugural Charles Schwab Cup in 2001. • J.C. Snead made the first hole-in-one on the Champions Tour in 2007 when he aced the 172-yard, par-3 12th hole with a 5-iron Saturday. The ace was the 16th of his career and sixth on the Champions Tour, moving him out of a tie with Charlie Sifford and Jimmy Powell for the most career holes-in-one by a player on the circuit. Snead's ace was also the eighth in the 20-year history of the event and first since Bob Murphy's ace in the second round of the 2002 event at TwinEagles. • Both Hale Irwin and Jerry Pate carded 2-over 74s Saturday, ending streaks of sub-par rounds in Naples at eight consecutive. • Quail West played harder Saturday than in did in Round 1. There were just 21 rounds in the 60s Saturday versus 31 sub-70 scores Friday. The field scoring average Saturay was 71.234 vs. 70.747 on Friday. Through two rounds, the back nine has played almost a stroke easier than the front side (35.077 vs. 35.910). • Loren Roberts' 2-under 70 Saturday now gives him 28 consecutive rounds of par/better. Roberts' par/better streak dates back to an opening-round 67 at the Wal-Mart First Tee Open at Pebble Beach last fall. • Andy Bean's 6-under 66 was the low round of the day. Bruce Fleisher made the biggest move of any player in the field, as his 5-under 67 moved him up 33 places in the standings. Fleisher started the day in a T56 and is now T23 through 36 holes. • Mark James, the winner of the Allianz Championship two weeks ago, shot 68 despite making two bogeys and a double bogey. James made eight birdies with five of them coming in the last six holes. • 71-year-old Gary Player matched his age for the third time this year Saturday. Player also bettered his age twice this year, carding 69s in the first two rounds of the MasterCard Championship at Hualalai. It was the 16th time in his career that he's either matched or bettered his age. • Sunday's final round gets underway at 9:50 a.m. with play starting off both the first and 10th tees. • Jay Haas has missed just three greens through the first two rounds. ... Morris Hatalsky has just 51 putts over 36 holes. ... Scott Simpson holed the longest measured putt, making birdie on 15 from 52'4". • Bonita Springs resident Peter Jacobsen and Jay Sigel both were forced to withdraw Saturday before their scheduled tee times with ailments. Jacobsen withdrew with a lower back injury and Sigel pulled out with a rib injury. "I had an MRI last week and I've got moderate spinal stenosis. I've got three herniated disks at L-2/L-3, L-3/L-4 and L-4/L-5. The herniations were expected because whenever you have hip replacement, it causes some problems with your back. My doctor told me I'd have some sort of back problem but I didn't realize it would be this soon," Jacobsen said. "My hip feels great. I feel excellent except I just can't swing. I'm having surgery on Wednesday up at the Laser Spine Institute in Tampa. The same group did Lanny Wadkins' surgery last week and now he feels like a million bucks. "I'm going to go up and have the same procedure. I'll be out of golf for four days and I expect to be back in Newport Beach at 100 percent. It's painful right now. Just walking upstairs is a chore. I was going to give it my best today, but I couldn't even hit balls on the range. I actually feel encouraged about my game. I'm seeing some good things, but I've got this last hurdle to get over." Copyright 2007 PGATOUR.com. All rights reserved. |
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