Mar. 15, 2008
Vijay Singh and Carl Pettersson
Tee time: 1.45 p.m.
Tee: No. 1
Total TOUR wins: 33
Why you should watch: Vijay's being one of the biggest names in golf is reason enough, but as you probably already know, this over-40 golfer is defending a title this week at Bay Hill Lodge and Club. Taking the lead at 9-under par seems like a good way to go about keeping that crown. Sweden's Carl Pettersson, who trails Vijay by just two shots after matching Singh's second round score of 5-under par, had an almost flawless Friday save one late bogey that increased Singh's shot cushion -- but not by much. The two-time TOUR winner will be looking to add another notch to that belt after performing so well in the second round.
| 2008 stat comparison |
| Singh |
7 |
6 |
-- |
1 |
-- |
2 |
4 |
70.40 |
| Pettersson |
7 |
5 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
4 |
70.50 |
|
Sergio Garcia and Niclas Fasth
Tee time: 12:42 p.m.
Tee: No. 1
Total TOUR wins: 3 (9 if you count Fasth's 6 European Tour wins)
Why you should watch: The fiery Spaniard Sergio Garcia was the only player to shoot a bogey-free round on Friday, which more than made up for even-par first-round score on Thursday. At 4-under par, Garcia shares 10th place on the leaderboard with five other players, but he played the hardest Friday to get there. Sweden's Niclas Fasth is not a familiar face on the PGA TOUR, playing mostly on the PGA European Tour, but Fasth is in the top 25 in the world and climbed as high as fifth in the Order of Merit last year. He carded a 66 in the second round to jump from a tie for 52nd to a tie for 16th going into the weekend.
| 2008 stat comparison |
| Garcia |
3 |
3 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
1 |
70.02 |
| Fasth* |
4 |
4 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
1 |
1 |
n/a |
|
Trevor Immelman and Alex Cejka
Tee time: 12:33 p.m.
Tee: No. 1
Total TOUR wins: 1
Why you should watch: Before you look at their total wins, sigh and pass this group over, keep in mind that Trevor Immelman fired a 6-under 64 to make the cut on Friday and goes into the weekend tied for 16th -- up from a first-round finish of a tie for 82nd. He had the passion to get it done Friday -- maybe he's ready to bounce back from that December surgery. Cejka had a difficult day Friday, struggling to find a groove with numbers all over the map. The German recorded four bogeys and a double bogey, but also put away six birdies to finish up at even par after the second round. Thankfully for Cejka, his bogey-free, first-round score was enough to keep him above the cut line. Look for him to try to straighten out those kinks in Saturday's third round.
| 2008 stat comparison |
| Immelman |
5 |
2 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
1 |
71.45 |
| Cejka |
8 |
6 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
1 |
1 |
70.35 |
|
