Simpson leads by one in low-scoring Chattanooga

text size

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Webb Simpson continued to weave his magic at the Chattanooga Classic Friday, zipping around the Black Creek Club course with an 8-under 64, tying the lowest 36-hole score in Nationwide Tour history at 19-under-par 125.

Webb Simpson owns 20 birdies and a bogey through his first 36 holes. (Feldman/Getty Images)

Inside the Numbers

Simpson thru 36 Holes

Category Total Rank Eagles 0 N/A Birdies 20 1 Pars 15 T65 Bogeys 1 T51 Double Bogeys 0 N/A Other 0 N/A Driving Accuracy 78.6% T30 Driving Distance 331.5 yds. T14 Greens in Regulation 94.4% T3 Putts per Round 27.5 4 Putts per GIR 1.529 1 Sand Saves 50.0% T31

Tied for second, one stroke back, at 18 under are Scott Stallings (62) and Arjun Atwal, who shot a tournament-record 12-under 60, the lowest round on Tour this year.

Bill Lunde (62) and Matt Weibring (66), a Dallas, Tex., native, are tied for fourth at 15 under. Two veterans, Skip Kendall (67) and Tom Gillis (64), finished at 14 under, tied for sixth.

Simpson, playing in the penultimate group of the day, arrived at the course to find himself seven shots behind Stallings, who had already finished his second round.

"It made me think the scores were going to be low and there were plenty of birdies to be made," said the Wake Forest graduate. "I wasn't too worried. I was playing well so I just stuck to my game plan."

Simpson made nine birdies and a lone bogey at the 12th hole, Friday's most difficult hole, when he drove into the rough and had to lay up on the 458-yard par 4.

"It's pretty cool," he said about tying the 36-hole record. "I have a number in mind for the four days. I think I'll keep it a secret."

After returning to Black Creek Club early Friday morning to par his one remaining hole of the opening round, which was halted by darkness, Stallings, a 23-year-old rookie, went out and played the best golf of his life.

He made eight birdies and an eagle in a flawless round that was never threatened by a bogey. The three-foot putt Stallings holed for eagle after a gorgeous 5-iron from 200 yards at the 14th hole was nearly matched at the par-5 18th.

"You don't want to leave a 6-footer, straight up the hill for eagle, short, right in the jaws," said a slightly frustrated Stallings. "I just fell in love with the line and forgot to hit it. I really had no idea where I was. The first time I looked at the leader board was the last hole."

Stallings is playing in only his second Nationwide Tour event. His first was last year's Knoxville Open in his hometown, where he received a sponsor's invitation and missed the cut.

"It's such a transition going from college to professional," said Stallings, who won seven times while at Tennessee Tech. "I've had some good rounds in a row but nothing like this. I didn't have any of those 50- or 60-foot putts for birdie. A couple of times I hit away from the flag and just two-putted."

Atwal pulled out of Wednesday's pro-am with a bad back, didn't have a practice round and didn't even know if he was going to start the tournament.

"I showed up Thursday and took a lot of pain-killers," said the Calcutta, India, native.

Atwal, No. 34 on the money list, started at the 10th hole and got away to a slow start with pars at the first four holes. Three birdies in a row on holes 14-16, and another three in a row at holes 18-2 had him 6 under for the day before closing with six consecutive birdies and a back nine of 28.

"I honestly thought I was 8 or 9 under, I had no idea," said Atwal. "My caddie said I had a chance at 59 and I hit it to a foot at the eighth. On the last I hit it right at the flag," he said of the 166 yard 7-iron to four feet, which he holed for his 12-under 60.

Lunde started his round birdie, bogey before stringing together five consecutive birdies on hole Nos. 4-8. A hybrid from 238 yards on the final hole to five feet capped his round with an eagle but the highlight came at No. 12.

"I made a bomb at 12 -- I couldn't even start to tell you how long it was, probably 90 feet, so things were going my way," said Lunde, who won the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitation with a score of 5-under 279. "There you're doing everything you could to make pars. Here you're doing all you can to make birdies. It's two completely different styles of golf."

Gillis is starting to find his groove again after contracting a staph infection on his way back from the British Open, where he finished tied for 58th earlier this year. His bogey-free round featured a stretch of eight birdies in 11 holes and the former European Tour veteran is feeling more comfortable with his game.

"I was nervous all last week, even in the qualifier," said Gillis, referring to his tie for 13th at the WNB Golf Classic after a first round 66. "I guess I haven't been there in a while and I didn't have a lot to draw on. It was a lot of work but I don't feel that way this week."

Gillis hasn't been able to work out and doesn't have as much stamina as he usually would, so he hasn't practiced as much.

"When you're not prepared as well as you think, your expectation level goes down," he explained. "Then you free yourself up. You can twist yourself in knots on that practice range. We've all done it."

Simpson will sleep on the lead with only one thought in his head.

"I've just got to keep going low."

Pretty simple, really.

Second-Round News & Notes: Garrett Willis, who suffered a foot injury, and Ewan Porter withdrew before the start of the second round. ... Peter Tomasulo (67) scored a double eagle at the par-5 18th hole, the first on the Nationwide Tour this year and the third in tournament history (Nathan Green-2005, Edward Loar-2007). Tomasulo used a 19-degree hybrid club for the 239-yard shot. ... Michael Boyd (69), who played in the final group at last week's Midland CC, made a hole-in-one at the 188-yard 17th hole. It was only the second ace in tournament history (Matt Kuchar, 2006) and the 25th on Tour this year. ... Michael Putnam (62) and Jeff Brehaut (63) both made two eagles at the fourth and 14th holes. ... Chad Ginn (64) started at hole No. 1 with six consecutive birdies, tying Luke List (2006) with the most consecutive birdies in tournament history. ... 13 players shot nine-hole scores of 31 or better on Friday. ... Marc Leishman (66), last week's winner, rallied with 31 on his final nine holes to make the cut by one stroke. ... Adam Mitchell (68), who was a semifinalist at the U.S. Amateur this year, holed an 8-foot putt on the final hole to make the cut, which came at 6-under 138 with 67 players advancing to the weekend. It was the lowest cut this year. ... After beginning the tournament with a double bogey, Bobby Clampett (67), playing on a sponsor's invitation, is 9 under par, tied for 22nd. ... The second-round scoring average was 69.525. ... Hole No. 12 was the most difficult hole of the day averaging 4.220. ... Both the forst and the 10th tees will be used to start Saturday's round beginning at 10:10 a.m. with the leaders teeing off at 12:05 p.m.