Day 2: Ready for the Open?
By T.J. Auclair, PGATOUR.COM Interactive Producer
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Aside from the fabulous all-around game that earned the legendary Lee Trevino five major championship wins, the Merry Mex is known for his priceless one-liners.
Like this beauty: "There are two things that won't last long in this world, and that's dogs chasing cars and pros putting for pars."
That adage usually doesn't apply at the majors, where, even more than dogs, par becomes man's best friend. And that adage won't apply at THE PLAYERS Championship this weekend either.
With the wind whipping and the sun beating down on an already firm and fast TPC Sawgrass, par might be gold on Saturday and Sunday. Just ask two-time PLAYERS winner, Fred Couples.
"Tomorrow it's going to be brutal, and Sunday it'll be borderline U.S. Open-like," said Couples, who was 2 under after 36 holes and four shots off the lead. "I don't know about ridiculous, because you can play the course, but you're not used to U.S. Open-type conditions on this course, and you're going to get it now."
If that's the case, what can we expect? Of the top 12 players on the leaderboard, just Couples and Bernhard Langer (5 under) have majors on their resume. And none of their wins have come at the U.S. Open.
Kenny Perry will lead the pack into the weekend at 6 under and could very well be a serious threat to win if the weekend does indeed becomes a par-battle. Unlike most, Perry has avoided the rollercoaster round in the first two days. The 47-year-old Kentucky native has been steady from the word go, recording a mere two bogeys through the first 36 holes -- one in each round.
While he isn't a major champion, Perry came close at the 1996 PGA Championship at Valhalla in his home state, losing in a playoff to Mark Brooks. Furthermore, Perry has won on three of the best/most-challenging courses on the PGA TOUR schedule -- Colonial, Muirfield Village and Bay Hill. He clearly knows how to handle big-name tracks.
Perry is also one of the more experienced players at the top. This is his 20th appearance at THE PLAYERS, and his best finish was a tie for third in 2003.
In fact, experience will play a big factor if we get U.S. Open conditions. As the 50-year-old Langer said shortly after his impressive 5-under 67 on Friday: "It's the type of golf course where it doesn't hurt to have played it a bunch."
With Perry, Langer and Couples all in the mix, it kinda gets you thinking about another elder statesman on the PGA TOUR -- Fred Funk, who at age 48 became the oldest player ever to win THE PLAYERS in 2005.
It certainly got Perry thinking about Funk, who's now 51 and still battling at TPC Sawgrass (although he failed to make the cut Friday).
"I went to Fred Funk's on Wednesday night to the Bible study and I got a good look at his trophy," Perry said. "That guy inspired me. He's something else, that little guy. ... If I can somehow fight that wind and pick the correct shot, it's going to be fun this weekend."
Fun for the pros usually doesn't involve a lengthy string of pars. But this weekend, pros putting for pars will go a long way.
As for the dogs? Keep 'em on a leash.
ROUND OF THE DAY: Bernhard Langer's 5-under-par 67. The man is 50 years old, and there he was on Friday afternoon playing like he was half his age. Langer jump-started his incredible round with an eagle on the par-5 second hole after stuffing a three-wood approach from 250 yards to within 10 feet of the hole.
After that, Langer -- a two-time Masters winner whose best finish at THE PLAYERS was runner-up in 1993 and 1995 -- rallied for six birdies, including a monster on No. 17. He had just three bogeys.
SHOT OF THE DAY I: Robert Garrigus' hole-in-one at the 164-yard, par-3 13th hole.
"That was one of the highlights of the week for me," Garrigus said. "We're standing on the tee box waiting for the group in front of us. I was talking about trying to chuck stuff in the garbage I'm not really paying attention, get up, slapped an 8-iron right at it, and it ended up going in. It was kind of a shock, didn't expect it to go in. It was my first one on the PGA TOUR and couldn't have happened at a better place. It was [hole-in-one] No. 9 for me. I've had a bunch go in in my life, but none cooler than that one."
Unfortunately for Garrigus, he won't be playing on the weekend after rounds of 79 and 76 put him at 11-over.
SHOT OF THE DAY II: Bernhard Langer's birdie putt on the par-3 17th hole. As Nick Faldo noted, the 59-foot, 9-inch putt was, "Langer than most," a play on words of Gary Koch's famous call of a putt made by Tiger Woods in 2001 on his way to a win. That incredible putt, Koch famously said, was, "Better than most," as it twisted and trickled toward the hole. Langer's putt was pretty much straight ... and absolutely perfect. It even brought a rare show of emotion from the stoic German.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Daddy's full of it. Daddy wasn't never there. I mean, he was there, but like he said, I read a bunch of (Ben) Hogan books. I read two Hogan books and they were my neighbors'. ... I do watch a little more golf but I mean, that ain't nothing -- if I'm laying around the house at night getting ready to fall asleep, I'll flip over and see what's on, but I ain't going to sit there and just watch it (golf)." -- Boo Weekley, as only he can describe, when asked about a recent story in Sports Illustrated during the Masters where his father suggested Boo knows a lot more about golf than he lets on.
| 2 | The most eagles so far this week by one player -- Bernhard Langer. |
| 37.7 | The average age of the players in the top 10 spots on the leaderboard. |
| 62,10 | The distance in feet and inches of the round's longest putt -- by Boo Weekley. |
LOOKING AHEAD: Three points to ponder going into Saturday's third round:
• Defending champion Phil Mickelson will start the third round trailing by five shots. With par being a premium at TPC Sawgrass this week, five shots isn't all that much ground to make up. Despite the difficulty of the course, Mickelson hasn't had that one low round yet that you typically expect him to shoot. Is a score in the mid-60s out there? Not likely, but if anyone can do it, it's Mickelson. Plus, he's trying to become the first player to successfully defend his title here. A little added incentive.
• Lurking four shots behind leader Kenny Perry is 2006 PLAYERS champion Stephen Ames. His 2008 season hasn't been great, but it hasn't been bad either. He's missed the cut just once in 10 starts and his best finish was sole third in the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship. The Canadian (by way of Trinidad and Tobago) has been a factor in major championships over the last few years -- see his three top-25s last year. That experience, along with having won at TPC Sawgrass recently, should make him one of the favorites on the weekend despite the four-shot deficit.
• Anthony Kim's win last week at the Wachovia Championship shouldn't have come as a big surprise. He'd been knocking on the door quite regularly and the win was simply inevitable. Kim has ridden that momentum beautifully into THE PLAYERS and will start the weekend just two shots off the lead. He made a statement in the third round last week with a 66 to pull away from the field. He's made the cut in six of 10 starts this season and takes "moving day" -- the name used for Saturday on the PGA TOUR -- quite literally. None of those six rounds have been over par and only one (a 70 at The Honda Classic) wasn't in the 60s. Look out for Kim.
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