Second round: Pettersson sets records, steals the show
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) -- Carl Pettersson supported moving the Wyndham Championship to Sedgefield Country Club. After a performance like this, it's easy to see why.
The local favorite produced the latest record-breaking round at Sedgefield, shooting a tournament-record 61 on Friday to match the PGA TOUR's 36-hole mark at 15-under 125.
He had a three-stroke lead over Garrett Willis (64). Scott McCarron (64) was four strokes back, and Kevin Streelman (64) was another shot behind. Jerry Kelly (65), Bob Sowards (66) and Tim Clark (67) were 9 under.
But, clearly, the day belonged to Pettersson -- a Swede who went to high school in Greensboro, played collegiately at North Carolina State and serves on the tournament's board of directors.
"This is like his retirement fund," defending champion Brandt Snedeker said. "He plays good here every year."
A year ago, while speaking at the Wyndham Championship's previous home, Pettersson voiced his support for the then-rumored switch to Sedgefield. He played the Donald Ross course for the first time in November, shortly before the move was made official.
Then he began this year's tournament with a 64 and admitted afterward that he was "a bit edgy starting out" because "this is a home game for me."
This time around, those jitters were long gone.
"The courses (on the PGA TOUR) have been set up hard, so it's a nice change to be really aggressive, and (Sedgefield) kind of suits my style," Pettersson said. "I try to play really aggressive all the time, and so far it's paid off great."
In matching the lowest single-round score on the PGA TOUR this year, he shot a 30 through his opening nine holes. Six of his 11 birdies came on the front nine, and he set the tone with birdies on the first three holes.
"As soon as I did that, my mind kind of set in and played nice all day," Pettersson said.
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| Friday's Best |
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The par-5, 547-yard 15th was the easiest with a Friday scoring
average of 4.367.
The par-4, 507-yard 18th was toughest with a Friday scoring average of 4.327.
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Jerry Kelly was 63 feet from the hole on the par-5 15th when he hit his third shot. It looked like it didn't want to go in until the last second, when it curved in through the back door. 
Carl Pettersson's 61. He birdied four of his first five, bogeyed the par-3 7th, then made two more birdies before the turn. He had five more on the back and a bogey at the par-5 15th. | QUOTE OF THE DAY | ||
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RECORD-BREAKING DAY
Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The thought did cross his mind. Briefly, that is.
"But then I was kind of laughing at myself," Carl Pettersson admitted. And when he proceeded to bogey the par-5 16th hole at Sedgefield on Friday, the Swede's fleeting chance at shooting 59 had all but evaporated.
Still, the 61 that Pettersson finally ended up with was pretty darn good -- breaking the course record by two strokes and giving him sole possession of the lead at the midway point of the Wyndham Championship.
Pettersson's two-day total of 15-under 125 also equals the lowest opening 36-hole score in PGA TOUR history. He made 11 birdies, including three in a row to kick things off, but two bogeys robbed him of a chance for the magical 59.
Even so, Pettersson was threatening to run away from the field and hide in the final event of the PGA TOUR Regular Season. Only three others -- Garrett Willis, Scott McCarron and Kevin Streelman -- join the two-time TOUR champ in double-digits under par.
"I was glad Carl ran out of holes," said Willis, who is three strokes back in second after shooting a second straight 64.
"Every time I looked at the board, I was trying to keep up closer," McCarron agreed. "After making birdie, I was still four behind. I'm happy to be within shouting distance."
Pettersson, who serves on the board of directors for the tournament and lives about 90 minutes away in Raleigh, N.C., has a substantial lead as the weekend begins. But the 30-year-old N.C. State product refused to get ahead of himself.
"Obviously, I'm pleased with the round, but we've still got 36 holes," he said. "There's such a long way to go. One shot can put an end to anything. So what I've learned over the years is to play the game and see what happens."
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| Pettersson's Scorecard: Birdies and bogeys | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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WOLFPACK ATTACK
N.C. State golf coach Richard Sykes was an interested spectator on Thursday afternoon and is expected back for the weekend as two of his former players try to win the Wyndham Championship. Carl Pettersson will start the third round with a three-stroke lead after a sizzling 61 in the second round left him at 15 under. His former roommate, Tim Clark, is among those players tied at 9 under.
"They're completely different," Sykes said, noting that Pettersson relies on power while Clark's strength is more strategic. "They both have got games that they learned a long time ago, and they haven't tinkered with them. ... If I could figure out (what makes them so good), I might be able to give it to somebody else."
Regardless of what happens this weekend, seeing both his former players in contention is very special for Sykes.
"I was telling somebody a while ago that I get to be around these kids in their formative years, and I listen to their dreams and their wants and what they hope they can do," he said. "And they to get a chance to live through it and to see them enjoying it, it makes my dreams come true."
EXTRA MOTIVATION
When U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Paul Azinger said he'd look hard at the winner of the Wyndham Championship as a potential pick for his team, players took notice.
Azinger engineered a change in the selection process designed to help ensure players at the top of their games make the U.S. Team. Eight were finalized after last week's PGA Championship, and he will complete the team with four picks on Sept. 2.
That's what makes this week at Sedgefield and the first two events of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup so important. And Scott McCarron, who is four shots off the lead at the midway point of the Wyndham Championship, took notice.
"For me, it's something to drive me," McCarron, who shot 64 Friday, said. "I think it's great for Captain Zinger to say something like that. He makes everyone on TOUR feel like they still have a chance, and I think that's a wonderful thing."
| What the leaders said... | ||||||||||||||||
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| Read full interview transcripts | |||||
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INSIDE THE ROPES WITH THE PGA TOUR NETWORK
XM Satellite Radio announcer Doug Bell offers these observations from Thursday's action. Listen to PGA TOUR Live coverage on XM 146 or right here at PGATOUR.COM.
Kevin Streelman has made 10 cuts in a row on the PGA TOUR and is in solid position heading into the weekend at the Wyndham Championship after a 66-64 start, leaving him in fourth place at 10-under par.
Coincidentally, his current hot streak started just a week after he got back from his honeymoon. His wife followed him every step of the way on Friday, and she was not alone. Streelman, a former Duke Blue Devil, had plenty of support in the gallery, and when he rolled in an eagle at the par-5 5th, it sounded like the Cameron Crazies from Krzyzewskiville ! The 29-year-old PGA TOUR rookie is feeling at home in Greensboro.
First-round leader Martin Laird showed again why golf is a gentleman's game. After finishing the par-4 18th, Laird notified his fellow competitors, Y.E. Yang and amateur Cameron Peck, that he forgot to to move his ball mark back to its original position before finishing the hole. Nobody realized the mental error, except Laird. The result of the two-shot penalty that he called on himself was a triple-bogey 7.
Speaking of Peck, the 17-year-old from Olympia, Wash., and winner of the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at Shoal Creek in Birmingham three weeks ago, is playing in his first PGA TOUR event. It's also the first event this summer he has played in long pants.
WHO ELSE HAS GONE LOW?
Carl Pettersson wasn't the first player this season to fire a score of 9-under par or better. Take a look at who else has performed this feat:
| Lowest rounds on PGA TOUR, 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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WITHDRAWALS
Brian Davis and 2004 Wyndham Championship winner Brent Geiberger both withdrew during the second round with illnesses. John Huston and Marco Dawson withdrew during the rain delay. Jeff Quinney was disqualified because he did not properly withdraw, and he did not turn in his scorecard.
Dawson and Huston's withdrawals were particularly notable. They were 144th and 149th, respectively, on the FedExCup points list. Had they stayed in the tournament and made the cut, they might have held onto their spots. Instead, they will probably be passed by a player behind them in the standings who did make the cut. Since only the top 144 players will play next week in the first leg of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, Dawson and Huston likely gave away any chance at making The Barclays.
THINGS TO WATCH ON SATURDAY
1. David Toms. Continuing the solid play that led him to tie for 15th at the PGA Championship last week, Toms advanced from a tie for 50th into the top 30 with a round of 67 on Friday. Will he make another move on Saturday?
2. Tim Clark. He will want to catch his fellow N.C. State alum Carl Pettersson at the top of the leaderboard. After two rounds, Clark is tied for fifth and in need of another round in the 60s. He's shot 64 and 67 so far.
3. Steve Marino. He tied for third two weeks ago at the RBC Canadian Open, his fourth top-10 finish of the year. Marino is in the top 15 -- tied for 12th, actually -- going into the third round in Greensboro. Is this his week to earn a victory?
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