Baird gets plenty out of Friday's round, leads Zurich Classic

text size

AVONDALE, La. -- At first glance, Friday's scorecard looked pretty doggone spiffy. It wasn't the round of the day at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, but when you start one shot out of the lead and sign for a 3-under-par 69 at TPC Louisiana, what's there to sniff about?

Graythen/WireImage

Briny Baird is hoping for his first TOUR win this week.

Briny Baird

Through 36 holes

STATS Rnd1 Rnd2 TOT EAGLES 1 -- 1 BIRDIES 4 4 8 PARS 12 13 25 BOGEYS 1 1 2 DOUBLE BOGEYS -- -- 0 OTHER -- -- 0 DRIVING ACCURACY 79 64 71.4 DRIVING DISTANCE 246.0 280.5 263.3 PUTTS PER ROUND 26 29 27.5 PUTTS PER GIR 1.615 1.714 1.667 GREENS IN REG 72 78 75.0 SAND SAVES -- 100 100.0

Well, looks can be a little deceiving. Just ask Briny Baird, the author of the 69 in question and the leader at the halfway point of the $6.2 million event with an 8-under-par aggregate of 136.

"It's going to look like a solid round of golf,'' said Baird, 35, a veteran of eight seasons on the PGA TOUR. "But it didn't feel quite a good as the scorecard will make out.''

Not that Baird, who is still searching for that elusive first PGA TOUR victory, was complaining, mind you. It's just the perfectionist in him knew he got away with a nice number on a day when he wasn't at the top of his game.

"My swing felt a little loose at times,'' he said. "It didn't feel like a 3-under round. But it's better than sitting here saying I shot even and should have been 6-under. You can always find something to gripe about. But to get in at 3-under, I was very, very pleased.''

That's what good golfers do, isn't it? Make chicken salad out of rounds that feel like more like chicken spit. They do it by minimizing mistakes, by keeping their minds on their business and, most importantly, by making crucial 6- and 7-foot putts for par when approach shots go astray.

That was precisely the recipe for success Baird followed Friday on his way to the top of the leaderboard after 36 holes for the first time since October of 2005. Should he maintain his position Saturday it will be only the third time in 254 starts that he slept on the 54-hole lead.

So it wasn't a surprise that Baird was cautious in his mental approach to the weekend, saying it was way too early to entertain thoughts about anything more than his first tee shot Saturday. That's why he headed to the range after completiing his round to search for something that would produce more solid ball contact.

"I'll be looking for a swing thought,'' he said.

Baird shouldn't have to look too far based on his play last week in the Puerto Rico Open presented Banco Popular, where he tied for fourth, his best finish of a season that also includes a tie for 12th and a tie for 13th in nine starts. Toss in his 67 at the Zurich Classic on Thursday, highlighted by an eagle on the 490-yard, par-4 sixth, and it's easy to get the idea Baird can at least aspire to bigger and better things than three his runner-up finishes.

"You see guys win out here and typically it's a progression of good play,'' Baird said.

And sometimes they turn 72s into 69s like Baird did Friday.

"So maybe that was my bad round for the week,'' he said.

If it is, that's bad news for a tightly bunched leaderboard where only eight shots separate first from last after the 36-hole cut came at par 144. At the very least, Baird is positioned to make another serious run at his first title, something any professional worth his salt wants on his resume.

Speaking of which, there's that name.

"It's my nickname -- my real name's Michael,'' he said. "When I was 3 my mom read, 'The Winds of War'' by Herman Wouk, which has a character named Briny. She asked me if I'd rather be called Michael or Briny.''

Turns out selecting the moniker was a prescient decision, given Baird's other passion.

When he isn't working his day job he loves playing with his favorite toy, a 21-foot fishing boat he'll take out three times a week when he's at home in Jupiter, Fla. Fishing was on Baird's mind earlier this week. He had an all-day excursion planned for Monday in the fertile waters of Louisiana, known as the "Sportsman's Paradise." But bad weather and some travel snafus conspired against him wetting a line.

"That's my usual routine (in New Orleans) -- fish on Monday,'' he said. "It was bad weather and I couldn't get from Puerto Rico to here. So I had to get away from it. But that's usually what makes this tournament extra special to me. Fishing here is second-to-none if you like redfish.''

And he has no plans to make an attempt this weekend.

"I screwed that up,'' he said, laughing.

That doesn't mean he won't be in the mood to land a whopper of a different ilk though. And truth be told, a trophy and a winner's check for $1.116 million from the Zurich Classic would look much better than a sailfish mounted on his wall.