Day 2: Perry, Goggin share lead at major-like track
DUBLIN, Ohio (AP) -- The first sign of hope at the Memorial Tournament presented by Morgan Stanley came from the scoreboard, which showed Mathew Goggin coming back to the pack after a blazing start. The second sign came from a gray sky that promised relief from a brutal test of golf.
Goggin birdied four of the first five holes before strapping in for a wild ride of birdies and bogeys that ultimately added up to an even-par 72 that tied him for the lead with two-time champion Kenny Perry, who recovered from a rugged start for a 71.
All those scores seemed so much lower on a Muirfield Village course that felt like a major with its ankle-deep rough that swallowed up errant shots and greens as slick as glass.
Only three players broke 70 on Friday, with Johnson Wagner turning in a remarkable 67. Twenty players couldn't break 80.
The U.S. Open starts in two weeks in San Diego, but Joe Ogilvie came up with an environmentally friendly plan. He suggested the second major be contested at Muirfield, so players wouldn't have to travel as far in their private jets.
"You'd save millions of pounds of carbon dioxide in the air, and golf would be a green sport again," Ogilvie said after a 75. "All they have to do is change out the pins, replace the rakes and take away press parking."
Goggin is the 36-hole leader for the first time on the PGA TOUR, and part of him wishes he had it alone. He was bogey-free through seven holes, but then made only two pars the rest of the way. Three straight bogeys preceded a birdie, and he followed that with a double bogey into the water at No. 12, then two more birdies.
"I had seven birdies today, so that was the same," Goggin said, alluding to his 65 in the opening round. "The five bogeys and a double, well, that was probably a negative."
Perry knows all about the latter. He faced the brunt of the wind, and it showed when he bogeyed three of his first five holes, slipping down the leaderboard with so many others. But on the par-5 15th, he hooked a 3-wood into the gallery -- a good place to miss because the pin was to the right -- then watched his chip from the hill tumble into the cup on its last turn for eagle.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
"It's a Tasmanian spelling is what it is. ...I don't know, it's just the way it's spelled. To be unique, maybe. I don't know. I think everyone else spells it wrong." -- Mathew Goggin, on why his first name only has one "T" instead of two
MUIRFIELD VILLAGE PLAYING LIKE A MAJOR VENUE
By Dave Shedloski, PGATOUR.com Senior Correspondent
DUBLIN, Ohio -- Long grass and long faces. Furrowed sand in the bunkers and furrowed brows. Fast greens and blue moods.
All they needed Friday for scoring conditions to become even more exacting at Muirfield Village Golf Club was a little bit of wind.
Whoops, they got that, too.
And what followed were some long-winded dissertations on major championship course setups, which Muirfield Village has unquestionably resembled for the first two rounds of the Memorial Tournament presented by Morgan Stanley.
Players have raved about the condition of the course designed by tournament founder and host Jack Nicklaus. The place is immaculate. But it also has plenty of teeth, and those teeth were sharpened Friday with gusting winds that made a treacherous track even trickier.
As the test has increased in difficulty, most of the PGA TOUR members have become more intimidated and impressed. A few have grumbled, but mostly those who were north of the first-round scoring average of 73.73, which is not far off the Memorial's historical first-round average of 73.479.
Scoring on Friday was ballooning over 75, but the wind was becoming a growing factor in scoring chances.
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HE LIKES THIS PLACE: Jim Furyk has made 12 straight cuts at the Memorial Tournament presented by Morgan Stanley. He's currently 1 over for the tournament.
Unfortunately, David Duval watched his consecutive-cuts streak end at 10 while Ernie Els would have made the weekend for the 15th straight time but missed the cut.
Furyk is one of nine former champions in the field and, of those nine, seven made the cut at Jack's tournament.
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LOOKING FOR LUCK: If you're superstitious, June 13, which falls on a Friday this year, could be considered unlucky. Not to Mathew Goggin, though, who turns 34 that day. He hopes to have a very special party that week.
"I'm looking for a birthday celebration at (the U.S. Open at) Torrey Pines. That's the week of my birthday," Goggin said. "But I'll take one here (at the Memorial Tournament) too."
But hold the candles and balloons for a second -- Goggin hasn't quite made it into the U.S. Open. He flies to Memphis, Tenn., on Sunday night for sectional qualifying.
Many of his PGA TOUR colleagues -- including Stuart Appleby, Chris DiMarco, Chad Campbell, David Duval, Lucas Glover, J.J. Henry, J.B. Holmes, Ryuji Imada, Davis Love III, Jeff Quinney and Mike Weir -- are sticking around Columbus, Ohio on Monday for their sectional qualifying. Why did Goggin decide to leave Columbus and make an early trip to Memphis instead?
"I got through Memphis last year, and got through the qualifier, so I know both the golf courses," said Goggin, who tied for 36th at the U.S. Open in 2007. "I didn't know one of the ones here and it got to the point where, even if I (got) in the Memorial Tournament, I want to concentrate on playing here and I don't want to be here and rushing off trying to look at two golf courses."
| 6 | Miles per hour, the average wind speed at the start of the day. |
| 25 | Miles per hour, which was how high the wind gusts reached in the afternoon. |
| 75.856 | Stroke average for Round 2, the highest average of the season. |
At the moment, he has a 5:50 p.m. flight on Sunday to head to Memphis, where he also plans to compete in the Stanford St. Jude Championship next week. Things might change a bit if he *knock on wood* wins the Memorial Tournament.
"I might not want to get on that (flight)," he said. "...It's one of those sort of things that, if you miss the flight, it's a good thing. But ideally I would like to get in some time Sunday night so I can play 36 on Monday."
AUSSIE, AUSSIE, AUSSIE: A quick glance at the top of the leaderboard reveals that a bunch of players from Down Under are in contention at the Memorial Tournament presented by Morgan Stanley.
Former U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy (from Adelaide, South Australia), who is off to an excellent start after rounds of 69 and 71, sits amongst the top-10 players. Then there's Rod Pampling (from Redcliffe, Queensland) who, despite being 2 over on Friday, is still in a tie for ninth.
And, of course, who could forget Mathew Goggin (from Hobart, Tasmania)? He's tied for the lead after two days and in contention for his first PGA TOUR victory.
"The greens are very similar to what we had back home. Speed-wise this is kind of like putting on Royal Melbourne," said Nick O'Hern (from Perth, Australia), who is tied for fifth at Muirfield Village. "Slopes are very similar and you need to position the ball in the fairway. It's not just about hitting fairways here. You still need to hit the right side of it to get the right angle."
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THINGS TO WATCH ON SATURDAY
1. Weather. Tee times were pushed back for the third round because weather was expected to roll through the area on Friday night into Saturday morning. Players will go off of both tees, starting at approximately 10:45 a.m. The leaders will tee off at 12:45 p.m.
2. Justin Rose. He's looking for his first PGA TOUR victory. If he were to win the Memorial Tournament presented by Morgan Stanley, he would be the first Englishman to do so.
3. Fred Couples. This is his 19th appearance in the event and has finished inside the top 10 six times out of his last 10 starts at Muirfield Village.
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