Buick Open: Round 2 notes

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Jun. 27, 2008

• Today's weather was partly cloudy and hot with a high temperature of 87 degrees. Winds were SSW 5-10 mph.

• In anticipation of overnight and morning thunderstorms, third-round play will be in threesomes off the 1st and 10th tees. Tee times will run from approximately 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

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Shamus/Getty Images
Bo Van Pelt is one round closer to his first PGA TOUR victory.

Robert Damron (77) was disqualified when he failed to show up for his 8:12 a.m. tee time. Jesper Parnevik (74) withdrew during the second round due to a wrist injury.

• A total of 85 players made the 36-hole cut, which came at 3-under-par 141. This is the third consecutive year the cut has been at 141. This is also the 14th straight year that the 36-hole cut has been under-par at Warwick Hills. This is the most players to make the cut at the Buick Open since 88 advanced to weekend play in 1996.

• Of the 85 players who made the cut, only seven posted above-par scores in round two.

• This week's cut also matches the lowest cut on TOUR this year -- 3-under (137) at last week's Travelers Championship.

Jim Furyk is a perfect 14-for-14 in cuts made at this event. The 2003 champion posted scores of 68-72 to make the cut. Furyk's second-round even-par 72 ends his consecutive sub-par streak at 38 rounds. The last time Furyk didn't break par at Warwick Hills came in the third round in 1997, when he shot a 75. That 3-over score is the only above-par round Furyk has shot in this event -- 54 total rounds. Between 1994 and 1997 Furyk shot even-par 72s four times. Furyk is currently tied for 46th. In his last nine starts here dating back to 1999, Furyk has finished T9, T16, T2, T10, 1st, T6, T6, 2nd and T5 (last year).

Tom Byrum (67-69 -- 136/T13) advanced to the weekend for the 16th time in his career at the Buick Open. Byrum first played in this event in 1986, when he finished tied for 57th. He has now made the cut in 16 of his 20 starts. Bryum's 16 cuts made ties him with Lanny Wadkins for third place on the all-time list. Jeff Sluman leads the way with 20, followed by John Cook with 19.

Brian Bateman became only the fourth Buick Open champion to miss the cut the following year. Bateman posted rounds of 76-74 -- 150 and missed the 36-hole cut by nine shots. He joins 1983 winner Wayne Levi, 1988 winner Scott Verplank and 1998 winner Billy Mayfair in the defending champion-missed cut category. Dan Forsman, winner in 1992, withdrew after the opening round in 1993.

Bo Van Pelt has posted his career-best opening 36-hole score on the PGA TOUR. Van Pelt is at 14-under 130 after rounds of 64-66. The Indiana native's previous best was a 132 total, which he shot twice before at the 2002 Greater Milwaukee Open (64-68/10-under) and the 2008 Puerto Rico Open (64-68/ 12-under).

• This is just the third time that Bo Van Pelt has held/shared the 36-hole in a PGA TOUR event. He did so at the 2006 Wachovia Championship after shooting rounds of 64 and 70 and went on to tie for sixth. At the 2008 Puerto Rico Open, Van Pelt opened with 64 and 68, led by one, then followed up with 71 and 72 to tie for second.

• Bo Van Pelt's opening score of 130 is the second-best on the PGA TOUR thus far this year. K.J. Choi posted a 129 to begin the Sony Open in Hawaii. Choi's total, though, was just 11-under par, compared to Van Pelt at 14-under. In fact, Van Pelt's 14-under score is the lowest in relation to par for any opening 36 holes in 2008.

• The Buick Open record for the lowest opening 36-hole score is 128, set by Robert Wrenn (65-63) in 1987. Wrenn went on to shoot scores of 67-67 on the weekend and won by seven shots over Mt. Pleasant's Dan Pohl.

• Bo Van Pelt's 130 score is the best opening 36-hole score in this event since 2002 when Tiger Woods shot rounds of 67-63 and led by four strokes. Woods went on to win the tournament. Kenny Perry also had a 130 total in 2001 (66-64), held a three-shot lead at the halfway mark and also went on to win.

Daniel Chopra's 132 total (65-67) matches the best opening 36-hole score of his PGA TOUR career. Chopra previously posted an opening 132 score (-10) at the 2006 Cialis Western Open.

• It's pretty much all-or-nothing for Dudley Hart in the Buick Open. Hart had made the cut in seven of his previous 14 starts in this tournament. Of his seven cuts made, Hart has seven top-25 finishes, six top-20 finishes, five top-15 finishes and three top-10 finishes. His best finish came last year with a fifth-place effort. Hart (64-68 -- 132) is currently tied for second, two shots back of leader Bo Van Pelt.

• Australian rookie Matt Jones had a pair of eagles en route to his career-best round, a 9-under-par 63. Only two players this year have shot 10-under scores -- Jim McGovern and Boo Weekley, both at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Jones' late afternoon surge put him at 11-under for the tournament and tied for fourth heading to Saturday's third round. Jones made his first nine cuts of the year and was as high as No. 34 on the FedExCup points list at one point. Jones had missed six straight cuts and seven of his last eight and has dropped to No. 103 on the points list.

Todd Demsey is in position for the best tournament of his career. The 36-year-old Arizona resident has posted scores of 68-67 and was tied for fifth when he finished his morning round. When the day ended, he was tied for eighth. Demsey has struggled this year, making only two cuts in 11 starts and stands No. 235 on the money list with just $23,890. Demsey, currently No. 751 in the Official World Golf Ranking, has only one top-25 finish in his 46 career PGA TOUR starts -- tied for 24th at the 1997 Greater Vancouver Open.

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Serota/Getty Images
Jim Furyk still has a perfect record at the Buick Open.

• Former British Open champion Todd Hamilton (70-66) is also in position for a solid weekend. Hamilton is currently tied for 13th heading into Saturday's third round. Hamilton has made nine of 16 cuts this year and is No. 142 on the money list. His last top-10 finish was a tie for 10th at the 2006 John Deere Classic.

Larry Mize, winner of the 1993 Buick Open, saw his consecutive cut streak in this event end at nine in a row. Mize carded rounds of 72-71 -- 143 and will not be around for the weekend. Mize made the cut in 1993, 94, 95, 97, 99, 2000, 01, 04 and 05.

• Kenny Perry has run his consecutive cut streak at the Buick Open to 12 in a row. The 2001 champion has posted rounds of 69-67 -- 136 and is tied for 13th after 36 holes.

Fred Funk saw his consecutive cut streak in this event end at 14 in a row. Funk shot scores of 68-75 and will miss the weekend for the first time since 1991 when he withdrew after the first round.

Woody Austin carded the best birdie-eagle streak on the PGA TOUR this year when he went 6-under par on a five-hole stretch (birdie-birdie-birdie-birdie-eagle) starting at No. 12. Austin, winner of the 1995 Buick Open, shot a 6-under 30 on the back nine to begin his day. He had nine straight pars before his first bogey of the week on the final hole for a 67. He is at 11-under par and tied for fourth.

• Woody Austin is 11-under par after 36 holes and has played Nos. 12-16 in 10-under par. Austin went birdie-birdie-birdie-birdie-par in Thursday's opening round. He then went birdie-birdie-birdie-birdie-eagle on the same holes today.

John Rollins matched his season-best round today with an 8-under-par 64. Rollins also shot a 64 (6-under) in the second round of last week's Travelers Championship, where he tied for 52nd. In relation to par, this was Rollins' best round since he shot a final-round, 8-under 63 at the 2007 FBR Open. Rollins was 1-over for his first six holes but closed with nine birdies over the final 12 holes for his 64.

• Here is how former Buick Open champions have fared the first two days in this event:

Year won Player Scores Position
1988 Scott Verplank 68-72-140 T48
1992 Dan Forsman 71-70-141 T67
1993 Larry Mize 72-71-143 MC
1995 Woody Austin 66-67-133 T4
1996 Justin Leonard 71-68-139 T38
1998 Billy Mayfair 69-70-139 T38
1999 Tom Pernice, Jr. 74-68-142 MC
2000 Rocco Mediate 71-69-140 T48
2001 Kenny Perry 69-67-136 T13
2003 Jim Furyk 68-72-140 T48
2007 Brian Bateman 76-74-150 MC

• Eagles on par-4s are not uncommon, but Friday's second round saw plenty -- seven in all. There were three on the 340-yard, 12th hole -- only one eagle was recorded there in 2007. Kyle Thompson, Kent Jones and Matthew Jones had eagles there today. There were four on the 322-yard, 14th hole -- four were recorded there in 2007. Chris Riley, David Lutterus, Matt Harmon and Nick Watney had eagles today. Harmon, a Monday qualifier this week, hit his tee shot to 5'5" and canned the short putt for a two. Of the 26 eagles made thus far, 16 have been on the quartet of par-5s (61.53 percent).

• Best rounds of the day: 63 by Matt Jones, 64 by John Rollins, 65 by Jimmy Walker and Charlie Wi.

• Players who are bogey-free for the opening 36 holes: Bo Van Pelt (14-under), Dudley Hart (12-under), Chris DiMarco (6-under).

• Largest 36-hole comebacks in Buick Open history:

Year Player Deficit Winning Margin
1997 Vijay Singh 9 strokes Won by 4
1980 Peter Jacobsen 8 strokes Won by 1
1984 Denis Watson 7 strokes Won by 1

• Five of the last nine 36-hole leaders/co-leaders have gone on to win the Buick Open, with the last to do so being Vijay Singh in 2005. In the 49-year history of the Buick Open, the 36-hole leader has gone on to claim the title 14 times.

• On the PGA TOUR this year, 12 of 27 second-round leaders/co-leaders have gone on to win in stroke-play events, including the past two weeks -- Tiger Woods at the U.S. Open and Stewart Cink at the Travelers Championship.

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