Second round: Wet weather doesn't deter Duval, Palmer
PALM COAST, Fla. (AP) -- David Duval hasn't played in windy, wet conditions since the British Open this summer. Just like then, he managed to work himself into contention at the Ginn sur Merr Classic on Friday.
Winless in seven years, laboring at No. 233 on the money list and playing his final PGA TOUR event of the year, Duval put together a strong round of 3-under 69 at the Ginn Ocean Hammock Resort that left him only two shots behind Ryan Palmer going into the weekend.
Palmer missed only one green on the back nine for a 71, putting him at 6-under 138.
Robert Allenby, at No. 30 the highest-ranked player at this Fall Series event, had a 71 and was one shot out of the lead along with Peter Lonard (69), rookie Michael Letzig (74) and Ken Duke (69).
Duval, who has made only four cuts in his 19 starts on the PGA TOUR this year, had three birdies and an eagle during a six-hole stretch on the front nine, which he capped off by chipping in on the par-5 ninth. He recovered from a bogey on the 11th with a birdie at No. 14, and finished with his seventh round in the 60s in his last 10 rounds on TOUR.
His best finish this year was a tie for 22nd at the Viking Classic, but he really showed glimpses of form at Royal Birkdale. Duval was three shots out of the lead, until a rough start sent him to an 83 in the third round.
Maybe that's why he's not reading too much into his 36-hole start.
"I'm not thinking (about contending), not at this point," Duval said. "And I won't tomorrow. Those feelings come back when you get to the back nine Sunday and you have a chance."
He loves this kind of weather, though. It was blustery when he captured the British Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes in 2001, and it was the same at THE PLAYERS Championship and the Mercedes-Benz Championship at Kapalua, two of his victories in 1999.
"I've always enjoyed that kind of stuff," Duval said. "What it does is makes you pay attention to hitting the golf ball solidly and that's what's most important."
Even if he doesn't win, Duval can play next year through an exemption for career money.
Palmer is not that fortunate. He is 143rd on the money list, and only the top 125 keep their cards. The final TOUR event is next week at Disney, where Palmer earned his lone PGA TOUR victory.
"I'm trying not to get ahead of myself and trying to stay calm," Palmer said. "Hopefully, karma keeps going that way. If I keep my card, unbelievable ... awesome. What's keeping me calm and relaxed this week is that I'm not thinking about the money list."
Lonard and Allenby know something about windy weather from their roots in Australia, and that helped guide them through a day in which the scoring average was more than one shot higher than the opening round.
"This course is long, firm and bouncy, and any time you put Australians on courses that are firm and bouncy ... usually the Australians play well," Lonard said. "Windy conditions and bouncy conditions are right up our alley."
Allenby, who overcame a four-putt at the 18th green and a three-putt when he made the turn to the first green, said the course has turned out to be more difficult than the other five Fall Series venues that so far have yielded an average winning score of 18-under par.
The exception was Turning Stone, where Allenby finished one shot behind.
"There are a lot of difficult holes out there and with the wind blowing the way it is, it's going to dry up and get even tougher," he said.
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| Friday's Best |
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The par-5, 613-yard 13th was easiest with a Friday scoring average of 4.712.
The par-4, 467-yard second was toughest with a Friday scoring average of 4.515.
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David Duval showed us a little of that magic he used to win 13 times on TOUR when he chipped in for eagle on the par-5 ninth hole on Friday. 
Bob Estes' 5-under 67 was the low round of the day and moved him to 2-under par for the tournament. He rattled off four straight birdies from Nos. 15-18. | QUOTE OF THE DAY | ||
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GINN SUR MER CLASSIC: SECOND-ROUND NOTEBOOK
Mark Stevens, PGA TOUR Staff
PALM COAST, Fla. -- A total of five players did not finish their round as darkness settled in over the Conservatory Course, with play concluding at 6:56 p.m. Those players will be back in position on Saturday at 7:45 a.m. The list of players includes Martin Laird, Kenneth Ferrie, Rod Perry, Paul Claxton and Travis Perkins.
• The cut is projected to be at 2-over-par 146 when second-round play concludes Saturday morning.
• Ryan Palmer holds the lead after the second round at 6-under-par 138. Palmer, who is currently 143rd on the money list, has never led a PGA TOUR event after the second or third rounds. His lone TOUR victory came after a closing round 8-under 64 at the 2004 FUNAI Classic at Walt Disney World Resort. Palmer has held the first-round lead three different times on TOUR.
| 5 | The number of players who still have to finish their second round. |
| 7 | Years since Robert Allenby, the highest ranked player in the field, won on the PGA TOUR. |
| 16 | As in over par, which is where the defending champ Daniel Chopra ended up after two days. |
• Much has been written about the TOUR's Fall Series re-energizing the careers of players with world-class resumes. None would be bigger than if Jacksonville, Fla. native David Duval was able to notch his first win since the 2001 British Open. Duval, a former top-ranked player in the world, is two strokes off the lead at 4-under 140. Duval is tied for sixth with John Huston.
• Three of Duval's five cuts in 2008 have come in Fall Series events. Duval's best finish of the year was a tie for 22nd at the Viking Classic which was the first event of the Fall Series. He is currently 223rd on the money list.
• Other players that have re-energized their careers with wins in the Fall Series include Zach Johnson (2008 Valero Texas Open), Justin Leonard (2007 Valero Texas Open), Chad Campbell (2007 Viking Classic), Steve Flesch (2007 Turning Stone), Mike Weir (2007 Fry's Electronics) and Stephen Ames (2007 Children's Miracle Network Classic presented by Wal-Mart). Campbell, Weir and Leonard are three players who rode the momentum of their 2007 PGA TOUR Fall Series victories into spectacular 2008 seasons. Leonard went on to win at the 2008 Stanford St. Jude Championship and was teammates with Campbell on the victorious 2008 United States Ryder Cup team. Weir's successful 2008 season was capped off by a sixth-place finish in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.
INSIDE THE ROPES WITH THE PGA TOUR NETWORK
XM Satellite Radio announcer Mark Carnevale offers these observations from Friday's action. Listen to PGA TOUR Live coverage on XM 146 or right here at PGATOUR.COM.
As is the custom at other PGA TOUR events, tournament organizers have provided for an ad hoc RV park this week. Ten players have taken advantage of this opportunity, including Davis Love III, Paul Claxton, Omar Uresti, Troy Matteson, Marco Dawson and Grant Waite. Uresti's parents are also taking advantage of the hospitality along with David Duval's father, Bob and his wife Sherry. Not surprisingly, the RVs owned by the children outshine their parents' rides.
The green at the par-4 fourth hole provided some difficulty for players in round two. Charles Warren (123rd on the money list) came to the hole 1 over for the day and 4 over for the tournament. His third shot stopped 10 feet from the pin. He marked his ball and then replaced it, but the wind and slope took the ball back off the green so Warren had to play his fourth shot from short of the green. He eventually made a double bogey and finished with a total of 7-over 151 to miss the cut. On the same hole, Ryan Palmer, the second round leader, putted his ball off the green from about 70 feet downhill and downwind. He was able to get his ball up and down for bogey, though. The difficulty of the greens at the Conservatory will continue to be a factor throughout the rest of the tournament.
One stat that may help Palmer either win his second PGA TOUR event or at the least move inside the top 125 is his scrambling. Through two rounds, he has missed nine greens and has gotten it up and down all but once. He is tied for second in scrambling this week.
THINGS TO WATCH ON SATURDAY
1. The cut. Since there were still players on the course after the sun had set, the second round was suspended due to darkness. Therefore, the cut will not come until Saturday morning. Right now it's expected to fall at 2-over par.
2. Steve Marino. Someone's going to make a move on Saturday -- after all, it is moving day, right? -- and it might just be Marino. A few weeks ago at the Las Vegas event, good pal Marc Turnesa won and he pointed to Marino and said, "He's next". He's sitting at 1-under for the moment and shot a 1-under 71 on Friday with a double bogey on the card.
3. David Duval. He's 223rd on the Money List and has only made four cuts in 19 tries this year. But guess what? Duval, a 13-time PGA TOUR winner, is currently tied for sixth after a 3-under 69 on Friday.
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