The Daily Wrap-up, Round 2: AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) -- Retief Goosen is sporting a new look at a tournament he has never played. After an 8-under 64 in the second round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, he's hopeful of seeing some old results.
Goosen hit a 3-iron to 8 feet for an eagle on the second hole at Pebble Beach, then picked up even more momentum by holing a 70-foot chip on the par-3 fifth green for birdie.
With short birdies on two of the last four holes, he was at 12-under 132 and had a two-shot lead over Dustin Johnson.
Goosen is wearing prescription sunglasses for the first time in his career, and the belly putter he tried out last week in San Diego is starting to take hold. Now if he can only get the results that made him part of the "Big Four" in golf as recently as four years ago.
"I'd like to turn my game around and play better," said Goosen, who has fallen to No. 42 in the world and not won on the PGA TOUR since the now-defunct International in Colorado four years ago.
Johnson built an early lead playing Spyglass Hill, with four birdies on his first six holes to reach 11 under. But he pulled his tee shot into the trees on the 325-yard 17th, hit a tree trying to chip out and took double bogey. He had to settle for a 69, leaving him at 10-under 134 as he heads to Poppy Hills and its five par 5s on Saturday.
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PLAYERS SEE PROS, CONS OF CHANGES TO PEBBLE BEACH
By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM Managing Editor
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- The incredibly picturesque Pebble Beach Golf Links course being played this week in the three-course rotation at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am will be the same one used for the 2010 U.S. Open.
Or will it?
Courses changes have already been made in preparation for next year's major. Four greens were rebuilt to USGA specifications. No less than 16 bunkers were added or rebuilt, including major changes at five holes (albeit with another one, No. 4, scheduled for this spring), while 11 tees also were overhauled or created.
Meanwhile, the golf course was lengthened by 166 yards, bringing it to 7,014 yards -- which still doesn't sound overwhelming considering that Torrey Pines was 500 yards longer last year, but at least allows Pebble Beach to break the 7,000-yard barrier.
But if you ask some of the pros, the course they see here this week in February will not exactly be the one they play next year in June. Consequently, they really don't expect to learn anything that they can apply 16 months from now.
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| Friday's Best |
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The par-5 second hole at Pebble Beach was the easiest with a Friday scoring average of 4.517.
The par-4 ninth at Spyglass Hill was toughest with a Friday scoring average of 4.367.
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J.B. Holmes nearly aced the par-3 17th with a 5-iron from 179 yards before tapping in for birdie. 
Retief Goosen had seven birdies and an eagle en route to the day's best score, an 8-under 64 at Pebble Beach. | QUOTE OF THE DAY | ||
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INSIDE THE ROPES WITH THE PGA TOUR NETWORK
PGA TOUR Network correspondent Mark Carnevale offers these observations from Friday's action. Listen to PGA TOUR Live coverage on XM 146/SIRIUS 209 or right here at PGATOUR.com.
Despite the second round falling on Friday the 13th, Retief Goosen was anything but spooked. He shot a blistering 64 at Pebble Beach, the low round of the tournament so far. One thing I can tell you is he is seeing things much better. As I followed him on Friday, I noticed he was wearing sunglasses, something I had never seen him do before. It must be working, because he has two eagles and twelve birdies through 36 holes. After his round, I asked him about his decision to wear the shades, and he said: "They're just a slight prescription." Clearly he's seeing things much better, so I'm heading to the optometrist as soon as I get back to Florida.
As this event progresses, it looks like veteran players will continue to have the upper hand. Among the top names on the leaderboard, only three first-year players are inside the top 26. Sorry young guys, but getting your first PGA TOUR victory during your rookie season is not likely to happen this week.
I have decided that the best job in the world has got to be the meteorologist for the local TV station here. Once again, after predicting cold temperatures and rain, it turned out to be a beautiful day on the Monterey Peninsula. So here is the deal: Like I did for round two, I'm saying conditions are going to be tough for those playing at Pebble Beach, because it will be cold and rainy. A little reverse psychology never hurt.
The third round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am means most of the celebrities will be at Pebble Beach Golf Links on Saturday. So please leave grandma at home, Bill Murray is back and who knows what might happen this year?
| What the top finishers said... | ||||||||||||
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SECOND-ROUND NOTEBOOK: AT&T PEBBLE BEACH NATIONAL PRO-AM
By Mark Stevens, PGA TOUR Staff
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- The first three rounds will be played with preferred lies.
• This is the seventh time that Goosen has led or shared the lead through two rounds. The last time was the 2005 TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. Of the six previous events, he has one victory.
• Both of Goosen's top-10 finishes last year on the PGA TOUR came at World Golf Championships events (a tie for second at the CA Championship and tie for fourth at the Bridgestone Invitational).
• Goosen's low round on the PGA TOUR is a 62 at the 2002 World Golf Championships-American Express Championship. His 64 on Friday matches his second-lowest round on TOUR, which he has done nine previous times.
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