The Daily Wrap-up, Round 2: Northern Trust Open
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- With darkness rapidly descending, Scott McCarron saw enough of the 18th green from 211 yards away to realize it would be one of the tougher shots he faced Friday. The way his week is going, it turned into another birdie.
McCarron aimed his 5-wood toward the bleachers and watched it fade beautiful back toward the flag to about 10 feet, a final birdie in his round of 3-under 68 that gave him a two-shot lead over Steve Stricker and Tommy Armour III in the Northern Trust Open.
"I usually do my best work at night," McCarron said.
Phil Mickelson will need to do better on the weekend if he wants to successfully defend his title at Riviera. He was nine shots worse than his opening-round 63, but it was easy to see the upside after a 72 put him in the group only three behind.
"This is the first time I'm in contention heading into the weekend, and I'm excited about it," Mickelson said.
The last two groups finished in the dark, including two players whose PGA TOUR debuts turned into short ones.
Ryo Ishikawa, the 17-year-old sensation from Japan, had a 71 to finish at 2-over 144 and miss the cut by three shots. Vincent Johnson, playing on the Charlie Sifford Exemption, bogeyed his last hole for a 74 to also finish three shots below the cut line.
"The reason why I missed the cut was I didn't hit the shots I should have," Ishikawa said. "Of course, pressure and nerves had something to do with it."
• To read the remainder of this story, click here.
STRICKER SHAKES OFF HOPE LOSS WITH ANOTHER COMEBACK
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
LOS ANGELES -- In retrospect, Steve Stricker probably should have taken the week off.
He had no business playing at the FBR Open. Not after shooting 77 on Sunday at the 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer. Not when those shocking triple and quadruple bogeys that cost him a shot at the title were so fresh.
"That one stuck with me," Stricker acknowledged. "Mentally, I wasn't in it, down in the dumps. It just felt like I threw a tournament away with a real good opportunity to win. It's hard, but I've had to pick myself up a number of times out here on TOUR, so I'm used to it.'
Spoken like a true Comeback Player of the Year. A man who's won it twice, in fact. So after he almost predictably missed the cut in Phoenix that week, Stricker went home to Wisconsin to heal.
"You just need to go on, you need to move on, and just try to keep doing what you know how to do," Stricker said. "And for me, that's just: keep working at it and keep trying to get better and try to get myself in that position again."
Mission accomplished, then. Here it is barely a month after his meltdown in Palm Springs and Stricker is high up the leaderboard at the midway point of the Northern Trust Open, thanks to a 5-under 66 at Riviera on a sun-kissed Friday at the $6.3 million event.
• To read the remainder of this story, click here.
| Friday's Best |
|
The par-5 first hole at Riviera was the easiest with a Friday scoring average of 4.264.
The par-4 second hole at Riviera was toughest with a Friday scoring average of 4.313.
|
Scott McCarron nearly holed a 67-foot putt -- that went around a bunker in the middle of the green -- on the par-3 sixth hole. 
Only one player had a lower score than Steve Stricker's 66, which featured four birdies and an eagle to move him into contention heading to the weekend. | QUOTE OF THE DAY | ||
|
INSIDE THE ROPES WITH THE PGA TOUR NETWORK
PGA TOUR Network correspondent Fred Albers offers these observations from Friday's action. Listen to PGA TOUR Live coverage on XM 146/SIRIUS 209 or right here at PGATOUR.com.
Tommy Armour III would have fit right into his grandfather's era of golf 80 years ago. The original Tommy Armour, the Silver Scot, won tournaments facing Walter Hagen during the Roaring Twenties. Armour III brings a little bit of Hollywood with him wherever he plays. He has several friends who are stars of film and television and is spending nights with them in the Hollywood Hills. However, since Armour III is 8 under and in contention, he says he makes sure the entertainment portion of the evening ends by 10:30.
Scott McCarron is caught in a vortex of Bruins this week. The UCLA graduate is followed by a phalanx of Bruin fans and Thursday night he attended the ULCA-Washington basketball game. McCarron says the support inspires his play. So does a magical putter. McCarron had 21 puts in his opening-round 64 and 26 putts in Friday's round of 68.
K.J. Choi has gone graphite. He has placed Matrix graphite shafts in his irons and says he has great touch with them. The numbers support that claim. Choi has hit 27 of 36 greens at Riviera. Maybe he should also go graphite in his putter. Choi has taken a pedestrian 58 putts in two rounds. Nonetheless, he's 7 under. Choi says his stroke is fine, but that he's having trouble reading breaks on the greens.
| What the top finishers said... | ||||||||||||||||
|
| Read full interview transcripts | ||||
|
| Live Essentials | ||||
|
SECOND-ROUND NOTEBOOK: NORTHERN TRUST OPEN
By John Bush, PGA TOUR Staff
LOS ANGELES -- The cut came at 1-under 141 with 75 players advancing to the weekend.
• Local favorite Scott McCarron, one of five former UCLA golf standouts honored at Thursday night's hoops contest between the host Bruins and the visiting Washington Huskies, moved into the outright lead of the Northern Trust Open with a 3-under 68 on Friday. At 10-under 132, he holds a two-stroke lead over Steve Stricker (66) and Tommy Armour III (67).
• McCarron is making his 14th start at the Northern Trust Open, with a runner-up effort in 2002 his best showing. This represents the fifth 36-hole lead/co-lead of his career. His finishes in the prior four events include a victory at the 2001 BellSouth Classic, a tie for fourth at the 1997 Freeport-McDermott Classic, a tie for 32nd at the 2005 BellSouth Classic and a tie for 35th at the 1996 Kemper Open.
• The second-round leader/co-leader has gone on to win two of six events so far this season, including Geoff Ogilvy at the Mercedes-Benz Championship and Pat Perez at the 90-hole 50th Bob Hope Classic presented by Arnold Palmer.
• To read the remainder of this story, click here.
Shop your favorite brand name golf equipment and accessories at SHOP.PGATOUR.COM
FAN ZONE
PGATOUR.com is part of the Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network