HP Byron Nelson, Round 2
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By PGATOUR.COM Staff
LATE-DAY ACTION (6:30 p.m.): There was all sorts of movement on the leaderboard as the second round of the HP Byron Nelson Championship neared conclusion. John Mallinger is in with a 65 with birdies on each of his final four holes to match the second-best score of the day to get a share of the 36-hole lead with Rory Sabbatini, who shared the day's lowest number at 64.
Others, however, are made moves of their own. Dustin Johnson had four birdies and an eagle, with just one bogey, as he also shot 65 to join a group of five players one shot off the lead. Overnight leaders Ken Duke and James Nitties remain in the mix, too.
We're only 36 holes into this year's event, but it's already starting to look like a lot of previous editions. In 26 previous HP Byron Nelsons at the Four Seasons, 11 of them have gone to playoffs. -- Brian Wacker
EARLY START SATURDAY (6:05 p.m.): With thunderstorms being forecast for tomorrow in the Dallas area, Saturday's tee times have been moved up. Players will go off in threesomes off split tees from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. tomorrow.
Last week, third-round play was held up for 5 hours by thunderstorms at the Valero Texas Open. -- Brian Wacker
MALLINGER MAKES EAGLE, AGAIN (5:55 p.m.): Another week, another John Mallinger sighting near the top of the leaderboard. Two weeks after tying for third at THE PLAYERS Championship, Mallinger is in the mix after making his second eagle of the day a little while ago.
After holing out for eagle from a greenside bunker on the par-5 seventh, Mallinger reached the 535-yard, par-5 16th in two before rolling in a 16-footer for his second eagle of the day. Mallinger's also added three birdies (and three bogeys) and is now 4 under on the day and 7 under for the week, one of five players one off Rory Sabbatini's lead as the second round winds down. -- Brian Wacker
GRINDING TO A HALT (5:30 p.m.): At one point or another, the chances of Anthony Kim and Ian Poulter making the cut this week were looking pretty good. Then came the par-4 12th hole. Kim made triple bogey, Poulter double and as a result both men are now on the outside looking in on the cut line.
There's still enough time for both players, but getting wild on the 452-yard 12th could prove costly.
Let's start with Poulter, who found the fairway bunker on the right with his tee shot, before catching the lips while trying to get out. That sent his shot careening to the right, where his third shot caught a tree branch, knocking it down in the fairway. When he did find the green, it took two putts to get home from just inside 24 feet.
Kim, meanwhile, nuked his drive left, resulting in a re-tee. His third shot found the fairway, but his next one sailed left of the green. On in 5, and 30 feet from the hole, Kim took two putts to get his 7. Since then, though, he made a birdie two holes later to get back to even for the week and now within one of the cut. -- Brian Wacker
| Sip of Maginnes | |
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CUT CHECK II (4:45 p.m.): With conditions favorable for scoring and some low numbers being put up in the afternoon, the cut line has dipped to 1 under. That means that Mike Weir, who opened with a 66 but is 4 over through his first 12 holes, is in danger of missing the cut.
Others flirting with missing the weekend include Ian Poulter, who is right on the number with an even-par round going through 10 holes. Anthony Kim is also about to drop to even par -- or worse -- after getting in trouble on the par-4 12th. Stay tuned, guys making the cut is going to be tight. -- Brian Wacker
ODDS AND ENDS (4:17 p.m.): New Zealand's Danny Lee (69-67) is on track to make his second cut in three PGA TOUR starts as a professional. Lee finished T38 at the Quail Hollow Championship after missing the cut in his first start as a professional at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. ...
1987 HP Byron Nelson Championship winner and 2009 President's Cup U.S. team captain Fred Couples is in contention again AFTER ROUNDS OF 69-66. Couples will turn 50 and become eligible for the Champions Tour in early October, but continues to show he still belongs on the PGA TOUR. Currently No. 76 on the FedExCup points list, Couples posted season-best T3 efforts at the Northern Trust Open and the Shell Houston Open. ...
Houston resident Jeff Maggert birdied 5 of his last 10 holes today to record his fifth round of 66 this season. Maggert's low round this year is 64 in the first round of last week's Valero Texas Open. -- Mark Williams
JESPER'S LESSON (4 p.m.): Jesper Parnevik, who won this tournament in 2000 and is 5 under through two rounds and in contention heading to the weekend, is regaining some confidence after a lesson from Vijay Singh earlier this week.
Singh told the Swede he "looked like he was swinging underwater and not ripping through it." Parnevik has used the advice with good results.
"I've been feeling like my speed has slowed down a lot since my hip surgery," said Parnevik, who had hip surgery late in 2000 after winning twice that year.
Parnevik's best finish this season is a tie for 42nd at the Buick Invitational, while his low round this season is an 11-under 61 in the fourth round of the 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer, where he missed the cut in the five-round event. -- Mark Williams
MORE RORY (3:40 p.m.): Rory Sabbatini's 6-under 64 today was his lowest round of the year. It also comes on the heels of consecutive missed cuts at the Quail Hollow Championship and THE PLAYERS Championship, though he had a season-best tie for second at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans the week before that.
Should Sabbatini's lead hold up, it would mark the fifth time in his career he led or co-led through 36 holes. Below is a look at his four previous positions when carrying a lead into the weekend. -- Mark Williams
| Sabbatini when leading or sharing the lead after 36 holes | ||||||||||||||||||
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SABBATINI STRIKES (3:20 p.m.): The biggest shot of Rory Sabbatini's 6-under 64 today? Certainly the run of four straight birdies over his last six holes helped, but a huge par save on the par-4 third, might have been the biggest of them all.
After Sabbatini hit his tee shot in the water right of the tee on the 502-yard hole, he was staring double bogey in the face, that is until he hit his next shot into a greenside bunker, where he holed out from for a par.
Add all that up and Sabbatini is in position to get his first win in 2 years.
"I was playing very well, and I just got sick during Wachovia and lost a lot of energy, and I think just made a bad choice of playing while I was sick," Sabbatini said. "I think a few bad things crept into my swing that week and it carried over into the following week. But luckily I've kind of worked that out a little bit, and getting back on track."
It doesn't hurt to be staying at home this week, either, or that Sabbatini finally seems to be settling into his new TaylorMade equipment after parting ways with Adams and Nike before that.
"As much as we all travel, it's nice to have a home week," Sabbatini said. "You've got your family, friends, your pets, your own bed. It just seems a little more relaxing.
"Obviously I'm loving my new equipment, the new driver is working great. I just couldn't hope for anything more. It just seems like it's an opportunity that came about a year and a half too late." -- Brian Wacker
Below is a look at Sabbatini's scorecard from today:
DRISCOLL'S DAY (3:05 p.m.): James Driscoll is going to need some new hats. He's been wearing the same one for a couple of weeks in a row now, and it's taken a bit of a beating, but that's the life of a conditionally exempt player.
Driscoll is in the field this week after a top-10 last week and he's doing a pretty good job of keeping the momentum going, even if he did finish bogey-bogey to fall one shot off the lead.
"A lot of things clicked last week," Driscoll told GOLF CHANNEL. "And they're continuing to click this week." -- Brian Wacker
CUT CHECK (2:47 p.m.): With some really now numbers being shot early this morning, and a host of other good scores, the cut line is at even par right now, meaning that defending champion Adam Scott won't get a chance to defend after finishing his first 36 holes at 2 over with a second straight 71 today.
This will mark Scott's sixth straight missed cut -- a first in his career on the PGA TOUR, where the most cuts he's missed in any one season prior to this year was four.
Bill Haas will also be heading home early. A week after tying for third at the Valero Texas Open, Haas shot rounds of 72-70. Native Texan Chad Campbell is also in danger of missing the cut -- though at 1 over and through just five holes today he has time to recover. -- Brian Wacker
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DAVIS' PATH (2:10 p.m.):
Davis is playing in next week's Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, where he's also scheduled to play in the Monday pro-am.
"I said I would stick to that commitment regardless of what happened," Davis said. "If I make it in through qualifying or top 50 in the world then I'll take it. I've been out here long enough now that you can't keep chasing qualifiers and tournaments when you're playing every week. My main concern right now is playing well on the PGA TOUR.
That said, the weather forecast looks dicey for the weekend in Dallas so who knows what will happen with the British Open qualifier and the Monday pro-am, but if all holds true to form , Davis, who tied for sixth at the Open Championship in 2003 at Royal St. George's, will stick to the pro-am, even if that ultimately means missing the Open for a second straight year.
"If I get there, I get there," Davis said. "Obviously I want to play the British Open, so I will try and -- I think AT&T and John Deere have top-5 finishers get in, so if I can do that, it would be great. Or if I finish top 50 in the world by the cutoff point, which would be great." -- Brian Wacker
DRISCOLL DROPS AN EAGLE (1:20 p.m.): James Driscoll is doing plenty to show that his runner-up last week in San Antonio was anything but a fluke. He's yet to make a bogey today and just holed out for eagle on No. 12 from 170 yards. That brings him to 6 under for the day through 12 holes and 9 under for the tournament, which he now leads (for now anyway).
Driscoll isn't alone, however. Rory Sabbatini is in the clubhouse with an 8-under 64. Brian Davis is right there, too, with a 65 today, and Justin Leonard is 7 under on his round, having birdied 8 of his last 12 holes. He won't break the course record of 61, but his score today will keep him around for the weekend after a 75 yesterday. -- Brian Wacker
SABBATINI MAKING A CHARGE (1 p.m.): Rory Sabbatini has had his share of top 20s this season -- six of them to be exact, including a tie for second in New Orleans -- but he's doing his best to take it one step further and win for the first time this season.
Sabbatini is 6 under through his first 16 holes today and now atop the leaderboard at 8 under after making birdie on his last four holes.
Always a good ballstriker, Sabbatini has been pretty accurate today, especially on those last four holes with every birdie coming from inside 14 feet. With a game as good as Sabbatini's can be at times, it's hard to believe his last victory came at the 2007 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. -- Brian Wacker
LEADING MEN (12:45 P.M.): Overnight co-leader Ken Duke won't tee off for nearly 2 hours, while fellow overnight co-leader James Nitties is nearing the completion of his round and still tied atop the leaderboard, but history does not bode well for either man. Only seven times in the last 55 years has the first-round leader/co-leader gone on to win this tournament. The last time it happened was in 1993 when Scott Hoch went on to victory. -- Brian Wacker
TIGHT AT THE TOP (12:20 P.M.): Since the HP Byron Nelson Championship moved to the Las Colinas area in 1983, a broad spectrum of winners have emerged.
There have been the superstar winners -- Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia. And there have been the big surprises -- Neal Lancaster, Robert Damron, Ted Purdy, each of whom counts the HP Byron Nelson as the lone wins of their PGA TOUR careers.
So it's folly this early in the second round to predict who'll be raising the championship trophy on Sunday. But the one thing you can expect? A close finish.
In the 26 years since the tournament moved from Preston Trail in Dallas to the Las Colinas area, the HP Byron Nelson has produced 11 playoffs. In fact, there have been two three-year stretches in which the winner was decided by a playoff each time.
On another eight occasions, the winner won by a single stroke.
Plainly, there are no runaway winners at the HP Byron Nelson -- which is odd given that in the very first TOUR event back in 1944, when it debuted as the Dallas Open, the now-tournament's namesake Byron Nelson won by 12 strokes at Lakewood Country Club.
Since then, things obviously have tightened up. -- Mike McAllister
| Close finishes | ||||||||||
| The winner's margin of victory in the 26 years at Las Colinas | ||||||||||
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NEW LEADERS (11:55 a.m.): The low round of the day -- at least for now -- belongs to Brian Davis, who is 4 under through his first 14 holes and is now tied atop the leaderboard at 6 under with James Driscoll.
Starting his day on the back nine, Davis opened with a birdie before three-putting from just inside 5 feet on the 12th hole, where he made double bogey. That didn't faze Davis, however, as he's since added five birdies, including on each of his last two holes.
Davis, twice a runner-up in his career on the PGA TOUR, got off to a slow start this season with three missed cuts in his first four tournaments, but he's been playing much better of late with two top-20 finishes in his last three tournaments.
Can he keep it going this week? So far, so good. You can follow Davis live with Shot Tracker by clicking here. -- Brian Wacker
EARLY LEADERBOARD UPDATE (11:35 a.m.): James Driscoll has hit just one fairway so far, but with rough not much of a factor this week he's been able to recover, hitting 5 of 6 greens in regulation on his way to a couple of early birdies through his first six holes.
That's moved Driscoll into a share of the lead for the moment, but he has some interesting company right behind him, most notably Jesper Parnevik, who is 1 under through his first 13 holes and 4 under for the tournament.
Parnevik is coming off a week in which he and his caddie, Lance Ten Broeck, made history by becoming the first group to play and caddie in the same tournament with Ten Broeck looping for Parnevik before filling out the field as an alternate.
There were no bets between the two last week, and at best mild ribbing, but something seems to have lit a fire under Parnevik, who has just one finish in the top 50 this season. Given how tough the course is playing so far, you have to figure Parnevik's round will hold up pretty well by day's end. -- Brian Wacker
DRISCOLL IN THE HUNT (11:20 a.m.): The early part of James Driscoll's career was a classic case of too many cooks in the kitchen. The uber-talented All-American from the University of Virginia had a big game and big expectations placed on him. He had the perfect pedigree with one amateur success after another in his native New England, but when he turned pro he couldn't figure out which way was up and he bounced from one instructor to another. All that's changed recently, however, and Driscoll may finally be realizing his enormous talent at age 31.
"I've only taken probably three or four lessons in the last two years," Driscoll said. "I've learned a lot of things from the Stack and Tilt guys, and they helped me a lot, but then I think I overdid some stuff and kind of got sideways with it."
Driscoll is anything but sideways these days. He came up short in a playoff last week in San Antonio, but is in the mix again this week, 1 under through four holes today and 4 under for the tournament, one shot off the lead.
Driscoll said he's taken what he's learned from the Stack and Tilt philosophy, sifted through it himself and has come up with his own variation. In a day and age when there are more swing coaches, mental gurus and fitness experts than ever before, it seems in Driscoll's case, less is actually more. -- Brian Wacker
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