Notebook: the Memorial tournament, Round 2
By Doug Milne, PGA TOUR Staff
Weather: Mostly sunny and cool in the morning with a low of 58 degrees. Sunny and warmer in the afternoon with temperatures in the mid 70s. Winds NNE 5-10 mph.
• 77 players made the 36-hole cut at 4-over 148.
• Jonathan Byrd bettered his opening-round 3-under 69 with a 4-under 68 in the morning wave of round two to take a share of the 36-hole lead at 7-under 137 with Jim Furyk. The pair lead Mike Weir and Mark Wilson by a stroke. Despite posting his score before first-round leader Luke Donald even teed off at 8-under, Byrd maintained a share of the lead.
• Byrd's 36-hole share of the lead here marks the eighth time he has held at least a share of the 36-hole lead. The only event he was able to convert into victory, however, was the 2004 B.C. Open.
• Byrd is making his seventh Memorial Tournament start, having missed the cut in five of his previous six attempts (T29/2003).
• Byrd has fired back-to-back rounds in the 60s through two rounds this week. Of his previous six starts he had only managed to post one round in the 60s (69/Rd. 2/2002).
• One of the primary keys to Jonathan Byrd's success this week is his accuracy off the tee. Headed into the week, he was ranked 63rd at finding fairways, translating to 63.8 percent. In round two this week, however, he hit an impressive 13 of 14, or 92.9 percent.
• So far, 2009 has treated Byrd with mixed results. He is 8 of 13 in cuts made, with his lone top-10 finish being a T5 at the Quail Hollow Championship.
• Byrd shares the 36-hole lead with 2002 Memorial Tournament champion Jim Furyk, who sank a 7' 11" birdie putt at the 18th to jump into the top spot with Byrd. This is Furyk's 14th Memorial Tournament start, dating back to 1995. He has never missed the cut here, with four top-10 finishes (1997--T2, 1998--T4, 2002--1, 2005 -- T8).
• Previously, Furyk has held at least a share of the 36-hole lead 14 times, but was only able to parlay two into victory, the 1996 United Airlines Hawaiian Open and the 2003 U.S. Open Championship
• True to form, Jim Furyk's accuracy no doubt played a key role to his 36-hole position. In round-one, he hit 12 of 14 fairways (85.7 percent) only to better that by hitting 13 of 14 fairways (92.9 percent)
• Jim Furyk is looking for his 14th PGA TOUR win and second Memorial title. Tournaments he has won more than once are the Las Vegas Invitational (1995, 1998, 1999) and the Canadian Open (2006, 2007).
• The second-round leader has gone on to win 12 times in the Memorial Tournament's history: Carl Pettersson (2006) Kenny Perry (2008, 2003, 1991), Tiger Woods (2000, 1999) Fred Couples (1998), Tom Lehman (1994), Hale Irwin (1985), Keith Fergus (1981), Tom Watson (1979), Jim Simons (1978).
• The second-round leader/co-leader has gone on to win 10 of 22 stroke-play events on TOUR this year, including the last two weeks (Rory Sabbatini at the HP Byron Nelson Championship and Steve Stricker at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial).
• Mike Weir matched his opening-round 3-under 69 in round one with another in round two to settle into a tie for third with Mark Wilson at 6-under 138.
• Weir, competing in his 10thMemorial Tournament, has enjoyed success at Muirfield with a fourth-place finish in 2000 and a third-place finish in 2003. His strongest showing as he searches for the top-spot, however, came with T2 honors last year.
• Should Weir go on to win, he would be the first left-handed player in the event's history to do so. He would also hold the distinction of being the only Canadian to win the event.
• Mark Wilson improved his position by posting a 2-under 70 to sit T3 at 6-under 138 with Mike Weir, He is competing in his third Memorial Tournament. In 2007, he finished T59 and in 2008 finished T30.
• First-round leader Luke Donald struggled to a 4-over 76. He currently sits at 4-under 140 in a tie for seventh. Among those he shares the eighth spot with is Jason Day, who also struggled in round two. Day followed his opening-round 5-under 67 with a disappointing 1-over 73.
• Tiger Woods struggled in round two with a 2-over 74. It was his highest score since shooting a 4-over 74 in round two of the 2007 British Open. Woods has finished out of the top 15 just once at the Memorial since 1999 (T22/2002).
• The hottest start of the morning wave in the second round belonged to PGA TOUR rookie Matt Bettencourt, who is playing on a sponsor's exemption. Bettencourt, who won twice on the Nationwide Tour in 2008, birdied four of his first eight holes before posting a 3-under 69 to share the fifth place with Ryuji Imada. The 2009 Memorial Tournament is Bettencourt's 17th career TOUR start. His best finish of the year is a T22 at the Quail Hollow Championship.
• Chris DiMarco is making the most of his sponsor exemption. Following an opening-round 1-over 73, he shot a 5-under 67 to put himself in good position at T7 heading into the weekend. DiMarco is competing in his eighth Memorial Tournament with a best finish being T24 in 2004.
• Charley Hoffman's even-par 72 in round two was good enough to make the cut, giving him 15 consecutive made cuts this year and 24 straight dating back to last year. He has not missed a cut since the 2008 John Deere Classic in July.
• Three-time Memorial champion Kenny Perry (72-73) recorded his 16th straight made cut at the Memorial, which ties him for second with Hale Irwin. Scott Hoch leads the list with 17 straight made cuts from 1981-97.
• Following an opening-round 3-under 69, amateur Reinier Saxton struggled to a 3-over 75 to sit at even-par through 36 holes in 33rd place. The 2008 British Amateur champion is seeking to post the best-ever finish by an amateur at the event (T51 by Luke Donald in 2000).
• Steve Marino (72) saw his consecutive rounds in the 60s streak snapped at nine on Friday. Through 36 holes, Marino sits at 4-under 140 and in a tie for seventh.
• Sean O'Hair withdrew after the first round due to a sore left forearm.
• Scott Piercy withdrew in the middle of his second round due to a wrist injury.
• Billy Andrade withdrew in the middle of his second round due to a rib injury.
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