Thompson, Chappell share halway lead at Cox Classic
By Joe Chemycz, PGA TOUR staff
OMAHA, Neb. -- Kyle Thompson and Kevin Chappell share the halfway lead at the Cox Classic, an annual birdie fest that traditionally produces some of the lowest scores of the year. The pair stand 14-under par after two rounds at the Champions Run course but have very little breathing room heading into the weekend.
Thompson posted a 6-under 65 early Friday to set the target score, which Chappell matched late in the day with his second consecutive 7-under 64.
Veteran Bob May equaled his career-best with a 63 to get to 12-under 130, where he is joined by first-round, co-leader Steven Bowditch (67).
David Mathis (64), Monday qualifier A.J. Elgert (64) and Australia's Scott Gardiner (67) are tied for fifth, three back of the co-leaders. Nine more players are tied at 10-under 132.
The 36-hole cut came at a tournament-record 6-under 136, leaving the entire field bunched within eight shots of the leaders.
"It was very similar to yesterday," said Thompson, who carded an 8-under 63 Thursday to share the lead with Bowditch. "It was extremely stress-free. I felt completely comfortable both days in my skin. I never felt antsy or jumpy, those feelings you get when you're in the lead and that was pretty reassuring to know that."
Thompson canned four birdie putts on the front nine to make the turn at 12 under.
"I had to play some mental games with myself because I know how low everybody shoots here," he said. "Just because you shoot 8 under the first day you sit back and play conservative. I know it's going to be mid-20s that wins this thing, maybe higher. I kind of convinced myself that I was three shots back going into the back nine. That was my way of keeping the pedal to the metal instead of getting tentative and tight."
Thompson birdied the reachable par-5 10th hole but then reeled off four straight pars before finishing birdie-bogey-eagle-bogey.
"I'm pretty content with where I am," he said after his round. "I'll probably be a couple of shots back at the end of the day, you never know."
It turned out that Chappell, winner of the Fresh Express Classic at TPC Stonebrae earlier this year, was the only one able to catch him despite benign scoring conditions.
The former NCAA Champion from UCLA was even par for the day through eight holes before an adjustment in his putting setup resulted in five birdies and an eagle coming in.
"At this point you have to keep doing your own thing and put yourself in position," said Chappell, who got his run started with a 12-foot eagle putt on the short par-4 9th. "I tried to give myself opportunities and see where that put me at the end of the day."
May, 41, also made a change this week, getting his longtime caddie Mark Jiminez on the bag.
"I was having a hard time reading the greens," said May, who worked with Jiminez during much of time on the PGA TOUR. "Mark has read putts for me for years and he could pull clubs for me at times. That might be it, just that little bit more of confidence that I need."
May needed a boost after shooting 4 under at the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic three weeks ago and missing the cut and then shooting 5 under the following week at the Chiquita Classic and also missing the cut.
"It hasn't been a great year," said May, who has made the cut in half of his 14 starts and is No. 102 on the money list. "I've hit the ball well, I just haven't scored well. I don't know what was missing and maybe Mark is just another assurance out there. Hopefully we can keep it going."
Second-Round Notes:
• J.J. Killeen (73) withdrew prior to the start of the second round to return to Texas, where his wife is due with the couple's first child. Brian Smock withdrew during the round due to illness.
• May matched his career-low score today with a 63:
1999 -- Las Vegas Invitational, 1st round
1999 -- Las Vegas Invitational, 3rd round
2007 -- Frys.com Open benefiting Shriners' Children's Hospital, 1st round
2008 -- Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open, 1st round
• The 36-hole cut came at 6-under par 136, the lowest in the tournament's 15-year history. The previous low cut of 5-under had occurred four times: 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2009.
• This is the third time in the past four weeks that the 36-hole cut has been at 6-under par. The Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic and the Chiquita Classic also had 6-under par cuts. Last week's Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational had a cut of 1-over par.
• 24 of the top 25 money winners teed it up this week and 14 of them -- including 9 of the top 11 -- will be around for the weekend. Only No. 21 Steve Pate was missing from the original lineup. Brian Smock, No. 24, withdrew during the second round. The highest ranked players who are headed home for the weekend are No. 3 Chris Kirk and No. 6 D.J. Brigman, winner of last week's Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational.
• Jason Gore, 2005 champion, moved into contention with a 5-under 66 to reach 9-under par. Gore has made a combined 18 starts on the PGA TOUR (9 starts) and the Nationwide Tour (9 starts) this year with 9 cuts made and no top-25 finishes. His best effort is a T42 at the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic three weeks ago. For the year, he has earned a combined total of $71,632.
• Rookie James Hahn (63) and Mathis (64) were paired together and posted nearly identical scorecards. They both opened with an eagle at the par-5 10th hole and matched birdies at Nos. 17, 4 and 8 before closing with eagles at the short par-4 9th hole. Mathis rolled in an eagle putt from 35 feet and Hahn topped him with his own from 25 feet. The only difference was a birdie by Hahn at No. 15. Mathis is at 11-under 131 and Hahn stands at 10-under 132.
• Hahn matched his career/season low score with a 63 today. Hahn also shot a 63 in the opening round of the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic, where he finished T4. Hahn is No. 18 on the season money list.
• Monday qualifier A.J. Elgert posted nine birdies en route to a 7-under 64 and his 11-under total. Elgert, 28, lives in Lincoln, Neb., and is a graduate of Kansas State University. He won a mini-tour event in Aberdeen, S.D., last week, repeating his title from 2009.
• Amateur Morgan Hoffman bogeyed his final hole today for a 4-under 67 and a 10-under 132 total. Hoffman, who will be a junior at Oklahoma State University, finished T9 in last week's Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational in Columbus, Ohio, one year after tying for eighth in the same event. Hoffman played in this year's U.S. Open at Pebble Beach but missed the cut. He was a Walker Cup team member in 2009 and a Second Team All-America selection.
• Best rounds of the day:
63 -- May, Hahn, Ryan Armour
64 -- Mathis, Alistair Presnell, Scott Stallings, Ron Whittaker, Elgert, Jamie Lovemark, Nick Rousey, Ron Whittaker, Fernando Mechereffe
• Tjaart van der Walt (68-67-- 135) and Tom Byrum (69-68 -- 137) both played bogey-free through the first two days. Byrum, though, did not make the 36-hole cut.
• Armour's 63 today matched his career-low round on the Nationwide Tour. Armour also posted 63s at the 2006 Price Cutter Charity Championship and the 2009 BMW Charity Pro-Am.
• The 315-yard par-4 9th hole gave up nine eagles today after yielding only two in Thursday's opener. Those making eagle-2s today: James Hahn, David Mathis, Kevin Chappell, Brendan Steele, Jon Petersen, Scott Gutschewski, Jhonattan Vegas, Daniel Barbetti and Jeff Brehaut.
• Jess Daley opened with a 6-under 29 on the front side today and made the turn at 3 under. He played the back in 1-over 37 and failed to make the cut.
• Brady Schnell posted a front-nine score of 6-under 29 today. Schnell started play on the back and was 1 over for the day when he made the turn. He finished with a 5-under 66 but missed the cut by four strokes.
• Chris Kirk, No. 3 on the money list, shot a 1-over 72 today and finished at 5-under 137. Kirk was cruising along at 9 under through 10 holes but suffered back-to-back triple bogeys at Nos. 11 and 12 to drop to 3 under. He rallied with consecutive birdies on three of his next five holes. A bogey at the closing 18th dropped him to 5 under and he missed the cut by one stroke.
• Bubba Dickerson closed with seven birdies in his last 10 holes for a 5-under 66. Dickerson finished at 7-under 135.
• Leading money-winner Lovemark rebounded from an opening 1-over 72 with a 7-under 64 today. Lovemark birdied the final hole to reach 6-under 136 and make the cut on the number.
• Three past winners of this event teed it up this week -- 2002 champion Jay Delsing (69-72/MC), 2005 champion Jason Gore (67-66/T17) and 2008 champion Ryan Hietala (67-72/MC).
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