Northern Trust Open: Round 2 notebook
By Doug Milne, PGA TOUR Staff
Saturday: The second round resumed at 9 a.m. (90-minute delay from the original projection of a 7:30 a.m. start). A total of 41 players had to complete their second rounds on Saturday, but four players withdrew before play resumed: Scott Piercy, Daniel Chopra, Stephen Ames and Ben Crane.
• The second round was completed at 10:49 a.m. The third round began at 11:10 a.m.
• The cut was 81 players at 144 (2 over).
• Friday: Rickie Fowler, Alex Prugh and Brett Lederer all made par on the 18th hole after resuming play at 8 a.m. to complete the first round. The second round began as scheduled. Chris Couch withdrew during the second round due to a recurring shoulder injury. Jesper Parnevik and Rocco Mediate withdrew due to back injuries.
• The second round was suspended at 5:02 p.m. due to darkness. A total of 41 players were to return at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday to complete the second round.
Thursday: The first round was suspended due to darkness with three players remaining on the course with one hole to play: Rickie Fowler, Alex Prugh and Brett Lederer.
• Dustin Johnson (11 under) leads Steve Stricker by one shot. This is the first time that Johnson has held a PGA TOUR lead after 36 holes, and this is only the second time in his career that he has been held an outright lead after 18, 36 or 54 holes (solo lead after 54 holes at the 2009 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, which he won as the tournament was shortened to 54 holes due to weather).
• Johnson, the first-round leader, had two holes to play on Saturday morning to complete his second round. Johnson made par on No. 17 and then made birdie from the back fringe on No. 18, chipping in from 45 feet, 3 inches. Johnson was one of only six players to birdie No. 18 in Round 2.
• Johnson's ace on Friday during the second round (No. 6, 8 iron from 152 yards) was the 34that the Northern Trust Open since 1979 (when hole-in-one records began). If Johnson goes on to win the tournament, he would join TC Chen (1987) and Gil Morgan (1983) as Northern Trust Open champions who made an ace the year that they won the event. Johnson's ace on Friday was the second hole-in-one of his PGA TOUR career (2008 Crowne Plaza Invitational).
• If Johnson were to go on to win, he would be the youngest winner of the tournament at 25 years, 7 months and 16 days since Pat Fitzsimmons won in 1975 at 24 years, 2 months, 8 days. Adam Scott was also 24 when he won in 2005, but the tournament was shortened to 36 holes due to weather so the win is not considered official.
• Johnson is one of six players from the United States under 30 with multiple PGA TOUR victories - J.B. Holmes, D.J. Trahan, Sean O'Hair, Anthony Kim, Nick Watney.
• There has not been a wire-to-wire winner on the PGA TOUR yet this season.
• Steve Stricker, No. 3 in the Official World Golf Ranking and runner-up to Phil Mickelson at last year's Northern Trust Open, followed up an opening-round 67 (-4) with a six-under-par 65 in the rainy second round and was the clubhouse leader at 132 (-10) until Johnson finished his second round on Saturday morning. The 65 (-6) is Stricker's lowest round in seven starts and 22 rounds at the Northern Trust Open, bettering his 66 during the second round of last year's event.
• Stricker, who pitched in for eagle on the first hole and for birdie on No. 12 during Round 1, holed two more shots from off the green during Round 2. Stricker chipped in for par on No. 10 (his first hole) and made a 58 feet 11 inch putt from off the 18th green (his ninth hole) for birdie. Stricker had only 22 putts today, compared to 26 on Thursday.
• Stricker is coming off the best season of his career, having captured three PGA TOUR events (Crowne Plaza Invitational, John Deere Classic, Deutsche Bank Championship); he is one of just nine players since 2000 to win three or more times in a season (Woods, Singh, Els, Love, Perry, Weir, Mickelson, Toms). Stricker is one of two players with top-10 finishes in the first two events of the season.
• Argentina's Andres Romero was one-under par for the day through 15 holes when play was called. He made birdie on No. 7 when play resumed and made par on No. 8-9 to finish with a 69 (-2). He currently stands in solo third at 134 (-8). A T3 at last year's Northern Trust Open was Romero's best finish on the PGA TOUR in 2009 and one of two top-10 finishes last year.
• England's Justin Rose fired a 67 (-4) in Round 2 to move into the top five heading into the weekend's play. Rose has not had much success at the Northern Trust Open; his best finish in five starts was a T39 in 2006. His 69-67 this week marks only the second time he has posted back-go-back, under-par rounds at the Northern Trust Open (2004).
• Rose, who has yet to win on the PGA TOUR, finished T12 at the Sony Open in Hawaii, missed the cut in the Bob Hope Classic and T22 at the Farmers Insurance Open so far this season.
• Rose is looking to become only the second Englishman (Nick Faldo, 1997) and fifth European to win the Northern Trust Open. Considering the event's 84-year history, there are relatively few winners from outside the United States (10 international players accounting for 14 wins):
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• Kevin Stadler shot an even-par 71 on Friday to remain at 6-under-par and is currently T4. After leading the field in greens in regulation during Round 1 with 16 of 18 greens hit, Stadler went 11 for 18 on Friday and made bogeys on two of the holes on which he missed the green (No. 4 and No. 15). Stadler is looking to match Bill Haas' win earlier this year at the Bob Hope Classic where Haas joined his father Jay Haas as the second father-son combo to win the same PGA TOUR event. Al and Brent Geiberger each won the Wyndham Championship. Stadler's father, Craig, won the Northern Trust Open in 1996.
• New Zealand's Tim Wilkinson is currently T4 (69-67), which should hold up as his best position after 36 holes of his three-year PGA TOUR career (T7 after 36 holes at the 2009 Verizon Heritage and the 2008 Zurich Classic of New Orleans; he finished third ant T6, respectively).
• Los Angeles native Anthony Kim, who is making his first PGA TOUR start of the season, moved up the leaderboard thanks to a 66 (-5) on Friday that included eight birdies and three bogeys. The 66 marks Kim's best round in eight attempts at the Northern Trust Open. Of his two starts at Riviera Country Club, Kim missed the cut in 2008 and finished T9 in 2007.
• Phil Mickelson is attempting to win the Northern Trust Open for the third consecutive year, which has never happened in the tournament's history or in Mickelson's career. Mickelson shot a 66 (-5) on Friday to move from a T83 after Round 1 to a T11 (currently). In 2008, Mickelson won the tournament after leading through 36 holes. In 2009, he was T4 after 36 holes.
• Besides the Northern Trust Open, there are four other tournaments Mickelson won two years in a row:
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• Alex Prugh, the leading rookie money-winner so far this season and ranked No. 16 in FedExCup points, carded a bogey-free round of 68. Prugh has two top-five finishes in California this year -- a fifth-place at the Bob Hope Classic and a T5 at the Farmers Insurance Open. Prugh is a collective 41-under par after 14 rounds this season.
• Of the morning tee times, 12 players posted rounds in the 60s: Steve Stricker (65); Anthony Kim (66); Phil Mickelson (66); Steve Marino (67); Kevin Na (67); Tim Wilkinson (67); Ben Curtis (68); Bryce Molder (68); Robert Allenby (68); Rich Beem (69); George McNeill (69); and Alex Prugh (69). In the afternoon, only one player finished with a round in the 60s before play was suspended players carded rounds in the 60s: Justin Rose (67).
• Several players had under-par rounds in progress when play was suspended: Dustin Johnson (-3 through 16); Ryuji Imada (-3 through 15); Jim Furyk (-2 through 16); Brendan Pappas (-2 through 14); Ryo Ishikawa (-2 through 13); Charlie Wi (-2 through 11); and the following were -1 for the day -- Steve Flesch (through 15); Richard S. Johnson (through 15); Troy Matteson (through 15); Andres Romero (through 15); Luke Donald (through 14); and JB Holmes (through 14).
• Northern Trust Open Exemption recipient Joshua Wooding missed the cut. Wooding was bogey free on Thursday until missing the green on No. 18 and failing to get up and down. The bad momentum continued in Round 2, as Wooding started bogey-bogey-bogey on holes 10-13 and never recovered.
• The Par 4 10th hole is one of the shortest par 4s on the PGA TOUR. Jack Nicklaus called this "one of the best 10th holes in major championship golf." A short hole but by no means easy, longer hitters can drive this green, but extreme accuracy is required.
| Four shortest par-4s on the PGA TOUR in 2009: | ||||||||||||||||||||
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• In the Round 2 of the Northern Trust Open, one of 22 players attempting to drive the green were able to land on the green with their first shot, compared to one of 44 during Round 1.
Friday scoring average going for the green -- 4.00
Friday scoring average laying up - 4.10
• There were only two birdies recorded at the 18th hole -- Ricky Barnes and Steve Stricker -- when play was suspended. The par-4 finishing hole played at 4.615.
• Chris Couch withdrew during the second round due to a recurring shoulder injury. Jesper Parnevik and Rocco Mediate withdrew due to back injuries.
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