The Daily Wrap-up, Round 2: BMW Championship

LEMONT, Ill. (AP) -- Matt Kuchar was feeling terrible and playing even worse. He managed to hold himself together long enough Friday to salvage a 1-over 72 and share the lead with Charlie Wi in the BMW Championship.

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Round 2 scores
Live Report
Transcripts
Scorecard: Kuchar
Scorecard: Wi
Round 3 Tee Times
Round 2 Notebook
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Second-round coverage

IN THE MOMENT: If Charlie Wi gets impatient this week, all he has to do is look at his pin sheet to remind himself of two simple lessons. Story NO COMPLAINTS: While others voiced their opinions on Cog Hill's tough conditions, Marc Leishman didn't find much to complain about after Friday's round. Story FEDEXCUP WRAP-UP: Take a look at the latest FedExCup projections after the second round at Cog Hill. Story AILING KUCHAR: The doctors don't know exactly what's wrong with Kuchar. The sick golfer isn't letting his illness stop him at Cog Hill, though. Story

Kuchar made four bogeys through eight holes to tumble down the leaderboard, then rallied with five birdies over his last 10 holes to catch Wi, who played in the morning and shot a 69.

They were at 6-under 136 and had a one-shot lead over Marc Leishman of Australia, whose 65 was the best of the day on a Cog Hill course that was getting a steady stream of criticism.

Tiger Woods, the defending champion and a five-time winner at Cog Hill, was resigned to the fact that the greens were not pure. He didn't make very many putts, threw in a double bogey for the second straight day and shot a 72, leaving him in a tie for 40th, nine shots behind.

It was the first time Woods opened with consecutive rounds over par at Cog Hill since he was an 18-year-old amateur.

"I made nothing today," he said. "I hit the ball a hell of a lot better than my score indicates."

The only score that matters -- along with the number on his card -- is his rank in the FedExCup standings. Woods is No. 51 and needs to finish around fifth at Cog Hill week to qualify for THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola in two weeks.

Kuchar already has reservations at East Lake. He is No. 1 in the standings having won the playoff opener, and it doesn't hurt that he's tied for the lead going into the weekend.

How much longer he lasts remains the question.

Kuchar, who first thought he had laryngitis, isn't sure whether he has a viral or bacterial infection. All he knows is that he barely had enough strength to stay upright in warm afternoon temperatures, much less concentrate on the shot at hand.

"I was as weak as I could be," Kuchar said. "I tried for the four or five seconds over the ball to flip the switch on and really give it what I had, and go back to walking around without a whole lot of energy."

Updated standings

The third event in the 2010 PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup is under way. To see the latest FedExCup points projections, click here.

His rally began with a birdie on the ninth hole, and it really took off on the par-3 12th with a 30-foot birdie putt. That was the start of five consecutive one-putt greens -- four birdies, and a stout par on the 14th when he got up-and-down from a sidehill lie outside the bunker.

"That kind of made me feet a little better again, seeing the putt go in," Kuchar said of the birdie on No. 12. "I knew that some good things would happen if I could just kind of hang in there the best I could."

Wi refused to let one blunder ruin his day. He reached 8 under for the tournament until hooking a 3-wood on the 16th hole into a hazard, failing to reach the green and three-putting for triple bogey when he finally did. He bounced back with a birdie on the next hole.

Wi is No. 37 in the standings and is closer than ever to his first TOUR Championship, which comes with a spot in three of the majors.

"For me to play well, I knew that I had to stay in the present and just play one hole at a time," he said. "Actually, I wrote that down on my pin sheet every day so I look at it if I were to get ahead of myself."

A trio of Englishmen -- Ian Poulter (72), Paul Casey (69) and Luke Donald (70) -- were among those at 4-under 138, a group that also included Dustin Johnson (70) and two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen (71).

A year ago, the 36-hole leaders were at 7-under 135, and Woods went on to win by eight shots at 19-under par. A score like that seems unlikely on greens that are inconsistent because of summer heat and recent rain.

But it's not just the greens.

Phil Mickelson, who shot a 71 and was at 1-over 143, has done little to hide his disdain of the Rees Jones makeover, and at one point Friday suggested that "I'm not good enough to play this course."

It wasn't just the players who were struggling. Donald had trouble going at some pins after seeing one make a deep pitch mark and spin back, and another shot bounce and release.

"The only thing I found tricky out there really was the greens," he said. "They were a little bit inconsistent. with the firmness. Some were soft, some were kind of bouncing on, and it was hard to guess which way it was going to go."

Woods at the moment is going nowhere.

He started the round in a tie for 45th, shot 72 and moved up five positions. Even so, he'll need the kind of weekend he had a year ago at Cog Hill -- 62-68 -- to have much of a chance.

Kuchar, meanwhile, was headed home for bed for an early start. Because NBC Sports has an obligation to Notre Dame football, the leaders will tee off Saturday at 9:15 a.m.

Notables at the BMW Championship

Name Score Position Comment Saturday Tee Times Hunter Mahan 3 under T9 Mahan jumped 18 spots on the leaderboard in the second round thanks to his four-birdie round at Cog Hill. 9:55 a.m. ET Camilo Villegas 2 under T13 He won this event and THE TOUR Championship two years ago, so he knows how to turn it on in the Playoffs. 9:25 a.m. ET David Toms Even T23 Toms' card didn't have many pars on Friday -- he made six bogeys and five birdies in Round 2. 8:55 a.m. ET Justin Leonard 1 over T27 Leonard is T2 for the week in total birdies and is 10th in hitting the green in regulation at Cog Hill. 8:55 a.m. ET Phil Mickelson 1 over T27 If not for a double bogey on the final hole, Mickelson would be inside the top 20 heading into the weeked. 8:45 a.m. ET

Friday's Best

EASIEST HOLE TOUGHEST HOLE The par-5 15th hole was the easiest with a Friday scoring average of 4.771. EAGLES: 0 BIRDIES: 29 PARS: 32 BOGEYS: 6 OTHERS: 3 The par-4 18th hole was the toughest with a Friday scoring average of 4.386. EAGLES: 0 BIRDIES: 3 PARS: 41 BOGEYS: 22 OTHERS: 4