Daily Wrap-up: Round 2, Mayakoba Golf Classic

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Feb. 24, 2012
By Staff and wire reports

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico -- Daniel Summerhays birdied the final hole Friday for a 6-under 65 and a share of the second-round lead with Will Claxton and Greg Owen in the wind-swept Mayakoba Golf Classic.

Rd. 2 Scores
Tee Times

Claxton, the first-round leader, shot a 68, and Owen had his second straight 67 to match Summerhays at 8-under 134 on the El Camaleon course.

Chris Stroud was a stroke back after a 66, and Robert Allenby, Kevin Stadler and Richard S. Johnson followed at 6 under. Allenby shot 67, Stadler 68, and Johnson 66.

Summerhays had seven birdies and a bogey. The 28-year-old former BYU player made only eight cuts in 29 PGA TOUR starts last season.

"I drove the ball perfectly, pretty much," Summerhays said. "I hit it really solid into the wind. It's a tough driving golf course."

He holed a 35-foot birdie putt on the par-4 second hole and hit to an inch on the par-3 third to set up another birdie.

"It kind of just set me at ease there," Summerhays said. "I'm looking forward to learning and just seeing how my emotions react. And that's the only way to become a champion, so I'm excited for the weekend."

Claxton, the 30-year-old former Auburn player making his fifth career start on the PGA TOUR, had four birdies and one bogey.

"The wind was a little gustier today, but I've just kind of had good control over my ball," Claxton said. "I certainly had a couple of good breaks here and there and putted the ball well. I'm just doing all the things you do when you're playing well."

Owen had five birdies and one bogey. The 40-year-old Englishman won the European Tour's 2003 British Masters.

"I played really well today," Owen said. "Tough conditions and drove it in most of the fairways and just kept plugging away and took some chances.

"It's been a bit of wandering around in the wilderness for a couple of years, so it's nice to see play is back and it's nice to see a few putts drop in."

Defending champion Johnson Wagner was 1 over after a 70. He won the Sony Open in Hawaii in January and tied for second the following week in the Humana Challenge.

Last year, Wagner beat Spencer Levin with a par on the first hole of a playoff.

Levin was 2 over after a 71.

Greg Norman missed the cut with rounds of 79 and 73. The 57-year-old Norman designed the seaside course. He played in a group with Wagner and Levin.

Mike Weir also missed the cut, following an opening 79 with a 78.

Coming off surgery on his right elbow in August, the Canadian missed the cut two weeks ago in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and failed to secure a sponsor exemption last week for the Northern Trust Open at Riviera.

About the leader

Will Claxton (66-68134, 8-under)

• Claxton opened his inaugural Mayakoba Golf Classic appearance by playing bogey-free through the first 32 holes. After a 6-under 65 Thursday, he made seven pars and two birdies on his front nine Friday, added a birdie and No. 10 and four pars on Nos. 11 through 14 until making bogey at the par-3 15th.

• Claxton's best finish in four career PGA TOUR starts came earlier this year, at the Farmers Insurance Open, where he tied for 23rd.

• His only PGA TOUR experience prior to this season was a tie for 67th at the 2011 Transitions Championship near Tampa, Fla.

Daniel Summerhays (69-65134, 8-under)

• Summerhays has made his first Mayakoba Golf Classic a successful one, as he enters the weekend tied for the lead following a second-round 65 that finished with a flourish when he birdied the 18th hole with a 13-foot putt. He is three for four in cuts made in 2012. His tie for 40th at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am two weeks ago is his best showing.

• His tie for 11th at the 2011 Bob Hope Classic remains his best finish in 33 previous TOUR starts.

• He had a seven-birdie, one-bogey performance, and his 6-under 65 Friday matches the 65 he shot in the first round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am at the par-70 Monterey Peninsula Country Club.

• Summerhays, who served a two-year Mormon mission to Santiago, Chile, is fluent in Spanish. His previous experience in Mexico came in 2010 when he was playing on the Nationwide Tour. That year, he tied for 30th at the Mexico Open.

Greg Owen (67-67134, 8-under)

• Owen has played the par-4s well this week. He's a cumulative 4-under on El Camaleon's 11 par-4s through 36 holes. While all four of his bogeys have come on par-4s, he's also made eight of his 10 birdies on the par 4s.