Notes: Weir looks for first win in nearly two years

By Joan Alexander
PGATOUR.com Contributor
 

• Mike Weir continued his solid play Friday with a 5-under 67 at Poppy Hills to grab the lead at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. If Weir managed to win on Sunday it would be one year, 11 months and 20 days and 44 starts since winning the 2004 Nissan Open. In those 43 previous starts, he has six top-5s, including two second-place titles. Weir has five top-10s in his last six starts at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, including a runner-up to Phil Mickelson in 2005.

• Fredrik Jacobson, who his making his first start at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, fired a 5-under 67 at Pebble Beach on Friday, sits tied for third. Only four players since 1970 have earned their first PGA TOUR victory at Pebble Beach: John Cook (1981), Steve Jones (1988), Brett Ogle (1993) and Matt Gogel (2002).

• Thanks to a 4-under 68 on Friday, local favorite Arron Oberholser continued to maintain his position near the top of the leaderboard. With his 11-under 133 total, he sits three strokes back of leader Mike Weir. Oberholser has posted two consecutive top-10s at the AT&T event.

• Paul Azinger withdrew with a bad back on Friday, Chuck Dunbar, head professional at Pebble beach Golf Links, replaces Azinger for the amateur portion of the event.

• David Love III climbed inside the top-10 (tied for sixth) after posting a bogey-free 5-under 67 at Pebble Beach Golf Links. Love was perfect (18 of 18) in the Greens in Regulation department, but needed 31 putts on the day. He has finished in the top 10 six times in 19 starts in Pebble Beach, including two victories.

• Jonathan Byrd and Tom Lehman, who both played at Pebble Beach National Golf Links, shared low round of the day honors on Friday, with 7-under 65s. Of the seven rounds of 65 or better that have been posted over the first two days at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, four have occurred at Pebble Beach Golf Links (Nick Watney, Mike Weir, Lehman, Byrd), while two rounds have come at Spyglass Hill GC (Luke Donald, Michael Allen) and one at Poppy Hills (Arron Oberholser)

• Ryder Cup Captain Tom Lehman, who fired a 7-under 65 (tied for 11th), needed only 23 putts to get around Pebble Beach Golf Links on Friday. He is 5 under on the par 4s and par 5s, but 3 over on the eight par 3s he has played this week.

• After tearing up Spyglass Hill Golf Course last year with his 10-under 62, defending champion Phil Mickelson (SH) posted a 2-over 74 on Friday. Mickelson is competing in his 11th AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am this week. He has made eight of 10 cuts at the AT&T with four top-10s, including victories in 1998 and 2005.

• There were five players with bogey-free rounds on Friday -- Davis Love III (PB), Jose Maria Olazabal (PH), Parker McLachin (SH), Joe Ogilvie (SH) and Tommy Armour III (SH).

• Seventy-five of the 179 managed to break par on Friday, while on Thursday 107 of the 180 players in the field broke par during the first round,

• Vance Veazy (PB) led the field with only 22 putts on Friday as he carded a 4-under-par 68.

• Tom Byrum, Gavin Coles, Greg Owen and Jerry Smith were all 14-of-14 in driving accuracy.