The four co-leaders have not enjoyed a great deal of success at the
Cialis Western Open, as the four have only one top-10 between them in
nine starts: • The four-way tie for first is the biggest logjam at the top at the Cialis Western Open since 1994 when there was a five-way tie for the lead between Bob Gilder, Bill Glasson, John Huston, Phil Mickelson and Sean Murphy. • Lucas Glover ranks 10th in the current Ryder Cup standings and is tied for third with Jim Furyk and Luke Donald with six top-10s on the 2006 campaign. Glover is one of five players currently among the top 10 without Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup experience. • Joe Ogilvie posted his first top-10 of the season last week at the Buick Championship with a tie for ninth, aided by a second-round 63. • David McKenzie posted his first career top-10 last week at the Buick Championship with a tie for ninth to earn a top-10 exemption into the Cialis Western Open. The Australian finished 11th on the Nationwide Tour money list last year to earn his PGA TOUR card for 2006, with a win at the Gila River Golf Classic. This year, McKenzie has made four cuts in 13 starts in his rookie season on TOUR. • Tiger Woods’ 1-over-par 72 is just his seventh round over par in 33 trips around Cog Hill Golf and Country Club as a professional. It was also his third consecutive competitive round over-par, the first time he had done this since 2005 (Rounds 2-4 of THE PLAYERS Championship and Round 1 of the Masters Tournament). • Australian Stephen Leaney (tied for fifth) finished solo second at the 2003 U.S. Open at Olympia Fields, but has just two top-10s since in 74 starts. • The Cialis Western Open represents a chance for three players to earn exemptions into this year’s third major championship, the British Open Championship in two weeks. The top two players, not otherwise exempt, who have earned the most PGA TOUR Official Money from the 2006 PLAYERS Championship and the five cosponsored and approved events leading up to and including the Cialis Western Open will qualify for the tournament. Heading into this week’s tournament in Lemont, Illinois, J.J. Henry ($814,020), Billy Andrade ($674,694) are the two leading candidates, followed by Steve Stricker ($513,255). Henry, not in the field this week, will qualify one way or another -- if he is passed on the money list this week he will earn an exemption as the leading money-winner from last week’s Buick Championship. • The third exemption will come from the leading player, not otherwise exempt, in the 2006 Western Open. Ties will be decided by better final round score, and if still tied, better third round score, better second round score. If still tied, all players still tied will be exempt. • Defending champion Jim Furyk, who also captured the Western Junior in 1987, has six career top-10s at the Cialis Western Open, including four consecutive (2002-05). Furyk finished at 2-under-par 69 on Thursday and looks to become the fifth player to successfully defend a title in 2006, joining Stuart Appleby (Mercedes Championships), Tiger Woods (Buick Invitational and Ford Championship at Doral) and Phil Mickelson (BellSouth Classic). Furyk is also looking to become the fifth multiple winner in 2006, joining Woods, Mickelson, Appleby and Geoff Ogilvy. • Statistical Leaders -- 18 Holes: Category Player Statistic/Average Percentage
Driving Distance Bubba Watson 332.0 yards --
Driving Accuracy Brent Geiberger 14 of 14 100%
Greens in Regulation Robert Allenby 17 of 18 94.4%
Trevor Immelman
Mark Wilson
Putting Average (GIR Shane Bertsch 1.333 --
Putts Per Round Shane Bertsch 24.00 --
K.J. Choi
Todd Hamilton
Rod Pampling
• There were four bogey-free rounds posted on Thursday by Jim Furyk (69), Billy Mayfair (70), Robert Allenby (67) and Brett Quigley (69). |
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