Leader D.J. Trahan is making his 65th career professional start on the
TOUR this week in Madison, Miss. He has never won on the TOUR, but in
his first 64 starts he has collected four top-10 finishes. He also has
10 top-25 career finishes. Below is a list of his top-10 finishes:
D.J. Trahan, who has made only one bogey this week (No. 5/Rd 1, started
on No. 10) has held the outright lead after the first two rounds at the
Southern Farm Bureau Classic. The last player to win his first TOUR
title in wire-to-wire fashion was Tim Herron at the 1996 Honda Classic.
Three players have gone wire-to-wire this year:
D.J. Trahan has held or shared the lead at the end of a round three
times in his career, including twice this week. Closer look at this
leads on the TOUR: Joe Durant is making his seventh start at the Southern Farm Bureau Classic. He has made the cut every year except in 1993, his rookie year on the TOUR. His best effort in Madison, Miss. is a tie for 14th in 2002. Mathias Gronberg, who missed the cut in his first two appearances at Annandale GC, opened with a pair of 68s and sits just three-stroke back of the lead through 36-holes at the Southern Farm Bureau Classic, alone in fourth. Gronberg, who is 117th on the season money list with $640,730, could use a strong finish in Madison, Miss. this week to help him secure his card for the 2007 season. He is in his third year as a member of the TOUR, but has never finished inside the top-125 (2004-132nd, 2005-160th). Earlier this season, he recorded his best finish of his TOUR career, a fourth at the Shell Houston Open. Rookie Troy Matteson, who is making his 31st career TOUR start, is still searching for his first top 10. Through 36-holes in Madison, Miss. he is tied for sixth after rounds of 72-66. His career-best effort on TOUR is at a tie for 19th at the 2006 Reno Tahoe Open. He earned his card for the 2006 season after leading the money list on the Nationwide Tour in 2005. He is making his first start at the Southern Farm Bureau Classic. Robert Damron is another player among the top 10 that needs a good payday on Sunday to improve his position on the season’s money list. Damron, who is tied for sixth through 36 holes, has made 10 cuts in 27 starts (includes this week). He has two top-25 finishes and is 182nd on the 2006 money list with $225,299 in earnings. Since joining the TOUR in 1997, Damron has finished outside the top 125 on the final money list once. He finished 141st in 2002, but was exempt for the 2003 season because he won the 2001 EDS Byron Nelson Championship. John Daly’s 7-under 65 is his best round on TOUR since opening with a 6-under 64 at the Cottonwood Valley Golf Club at the 2005 EDS Byron Nelson Championship. It is his best effort at Annandale Golf Club out of 19 competitive rounds played. Daly, a two-time major championship winner, sits at 190th ($185,444) on the season money list with just five events remaining in the 2006 season. His two-year exemption after winning the 2004 Buick Invitational ends at the conclusion of the 2006 season. Thanks to a 2-under 70 on Friday, Fred Funk is inching his way up the leaderboard at the Southern Farm Bureau Classic. Funk, who is tied for 10th through 36 holes, has collected the most top-10s in Madison, Miss. with six, including four consecutive. The two-time winner of the Southern Farm Bureau Classic missed the 2005 edition because he qualified for The TOUR Championship, played the same week in Atlanta. Funk is the only player to earn over $1 million in career money in Madison, Miss., with $1,028,465. Heath Slocum is second on the Southern Farm Bureau Classic money list with $618,703.
The 1993 Southern Farm Bureau Classic champion, Greg Kraft, recorded his
fourth career hole-in-one when he aced the 175 yard No. 12 using a
6-iron. Below is a list of Kraft’s hole-in-ones on the PGA TOUR: There were six bogey-free rounds on Friday. Two in the morning wave –Troy Matteson and Patrick Sheehan, and four in the afternoon wave – D.J. Trahan, Frank Lickliter, Kris Cox and Jeff Gove. A total of 81 players made the cut at 1-over-par 141 from a starting field of 132 professionals. The only other time that the cut has been over-par at Annandale Golf Club since the tournament became an official event in 1993 was in 1999 when cut was 1-over 145. The three highest cuts at Annandale Golf Club below: Year Players Cut 2006 81 1-over 141 (par-72) 1999 74 1-over 145 (par-72) 1994 73 Even-par 144 (par-72) Through 36 holes at Annandale Golf Club there only five players in the field who can potentially shoot four rounds in the 60s: (D.J. Trahan, 65-68; Brad Faxon, 68-67; Mathias Gronberg, 68-68; Skip Kendall, 68-69; Robert Damron, 69-69). A year ago at this event, 10 players shot four sub-70 rounds, including Steve Stricker who finished T17 with scores of 69-68-69-68. Since 1994, every winner except Steve Lowery (2000) and Ed Dougherty (1995). Comparing round 1 and Round 2 at Annandale Golf Club: Breakdown Rd1/128 Players Rd2/128 Players Scoring Average 72.88 71.30 Early Wave 72.52 71.42 Late Wave 73.22 71.19 Rounds below 70 16 35 Par or Better Rounds 54 90 Rounds over Par 74 38 Bogey-free Rounds 3 6 Five times a player over 40-years-old has won the Southern Farm Bureau Classic, including two players over the age of 45 – Fred Funk in 2004 and Ed Dougherty in 1995. Joe Durant (42), Brad Faxon (45) and Skip Kendall (42) are all at the top of the leaderboard through 36-holes. Southern Farm Bureau Classic over-40 Champions (since 1994): Year Player Age 2004 Fred Funk 48 years, 3 months, 19 days 2003 John Huston 42 years, 4 months, 4 days 2000 Steve Lowery 40 years, 23 days 1998 Fred Funk 42 years, 1 month, 5 days 1995 Ed Dougherty 47 years, 8 months, 19 days
Brad Faxon who turned 45 back in early August is in position at the
Southern Farm Bureau Classic to add his name to the list of players over
the age of 45 with a TOUR victory since 2000. Corey Pavin collected the
14th victory (out of 330 TOUR events since 2000) by a player 45-plus
when he won the 2006 U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee in late-July. Player Age Year Tournament Loren Roberts 45 2000 Greater Milwaukee Open Scott Hoch 45 2001 Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic Scott Hoch 45 2001 Advil Western Open Nick Price 45 2002 MasterCard Colonial Loren Roberts 47 2002 Valero Texas Open Scott Hoch 47 2003 Ford Championship at Doral Craig Stadler 51 2003 B.C. Open Peter Jacobsen 49 2003 Greater Hartford Open Joey Sindelar 46 2004 Wachovia Championship Fred Funk 48 2004 Southern Farm Bureau Classic Fred Funk 48 2005 PLAYERS Championship Olin Browne 46 2005 Deutsche Bank Championship Mark Calcavecchia 45 2005 Bell Canadian Open Corey Pavin 46 2006 U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee
There were 21 players in the field who came into the event ranked 115 to
140 on the money list. Of those players 13 of those made the cut. There
are only four weeks remaining after this week to secure a spot inside
the top-125 to earn exempt status for the 2007 season. Here is a closer
look into the players ranked from No. 115-140: The 1-over-par cut on Friday marked the 16th time in 36 stroke-play events with a 36-hole cut that the cut has been over-par this season. A total of 82 players will play on the weekend. Over-par cuts on the 2006 PGA TOUR No. Tournament Details 1. Sony Open in Hawaii 3 over 2. Nissan Open 1 over 3. The Honda Classic 3 over 4. Bay Hill Invitational 1 over 5. Masters Tournament 4 over 6. Wachovia Championship 2 over 7. EDS Byron Nelson Champ. 1 over 8. Bank of America Colonial 1 over 9. FedEx St. Jude Classic 4 over 10. the Memorial Tournament 4 over 11. Barclays Classic 1 over 12. U.S. Open Championship 9 over 13. Deutsche Bank Championship 3 over 14. 84 LUMBER Classic 1 over 15. Valero Texas Open 1 over 16. Southern Farm Bureau Classic 1 over Matt Gogel withdrew after nine holes due to a shoulder injury. Jose Coceres withdrew during his round due to injury. |
|
PGATOUR.com is part of the Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network