THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- Tiger Woods is six holes away from his first win in two years -- if he can hold onto the one-shot lead he has over Zach Johnson.
Woods briefly had a two-shot advantage after back-to-back birdies on Nos. 10 and 11. but he gave one back with a bogey on No. 12. Woods has not played the last six holes at Sherwood particularly great this week with four bogeys, one double bogey and two birdies.
Johnson, meanwhile, is 1 over on the day, though he’s parred each of his last four holes.
Paul Casey is 3 under on his round and within three of the lead but he has just two holes left.
SAN MARTIN, Calif. -- Paul Casey just teed off, and he still leads by one -- though Briny Baird and Troy Matteson have joined the group at 7 under with Ernie Els and Bud Cauley.
Coming off a course-record and season-best (in relation to par) 64, Casey leads at the halfway mark for just the second time in his career on the PGA TOUR. He held a share of the 36-hole lead at the 2009 Shell Houston Open, where he went on to claim his lone victory on TOUR.
Casey entered this week at No. 135 on the money list and is in search of his first top-10 on TOUR this year in what’s just his 14th start -- Casey has battled a foot injury much of the year. His best result of the season was a tie for 12th at the Northern Trust Open in his first start of the year in February.
Following his second-round 64, Paul Casey talks to Bob Stevens from the PGA TOUR Network on SiriusXM about his play in the 2011 Frys.com Open.
By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM
SAN MARTIN, Calif. -- Paul Casey came into this week needing a good performance to climb back inside the top 125 on the money list to secure his TOUR card for next year. Getting healthy, however, is a bigger priority he admitted.
Since May, Casey has been battling a right foot injury -- most of that time he’s had a plate in his shoe and his toes were taped up. After a visit to Gary Gray and Dave Tiberio at the Gray Institute, though, Casey says he’s feeling about 70 percent.
“Going back a few weeks ago, I don't know where I would have put it,” said Casey, who, in layman’s terms, couldn’t turn his foot correctly because of the injury.
He’s getting better, however, and it showed on Friday in the form of a 64 to take the lead at 8 under halfway through the Frys.com Open. That, by the way, comes on the heels of a victory in last week’s Shinhan Donghae Open in Korea, which in and of itself doesn’t mean a whole lot other than the jet lag Casey was fighting due to a 16-hour time difference.
“It's the first time I've been on the golf course since making progress with the foot and the toes, and it was night and day,” Casey said. “Suddenly a little bit of confidence, the ball-striking is coming back.”
The result Friday? Eleven of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens in regulation. Not to mention just 26 putts, including a couple of birdies from long distance.
“It's nice to look up and know that the golf ball is actually going in the direction that I wanted it to go in,” Casey said. “which hasn't happened in a really long time.”
SAN MARTIN, Calif. -- While putting has been a problem for Tiger Woods, it hasn’t been one for Paul Casey.
Through 15 holes here in the second round, Casey has just 20 putts -- even more impressive when you take into consideration that he’s hit 12 of 15 greens in regulation. He’s also made a couple of lengthy ones, including a 37-footer on No. 16 and a 24-footer on the 17th, on his way to seven birdies and just one bogey.
Casey was especially hot with the flat stick on the back nine -- his first nine holes -- with seven one-putts. He’s cooled a bit since then, but he’s atop the leaderboard at 7 under with three holes left in his round.
SAN MARTIN, Calif. -- At 135th on the money list entering the week, Paul Casey needs to play well to secure his PGA TOUR card for next season. That sounds strange given Casey’s ability, but he’s battled injury all year and has played in just 13 events.
Well, he’s putting together the kind of performance he needs. He just made the turn to the front here at CordeValle in 31, making six birdies -- including four in a row to close out the back -- and just one bogey. That moves Case into a share of the lead at the moment with Garrett Willis at 6 under.
Another shot back from that is Shane Bertsch, while Bud Cauley is one of three players currently at 4 under. Without status this year, Cauley could use a good performance as well.
Paul Casey saved par on the eighth hole Thursday with a 44-foot chip shot.
SAN MARTIN, Calif. -- Tee times for the first two rounds of this week’s Frys.com Open. Here’s a look at some of the notable groups. Let us know which groups you’re most interested in following.
| Players | Tee time (Starting hole) | Comment |
|
Louis Oosthuizen
Tiger Woods Patrick Cantlay |
Rd. 1: 3:10 p.m. ET (1st)
Rd. 2: 10:40 a.m. ET (10th) |
Woods is playing for the first time since missing the cut at the PGA, while Cantlay, the top-ranked amateur in the world, is looking to extend his streak of top-25s in TOUR events to five this year. |
|
Bill Lunde
Paul Casey Trevor Immelman |
Rd. 1: 3:00 p.m. ET (1st)
Rd. 2: 10:30 a.m. ET (10th) |
Casey is trying to work his way into the top 125 on the money list. Lunde is trying to hold on to his spot atop the Kodak Challenge leaderboard. |
|
Ernie Els
Angel Cabrera Justin Leonard |
Rd. 1: 10:40 a.m. ET (10th)
Rd. 2: 3:10 p.m. ET (1st) |
Els has never gone an entire season on TOUR without a top-10, but that’s what he’s facing this year. Cabrera is trying to end a streak of four consecutive missed cuts on TOUR. |