Round 2 Notes – Sony Open in Hawaii
Second-Round Notes – Friday, January 11, 2008Weather: High temperature 79 degrees under partly cloudy skies; winds E at 10-18 mph.
K.J. Choi’s second-round 65 came as somewhat of a surprise given his recent history in the second round of the Sony Open. Entering this week, Choi had averaged 67.17 in six opening rounds at Waialae, but had only broken 70 in the second round once (2002 – 65).
K.J. Choi has won every time he has held at least a share of the 36-hole lead on the PGA TOUR.
K.J. Choi’s 36-hole leads/co-leads on the PGA TOUR:
Year Event Score Finish
2006 Chrysler Championship 68-66-70-67—271 Won
2005 Chrysler Cl. of Greensoboro 64-69-67-66—266 Won
2002 Tampa Bay Classic 63-68-68-68—267 Won
2002 COMPAQ Classic of N.O. 68-65-71-67—271 Won
K.J. Choi is in position to extend his streak of three straight seasons with at least one victory to four.
Consecutive seasons with at least one TOUR victory:
12 Tiger Woods (1996-2007)
6 Vijay Singh (2002-07)
4 Phil Mickelson (2004-07)
3 K.J. Choi (2005-07)
Jim Furyk (2005-07)
Kevin Na’s second round 64 to get to nine-under par earned him a spot in the final group with leader, K.J. Choi. It will be only the second time the two have played in a final group together. At the 2005 FBR Open, Na played in the final group Sunday with Choi and Phil Mickelson, finishing second to Mickelson.
Even though he hit just 5 of 14 fairways in round two, Na made up for it on the greens, as he needed only 22 putts. His 64 tied the low round of the week.
Steve Marino’s 36-hole total of eight-under 132 might come as a bit of a surprise to those who feel driving accuracy is a premium at Waialae. While Marino has hit 20 of 28 fairways thus far, he finished 136th in Driving Accuracy on the PGA TOUR in 2007.
Two-time PGA TOUR winner Heath Slocum is off to a good start at the Sony Open with rounds of 65-69—134. The bad news for Slocum: Only once in his TOUR career has he recorded a single top-10 finish in the first five starts of his year. The good news: That happened last year when he finished in the top-10 at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic and the FBR Open.
Fred Funk’s second-round 64 and 36-hole total of seven-under 133 has him in position to add his name to the list (again) of the PGA TOUR’s oldest winners. Funk’s win at last year’s Mayakoba Classic put him fifth on the list with a win at the age of 50 years, eight months, and 11 days. Funk will be 51 years, six months, and 30 days this Sunday. Should he win, he would be third on that list behind Sam Snead and Art Wall, respectively.
Top Rookies This Week:
Player Score Standing Exemption
Brad Adamonis 66-68—134 T6 Qualifying Tournament
Chez Reavie 68-66—134 T6 Nationwide Tour
Alejandro Canizares 67-67—134 T6 Qualifying Tournament
Dustin Johnson 68-68—136 T20 Qualifying Tournament
Defending champion Paul Goydos carded rounds of 70-73—143 and missed the cut. Goydos finished T22 at the 1997 Bay Hill Invitational in his only other title defense on the PGA TOUR.
Carlos Franco’s second-round 69 featured 22 total putts, which is four shy of the all-time PGA TOUR record of 18, which is shared by six players.
Scoring Averages:
Front 9 Back 9
Thursday 35.26 34.25
Friday 34.12 34.23
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