Round 2 Notes – THE PLAYERS
* Sergio Garcia carded a double-bogey (not involving water) at the par-three 17th hole en-route to a one-over-par 73. He will head into the weekend one shot off Kenny Perry’s lead. In 2006, Garcia began the 2006 PLAYERS Championship two off the lead after 36 holes, ultimately to finish T14.
* After 36 holes, a total of 38 balls have been hit into the water on the 17th hole.
* Wind activity in Round Two:
9AM: 80F Winds: SW 10-15 mph
10AM: 82F Winds: WSW 10-20 mph
11AM: 84F Winds: WSW 10-20 gusting to 29 mph
Noon: 86F Winds: WSW 15-20 gusting to 32 mph
1PM: 89F Winds: SW 15-20 gusting to 33 mph
2PM: 90F Winds: WSW 15-20 gusting to 31 mph
3PM: 92F Winds: W 15-25 gusting to 31 mph
4PM: 92F Winds: W 15-25 gusting to 35 mph
5PM: 89F Winds: WSW 15-25 gusting to 35 mph
* The 36-hole cut fell at three-over 147, with 74 players making it to the weekend. This marks the 14th straight PGA TOUR event (excluding WGC-Accenture Match Play and WGC-CA Championship, which has no cut) this year where the cut has been at even par or higher. The last TOUR event to have a below-par cut was the FBR Open, where the 36-hole cut was 2-under 140.
* Kenny Perry, who will turn 48 on August 10th, fired a second-round two-under-par 70 to get to six-under-par 138 after two rounds and take a one-stroke lead over Bernhard Langer, Paul Goydos, and Sergio Garcia. Perry becomes the first player in his 40s to hold sole possession of the 36-hole PLAYERS lead since a then-42-year-old Hal Sutton did so in 2000, where he eventually won.
* Kenny Perry has held or shared the second-round lead 15 times in his career. He has gone on to win six times. The last time he held or shared the lead was at this year's FBR Open, where he finished T17:
2008 FBR Open T-17
2007 Buick Open T-10
2005 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial Win
2005 Arnold Palmer Invitational Win
2004 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic T-5
2003 Memorial Tournament Win
2003 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial Win
2002 Mercedes-Benz Championship 3
2001 Buick Open Win
2001 U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee T-5
1995 Northern Trust Open T-2
1991 Memorial Tournament Win
1991 Ford Championship at Doral T-15
1989 Verizon Heritage 2
1988 Centel Classic T-5
* Playing in his 10th PLAYERS Championship, 43-year-old Paul Goydos fired a one-under-par 71 to begin the weekend one stroke off the lead. Goydos’ best finish at the PLAYERS Championship to date is a T38 (1999).
* Playing in his 23rd PLAYERS Championship, 50-year-old Bernhard Langer fired a second-round 67 to begin the weekend just a single shot off the lead. Langer has played in nine events on the Champions Tour in 2008, having won the Ginn Championship Hammock Beach Resort in March. His only other start on the PGA TOUR came with a missed cut at the Masters. Langer and Davis Love III are second to only Fred Couples in number of PLAYERS Championship starts. Couples is competing this week in his 25th, while Langer and Love III are competing in their 23rd.
* Bernhard Langer (72-67) made the cut to push his career total to 21 cuts made at THE PLAYERS. Tom Kite is the all-time leader in that category with 23 cuts made, followed by Tom Watson at 21 and Nick Price at 19.
* Bernhard Langer will be 50 years, 8 months, and 14 days old this Sunday. Should he win, he would be the fifth-oldest winner in PGA TOUR history, trailing only Sam Snead (1965 Greensboro Open - 52 years/10 months/8 days), Art Wall (1975 Greater Milwaukee Open - 51/7/10), Jim Barnes (1937 Long Island Open - 51/3/7), and John Barnum (51/1/5).
* There was not a player in his 30s in the top-five after 36-holes. Sergio Garcia (T2), and Anthony Kim (5) are each in their 20s. Kenny Perry (1) and Paul Goydos (T2) represent 40-somethings, while Bernhard Langer (T2) turns 51 in August. Two of the past three PLAYERS champions have been in their 40s. In 2005, Fred Funk won at the age of 48. The following year, Stephen Ames won at the age of 41.
* Robert Garrigus recorded the 28th hole-in-one in THE PLAYERS Championship history and the 24th at TPC Sawgrass on Friday when he aced the 164-yard par-3 13th with an 8-iron. This is the first hole-in-one at THE PLAYERS since Fred Couples aced the same hole in the final round in 2006. In addition, the last seven holes-in-one at this event have occurred on No. 13, dating back to Craig Stadler's in the third round in 2002.
* In the last 10 PLAYERS Championships, only Phil Mickelson (2007) and Hal Sutton (2000) have managed to turn a 36-hole lead into victory. In the 34-year history of THE PLAYERS Championship, the 36-hole leader has gone on to win the tournament only eight times.
* Anthony Kim (70-70—140—5th place) found little success at TPC Sawgrass last year as a rookie with rounds of 78-83—161, which left him last in the field after the 36-hole cut.
* An interesting note about eagles at the PLAYERS Stadium Course, there has never been an eagle recorded at the par-4, 7th hole until Thursday when Rich Beem made eagle from 132 yards.
* In round two, the par-4 18th hole played as the toughest. While surrendering only 14 birdies, it claimed 63 bogeys or worse. Coming off a third-place finish at last week’s Wachovia Championship, Jason Bohn made one of those 14 birdies to keep his job for the weekend.
* The easiest ranked hole in round two was the 523-yard, par-5 16th, which gave up two eagles, 67 birdies, and took only 13 bogeys.
* Fifteen players are making their first start at THE PLAYERS and seven are playing on the weekend. See list below:
Name Score Position
Ryan Armour (USA) illness WD
Soren Hansen (DEN) 71-73--144 T16
Dustin Johnson (USA) 73-80--153 MC
Richard Johnson (WAL) 77-73—150 MC
Matt Jones (AUS) 75-77—152 MC
George McNeill (USA) 77-74--151 MC
John Merrick (USA) 70-72--142 T7
Jeff Overton (USA) 74-79--153 MC
Andres Romero (ARG) 77-79—156 MC
Kevin Stadler (USA) 70--72--142 T7
Richard Sterne (SAF) 77-70--147 T55
Nicholas Thompson (USA) 70-77--147 T55
Johnson Wagner (USA) 72-74--146 T37
Charlie Wi (KOR) 74-73- 147 T55
Tim Wilkinson (NZ). 77-72- 149 MC
* Here’s how the eight former tournament winners have fared over the first 36 holes this year:
2007 Phil Mickelson 70-73--143 T12
2006 Stephen Ames 74-68—142 T7
2005 Fred Funk 74-77—151 MC
2004 Adam Scott 77-71—146 T37
2003, 1992 Davis Love III 73-74—147 T55
1998 Justin Leonard 75-74—149 MC
1997 Steve Elkington 69-76—145 T28
1984,1995 Fred Couples 70-72 --142 T7
* Briny Baird continued his solid play of late on Friday with a round of one-under 71. Baird is T7 through 36 holes, a position he is getting rather comfortable with at the halfway point. Twice in his past five PGA TOUR starts, Baird has found himself within the top five through 36 holes: 1st - Zurich Classic of New Orleans; T4 - Puerto Rico Open.
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