Wyndham Championship: Second-round notebook
By Doug Milne, PGA TOUR Staff
GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Second-round play was suspended at 4:41 p.m. due to a dangerous situation and resumed at 5:52 p.m. totaling for a 1-hour 11-minute delay. Round two ended at 8:00 p.m.
• The cut came at 3-under 137, with 78 players advancing to the weekend.
• Despite two bogeys on his scorecard, Carl Pettersson surged to a three-stroke lead over Garrett Willis (66) at the midway point of the Wyndham Championship with a tournament- and course-record 9-under 61, equaling the lowest 18-hole score on the 2008 PGA TOUR (9-under 61 by Roland Thatcher at the Mayakoba Golf Classic) and his own career-low score during the second round of the 2005 FUNAI Classic at Walt Disney World Resort.
• The previous low opening 36-hole scores on TOUR this season was set by Will MacKenzie (129) at the John Deere Classic, Chez Reavie (129) at the RBC Canadian Open and K.J. Choi (129) at the Sony Open in Hawaii. That all changes after Friday, however, as Carl Pettersson (125), Garrett Willis (128) and Scott McCarron (129) will all add their name to the list.
• Carl Pettersson's 125 equals the lowest 36-hole score this year, set by Kevin Streelman (63-62) during the middle two rounds of the Travelers Championship. Incidentally, Streelman is off to a hot start this week as well, currently at 10 under after rounds of 66-64.
• The previous lowest round at the Wyndham Championship was 62, set on four occasions and all at the Forest Oaks Country Club. Those came from Charles Warren (first round, 2005); Jeff Maggert (second round, 1999); Mark O'Meara (third round, 1996): and Davis Love III (fourth round, 1992).
• The previous low round at Sedgefield CC was 63, set on five occasions and most recently by Martin Laird and Bob Heintz during the first round on Thursday. Those came from Martin Laird (first round, 2008); Bob Heintz (first round, 2008): Gary Player (second round, 1970); Doug Sanders (fourth round, 1968): and John Schlee (fourth round, 1967).
• Should Pettersson's three-stroke lead hold up, it is still two shots shy of the largest 36-hole lead at the Wyndham Championship. Sam Snead (1956), Tom Weiskopf (1975) and Sandy Lyle (1986) all led by five strokes after 36 holes.
• Carl Pettersson is making his sixth career start at the Wyndham Championship. In all, he has made the cut in four of five previous starts here, with a fifth-place finish in 2007 and a tie for 11th in 2005 his best showings. His only missed cut came in 2006.
• Being near the top of the leaderboard at the Wyndham Championship isn't unfamiliar territory for Pettersson. Last year he was tied for second and three strokes behind Jeff Overton after 54 holes, and tied for fourth and one behind a trio of leaders after 36 holes.
• This marks the fourth time in Pettersson's career that he has held the second-round lead on the PGA TOUR, with his most recent 36-hole lead resulting in a victory at the 2006 Memorial Tournament. His first two attempts led to a tie for 13th finish at the 2004 Honda Classic and a tie for 15th at the 2005 Children's Miracle Network Classic.
• The second-round leader has gone on to win 16 of 35 stroke-play events on the PGA TOUR in 2008, including most recently Parker McLachlin at the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open.
• Since 1970, the second-round leader/co-leader at the Wyndham Championship has gone on to win 13 times, including most recently Brent Geiberger in 2004.
• Defending champion Brandt Snedeker, who sits tied for 18th after a 2-under 68 on Friday, is seeking to become the fourth player in 2008 to successfully defend a title. The others include Tiger Woods at the Buick Invitational, Boo Weekley at the Verizon Heritage and Padraig Harrington at the British Open. The only player to win in back-to-back seasons at the Wyndham Championship was Sam Snead, doing so on two occasions in 1949-50 and 1955-56.
• Four-time PGA TOUR winner and 1987 Masters Champion Larry Mize missed the cut after rounds of 72-71. Mize will turn 50 on Sept. 23 to become eligible for the Champions Tour. This season, he has made 15 starts, with six made cuts and a tie for 10th at the Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular his best outing. This week represented his 601st career start on the PGA TOUR.
• The Atlantic Coast Conference continues to be well represented near the top of the leaderboard at the Wyndham Championship, as former North Carolina State standouts Carl Pettersson and Tim Clark are first and tied for fifth, respectively, and Duke standout Kevin Streelman is in fourth place.
• Danny Lee, who recently won the Western Amateur in late July, is the first amateur to make the cut at the Wyndham Championship since Ryan Moore finished tied for 24th in 2004. The next amateur making the cut was Gary Pinns, who finished tied for 76th in 1980, posting rounds of 72-73-80-76. Incidently, the last player to win a PGA TOUR event as an amateur was Phil Mickelson in 1991 at the Northern Telecom Open by one stroke over Tom Purtzer.
• Bogey-free rounds during the second round were turned in by John Riegger, Bo Van Pelt, Robert Gamez and Tom Scherrer.
• Brian Davis and 2004 Wyndham Championship winner Brent Geiberger both withdrew during the second round with illnesses. John Houston and Marco Dawson withdrew during the rain delay. Jeff Quinney was disqualified because he did not properly withdraw and he did not turn in his scorecard.
• Pettersson's two-day total of 15-under 125 equals the lowest first 36-hole score in PGA TOUR history, set most recently by Corey Pavin at the 2006 U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee. Here is a chart of all the players to reach or better that mark:
| PGA TOUR Players to Reach 15 Under or Better thru 36 Holes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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