John Deere Classic: Second-round notebook
By Stewart Moore, PGA TOUR Staff
SILVIS, Ill. -- Will MacKenzie carded a second-round 64 in the John Deere Classic on Friday and will take a two-shot lead over Charlie Wi, Eric Axley and Kenny Perry into Saturday's third round.
• The 36-hole cut fell at 3-under 139 with 76 players making it to the weekend.
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• Kenny Perry, with rounds of 65-66?131, has once again positioned himself for a weekend run at the title.
• Friday's round of 64 gives Will MacKenzie back-to-back rounds in the 60s (65-64?129) for the first time since rounds two and three of last year's Fry's Electronics Open in October. MacKenzie's total is two-shots off the tournament's 36-hole record of 15-under 127, set by David Frost in 2000.
• This marks the first 36-hole lead of MacKenzie's PGA TOUR career. The last overnight lead of any sort for MacKenzie came at the 2007 Wyndham Championship, where he held the 18-hole lead after an opening-round 64.
• This is not MacKenzie's first time finding early success at the John Deere Classic. MacKenzie opened the 2006 tournament with rounds of 67-67?134 and entered the weekend tied for 11th before struggling to rounds of 74-70 and finishing tied for 46th.
• After 36 holes of the 2006 Legends Reno-Tahoe Open, MacKenzie found himself at 14-under 130 and trailing Bob Estes by one shot before weekend rounds of 67-71 brought him his first PGA TOUR title.
• MacKenzie has now played his last 24 holes at the John Deere Classic in 11 under par with 11 birdies and 13 pars.
• MacKenzie's 36-hole total of 13-under 129 is the second-lowest 36 hole score to lead on the 2008 PGA TOUR, trailing only Bo Van Pelt's 14-under 130 at the Buick Open, and tied with Robert Gamez's and D.J. Trahan's total of 13-under 131 at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.
• Charlie Wi (64-67?131) has positioned himself nicely for a run at the John Deere Classic title this year. This will be only the fourth time in 70 career starts that Wi has been in the top 10 entering the weekend of a PGA TOUR event.
• PGA TOUR rookie Brad Adamonis (66-66?132) finally got his game on track three weeks ago with a tie for sixth at the Travelers Championship in his native New England. The finish marked his first and only top-25 effort in 17 starts this year on TOUR.
• In September of 2005, Adamonis quit golf to teach golf classes at Johnson & Wales University in Miami with the understanding they would let him go to PGA TOUR Qualifying School for one last shot at golf, where he finished tied for 49th to earn full Nationwide Tour status for 2006. His father Dave was the golf coach and executive director of the golf management program at Johnson and Wales (2005 NAIA National Champions) but became severely ill with three forms of cancer -- prostate, lymphoma and throat/tongue. Brad and his brother Dave Jr., along with a family friend, in his father's place, ran the program until his father recovered.
• Zach Johnson's second-round 68 came as a nice surprise after only breaking 74 once in the second round of his last seven starts on the PGA TOUR. Johnson entered the week ranked No. 154 on TOUR in Round 2 Scoring Average.
• Watch out for local favorite Zach Johnson if he gets his putter working this weekend. Through 36 holes, Johnson is tied for third in Greens in Regulation (83.33 percent) and tied for first in Driving Accuracy (92.86 percent), but tied for 103rd in Putting Average (1.800 putts per green in regulation).
• Wisconsin native and 2002 John Deere Classic champion J.P. Hayes (67-68?135) may have needed a trip back to the Midwest to revive his game after missing 11 of his first 12 cuts on the PGA TOUR this year. Hayes' status for 2008 was in doubt heading into the final event of the 2007 season as he found himself at No. 123 on the PGA TOUR money list. A tie for ninth at the Children's Miracle Network Classic moved him up to No. 114 on the money list and in turn secured his status for the 2008 season.
• Hayes had a similar start to his season in 2006 with five missed cuts in his first eight starts before a tie for second at the John Deere Classic, and a check for $432,000, saved his year. A fourth-place finish later that year at the Viking Classic helped to secure his card for the 2007 season.
• The last 36-hole leader to claim the John Deere Classic title was J.P. Hayes in 2002. Hayes shared the 36-hole lead with Fred Funk at 14-under 128 en route to capturing his second PGA TOUR title.
• The 36-hole leader/co-leader has won 12 times in 28 stroke-play tournaments on the PGA TOUR this year. The last player to do so was Stewart Cink, who won the Travelers Championship three weeks ago after holding a one-shot lead at the halfway point.
• Through two rounds of the John Deere Classic, players were faced with a tough finish regardless of what side they began their round on. Through 36 holes, the two most difficult holes on TPC Deere Run are the par-4 ninth (4.260) and the par-4 18th (4.222), which rank Nos. 1 and 2, respectively
• The largest 36-hole comeback in John Deere Classic history was when Michael Clark II came from eight shots back at the halfway point to claim the 2000 title. At the end of the day on Friday, 42 players were within eight shots of MacKenzie.
• The John Deere Classic title has gone to a first-time PGA TOUR winner 18 times in the event's 37-year history. Players in the top 10 through 36 holes who are still looking for their first TOUR title: Charlie Wi, Brad Adamonis, Brian Davis, Jeff Gove, Scott Sterling, Harrison Frazar and Patrick Sheehan.
• Bogey-free rounds on Friday: Will MacKenzie, Brian Davis, Harrison Frazar, Patrick Sheehan, Tim Petrovic, Kirk Triplett, Chez Reavie, Ted Purdy, Tag Ridings, Lee Janzen and Marc Turnesa.
• Patrick Sheehan is the only player in the field who has yet to record a single bogey.
• Frank Lickliter II was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard on Friday. Lickliter signed for a par on the ninth hole when in fact he made a bogey.
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