Notebook: Round 2, Verizon Heritage

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Apr. 16, 2010
By John Bush, PGA TOUR Staff

Weather: Sunny with highs in the upper 70s. Winds S 10-15 mph.

• Charles Howell III (67), Jim Furyk (68) and Greg Owen (69) moved to 7-under 135 on Friday to share the lead at the midway point of the Verizon Heritage. A group of five players are one shot back, including Chad Campbell (67), Stuart Appleby (67), Bryce Molder (68), Boo Weekley (68) and J.J. Henry (68).

• With three players sharing the lead, a 13-year streak of outright second-round leaders is snapped at the Verizon Heritage. Prior to Friday, the last time there were co-leaders through 36 holes was in 1996 when Jeff Sluman and Tom Watson shared the lead at 6-under. In the 42-year history of the event, there have been co-leaders after two rounds just 12 times.

• The cut came at even-par 142, with 82 players advancing to the weekend. A 54-hole cut will take place on Saturday, reducing the field to the low 70 and ties for the final round. Just seven strokes separate the leaders from the players at even-par, the fewest in a TOUR event since the 2009 RBC Canadian Open (six strokes).

• Jim Furyk is making his 12thappearance at the Verizon Heritage, with nine made cuts and top-15 finishes in five of his last six starts (T15-2002, T10-2003, T2-2005, 2-2006, 4-2008) prior to 2010.

• This represents the 17th time Furyk has held at least a share of the 36-hole lead on TOUR, and the first since the 2009 Deutsche Bank Championship (finished T8). He has carried the 36-hole lead/co-lead on to victory twice, (1995 United Airlines Hawaiian Open, 2003 U.S. Open).

• Charles Howell III, a two-time Junior Heritage Champion (1994, 1996) and Augusta, GA native, is making his fifth career start at the Verizon Heritage (T19-2002, MC-2003, T12-2008, T37-2009).

• This represents the sixth time Howell has held at least a share of the 36-hole lead, with his last coming at the 2004 Cialis Western Open (T17). He has yet to win after holding the lead after 36 holes, but has gone on to finish second three times.

• Greg Owen has never missed the cut in five appearances at the Verizon Heritage, with a T18 finish in 2005 his best effort. This is the second 36-hole lead/co-lead of his career (2009 Frys.com Open, finished T29).

• The second-round leader/co-leader has gone on to win four of 15 stroke-play events on the PGA TOUR this season, most recently Ernie Els at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship.

• Byeong-Hun An, the reigning U.S. Amateur champion, sits T33 after rounds of 69-70, the latter of which included a double-bogey finish. He becomes the first amateur to make the cut at the Heritage since Bert Atkinson in 1992. A total of eight amateurs have made the cut since the inaugural event in 1969: An, Atkinson, Kevin King (1989), Hal Sutton (1981), Ben Crenshaw (1972), Jim Simons (1971), Lanny Wadkins (1970) and Steve Melnyk (1970). Of that group, Wadkins posted the best finish with a runner-up effort in 1970.

• An is the only player in the field with two eagles this week (R1/No. 5, R2/No. 15).

• Boo Weekley posted his second consecutive 3-under 68 to sit T4 after 36 holes. The Heritage fan favorite won in each of his first two career starts at the Verizon Heritage (2007, 2008) and then added a T13 in 2009. He now has 11 rounds in the 60s in 14 attempts at Harbour Town.

• First-round lead K.J. Choi followed up a 7-under 64 with a 3-over 74 on Friday. Despite struggling on Friday and falling to T22, he still managed his ninth made cut in as many starts this season. He sits No. 13 on the FedExCup points list, thanks to six top-25 finishes in his first eight starts.

• Five-time Verizon Heritage champion Davis Love III posted a 4-over 75 on Friday to make the cut on the number in his 25th start at the Verizon Heritage. He has recorded 11 top 10s, 13 top-25 finishes and just four missed cuts in his Verizon Heritage career. Twenty-five percent of his 20 PGA TOUR victories have come at the Verizon Heritage, with victories in 1987, 1991, 1992, 1998 and 2003.

• After missing the first three cuts to start the season, John Daly (T69) has now made four consecutive cuts. The last time he had four straight made cuts was in 2005 (British Open, Buick Open, PGA Championship, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational).

• After an opening-round 6-over 77, Blake Adams turned in a 14-stroke turnaround on Friday with an 8-under 63, just two strokes shy of the best second-round score at the Verizon Heritage (61, David Frost, 1994). He enters the weekend T42, just five shy of the lead.

• The key to Adams' round? He needed just 18 putts to tie the PGA TOUR record for putts in a round:

Player Tournament Round Putts
Sam Trahan 1979 IV Philadelphia Golf Classic 4 18
Mike McGee 1987 Federal Express St. Jude Classic 1 18
Kenny Knox 1989 MCI Heritage Classic 1 18
Andy North 1990 Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic 2 18
Jim McGovern 1992 Federal Express St. Jude Classic 2 18
Corey Pavin 2000 Bell Canadian Open 2 18
Ken Duke 2009 WGC-CA Championship 3 18
Blake Adams 2010 Verizon Heritage 2 18

• Bryce Molder posted his second consecutive bogey-free 3-under 68. He is seeking to become just the sixth player to win the Verizon Heritage in their first appearance: Stewart Cink (2000), Jose Coceres (2001), Bob Goalby (1970), Arnold Palmer (1969) and Boo Weekley (2007).

• Defending champion Brian Gay made the cut on the number to keep a 17-year streak intact at the Verizon Heritage. No defending champion has missed the cut at the event since Davis Love III in 1993.

• All six past champions of the Verizon Heritage competing this week made the cut: Brian Gay (T69), Boo Weekley (T4), Aaron Baddeley (T9), Stewart Cink (T42), Davis Love III (T69), Glen Day (T42).

• Scoring Averages at the par-71 Harbour Town Golf Links:

Day Front 9 Back 9 Total Cumulative
Thursday 35.258 35.705 70.962
Friday 35.439 35.379 70.818 70.890

• Bogey-free rounds

• Round 1 -- Trevor Immelman, Bryce Molder, Nick O'Hern and Stuart Appleby

• Round 2 -- Bryce Molder, Briny Baird, Camilo Villegas, Spencer Levin, Stephen Ames, Paul Casey, Blake Adams

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