Round 2 Notebook: the Memorial Tournament

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Jun. 4, 2010
By Mark Stevens, PGA TOUR staff

Weather: Partly cloudy with afternoon thunderstorms and temperatures reaching 86 degrees. Winds were SW at 10-15 mph. Play was suspended at 2:24 p.m. ET due to heavy rain. Play resumed at 2:48 p.m. ET. Play was suspended again at 5:48 p.m. ET due to dangerous conditions. Play resumed again at 6:23 p.m. ET.

• Saturday's third round will have players going off two tees in threesomes starting at 7:20 a.m.

• The cut came at 1-over 145 with 71 professionals advancing to the weekend.

Rickie Fowler's 13-under 131 tied the 36-hole tournament record. Scott Hoch held sole possession of the 36-hole record since the second round of the Memorial in 1987.

• Fowler holds a three shot lead over Justin Rose (-10) and four shots over Tim Petrovic and Jim Furyk.

• Fowler recorded a bogey-5 on his second hole (No. 2) in the first round and has since gone 34 holes without a bogey.

• Fowler has one of four eagles on No. 7 (Round 1) and one of four eagles on No. 15 (Round 2). Fowler, Charley Hoffman and Byeong-Hun An are the only players with two eagles in the tournament.

• Fowler is 6-under on the par-5s through Round 2.

• With a win this week, Fowler could move into the top 5 in the FedExCup standings. That would be the lowest ranking of any rookie at any point in the season since the FedExCup started.

Tiger Woods (1999) is the youngest winner in tournament history at 23 years, 5 months, 6 days. There are two players in the top 5 after the second round that would pass the tournament record.

Player Age on Sunday Current Pos.
Jason Day 22 years, 6 months, 25 days T5
Rickie Fowler 21 years, 5 months, 23 days 1st

• In the past 23 years only two golfers in their 20s have won the Memorial Tournament (Tiger Woods-3 times and Carl Pettersson). There are three players in their 20s in the top 5 after the second round.

Player Age Current Pos.
Spencer Levin 25 T5
Jason Day 22 T5
Rickie Fowler 21 1st

• This is the first time since 1998 that the 36-hole leader/co-leader has more than a one-stroke lead at the Memorial. In 1998, Fred Couples and Len Mattiace had a two stroke lead after 36 holes. Since 1998, six of 12 players have turned the 36-hole lead/co-lead into victory.

• Fowler is looking to become the 10th winner in his 20s to win on TOUR this season. Last year there were seven winners in their 20s. Last year Dustin Johnson was the youngest winner at 24. This season, there has already been a 22-year-old winner (Day) and a 20-year-old winner (Rory McIlroy).

• Coming into this week, Fowler's only lead after any round on TOUR was at the 2009 Frys.com Open when he was T1 after the second round (lost in playoff).

• Only six players in the history of the Memorial have had a three stroke lead or more after 36 holes.

Year 36 hole leader Strokes Result
1982 Roger Maltbie 6 T2
1989 Fuzzy Zoeller 5 2nd
1987 Scott Hoch 4 T3
1985 Hale Irwin 4 W
1979 Tom Watson 4 W
1991 Kenny Perry 3 W

• Only six of 22 second-round leaders/co-leaders have gone on to victory this season on TOUR. The last was Jason Bohn at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

• Furyk has 10 top-25 finishes in 14 career starts at the Memorial.

• Furyk, who has two wins this year, is looking for his first three-win season on TOUR.

• Petrovic matched Fowler's 6-under in the second round to move four strokes behind the rookie.

• Petrovic opened this season with six-straight missed cuts. His first top 10 of the season came at the Valero Texas Open (T6).

• Petrovic missed the cut at the Memorial in 2009 after making the cut in his first five starts at Muirfield Village. Petrovic's best finish here is T14 in 2006.

• Petrovic (66) turned in his best round at Muirfield Village. His previous best was a second round 68 in 2006.

• Day (T5) moved to 8-under for the tournament, five strokes behind Fowler.

• Day, who won two weeks ago at the HP Byron Nelson Championship at the age of 22, is trying to join Tiger Woods (7), Gene Sarazen (3), Jack Nicklaus (3), Sergio Garcia (3), Horton Smith (2), Phil Mickelson (2) and Jerry Pate (2) as the only golfers with multiple wins under the age of 22.

• Day missed the cut at the Memorial in 2008 and finished T27 last year.

• Justin Rose is competing in his sixth Memorial Tournament with a history of success. Despite missing the cut last year, he finished T2 in 2008, T14 in 2006 and solo fourth in his first start here in 2004.

• This is just the second time that Rose has turned in back-to-back rounds in the 60s at the Memorial. He recorded rounds of 67-69 in the second and third rounds in 2004 on his way to a fourth-place finish.

• Not since Tom Lehman in 1994 has a player managed to make the Memorial Tournament his first win on TOUR.

• There have been six first-time winners on TOUR so far this year, most recently being Day at the HP Byron Nelson Championship.

• The last five major championship winners are playing in the Memorial this week.

Player Major Current Position
Phil Mickelson 2010 Masters T8
Y.E. Yang 2009 PGA Championship T52
Stewart Cink 2009 British Open 7th
Lucas Glover 2009 U.S. Open MC
Angel Cabrera 2009 Masters MC

• In 2009, Muirfield Village Golf Club featured the third-most difficult finishing holes (Nos. 16-18) on TOUR, behind Quail Hollow Club and Bay Hill Club & Lodge. Woods won at all three courses last year.

• Last year, Muirfield Village Golf Club was the sixth-toughest course on the PGA TOUR (73.425/1.425 over par). In 2008, it was the fifth-toughest course on TOUR (average score was 74.397/2.397 over par).

• The par-four 18th hole at Muirfield Village Golf Club was the 20th toughest hole during the entire 2009 season (average score 4.343).

Ernie Els (+2) missed just his second cut of the season in 12 starts. His other missed cut was at THE PLAYERS. It is Els' second missed cut at the Memorial in 17 career starts. He has six top 10s at Muirfield Village.

Geoff Ogilvy (T33), who held a share of the first-round lead, shot a 77 in the second round. It was Ogilvy's worst round since he turned in a 77 at The Barclays in 2009 (MC).

• The last four Memorial Tournament champions made the cut this week.

Year Winner Current Pos.
2009 Tiger Woods T25
2008 Kenny Perry T10
2007 K.J. Choi T42
2006 Carl Pettersson T10

• Bogey-free rounds: Thursday: Phil Mickelson (67), Jim Furyk (68), Ricky Barnes (70); Friday: Rickie Fowler (66), Tim Petrovic (66), Alex Cejka (67)

• Scoring Averages at the par-72 Muirfield Village Golf Club:

  Front 9 Back 9 Total Cumulative
Thursday 35.683 36.392 72.075 ---
Friday 35.717 36.925 72.642 72.358

• The par-4, 10th hole has played the toughest through two rounds, yielding a 4.250 average. The par-5 fifth hole was the easiest with a 4.608 average after two rounds.

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