Kenny Perry of the US posted an eagle on the sixth hole en route to a 1-under 71 and a share of the lead after the second round at the PGA Memorial tournament on Friday.
Perry made bogey on three of his first five holes before his eagle from 35 yards at his sixth hole, the par-5 15th, boosted his confidence.
“That gave me some momentum, turned the round around and lifted my spirits,” said Perry, who carded a 1-under-par 71 to join Mathew Goggin at 7-under 137, one stroke better than Jerry Kelly and two clear of Luke Donald.
PHOTO: AFP
Phil Mickelson fell 10 strokes behind on a day when the field averaged nearly 76 strokes in high winds. Only three players broke 70, with Johnson Wagner’s 67 the day’s best score.
Perry’s pitch from a bank left of the 15th green trickled into the middle of the hole at a perfect speed.
“I hit the shot of my life to keep the ship from sinking,” the two-time Memorial champion said. “I knew I could chip the ball down within 15 feet, and it came out perfect and just fell in, like a slow-motion deal.”
Goggin, who played in the morning, had a hot start, shooting a 4-under through five holes thanks to a hot putter. But in the end, he had to settle for a roller-coaster 72.
“I holed a 20-footer from off the green at the first [hole],” said Goggin, a 33-year-old Australian. “I holed about a 25-footer at the next and a 15-footer at the next, and I just didn’t know what was going on.
“I made a few mental mistakes and left a couple of shots in bad positions or misjudged the wind.”
Kelly, who played with Goggin, had a considerably less-eventful 72 that included just three birdies and three bogeys.
Seventy-six players made the cut, which fell at 6-over 150 — the highest score since 1990.
Trevor Immelman advanced with nothing to spare after missing the cut in his two previous starts since winning the Masters.
■ GINN TRIBUTE
AFP, CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA
Aussie Karrie Webb shot a six-under 66 to share the lead at 13-under following the second round of the LPGA Ginn Tribute tournament on Friday.
Her co-leader is Sweden’s Sophie Gustafson, who shot a seven-under-par 65. Starting on the 10th hole, Gustafson got out of the gate quickly, making birdies on Nos. 11, 13 and 14.
She also birdied two of the final three holes during her bogey-free round.
“I was happy with my score but not my game after the first round,” Gustafson said. “But I worked on the range and it was better today.”
Tied for the lead after the first round, Webb managed to stay atop the leaderboard. The 33-year-old Australian had six birdies, two bogeys and eagled the par-five third hole for the second straight day.
The three-time British Open Champion has 35 career victories but still is searching for her first since 2006.
“I have missed a few chances over the first two rounds, so I have to be happy with my scores,” Webb said. “I feel I’m ready to win again.”
Webb and Gustafson hold a four-shot lead over Taiwan’s Teresa Lu (盧曉晴) and Park In-bee of South Korea, who are tied for third at nine-under. Suzann Pettersen fired a seven-under 65 to move into a three-way tie for fifth place at eight-under.
Annika Sorenstam, who finished her first round tied for 58th at even-par 72, shot a eight-under 66 on Friday and is in a logjam with eight others for eighth, seven shots off the pace.
■ WALES OPEN
AFP, NEWPORT, WALES
Australia’s Scott Strange shot a 66 to lead the EPGA Wales Open following Friday’s second round, though British Open champion Padraig Harrington crashed out at Celtic Manor.
The 31-year-old from Perth ranked just 164th in the world notched superb rounds of 63 and 66 on the course where Europe and the US will do Ryder Cup battle in two years’ time.
However, for Irishman Harrington, a second-round 74 sent him to his first missed cut on European soil since October 2006. Strange leads the race for the £300,000 (US$594,000) winner’s cheque by four from English pair Benn Barham and Robert Dinwiddie, Spain’s Alvaro Velasco and Indian Jeev Milkha Singh.
Former winner Robert Karlsson is in the group one further back.
Two wins on the Asian Tour have been the highlight of Strange’s professional career so far, but in his first full season as a European Tour member he has already finished joint runner-up at the Johnnie Walker Classic in India.
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