Closing-hole birdies from the US’ Gary Woodland and South Korea’s KJ Choi lifted them into a share of the second-round lead at the Farmers Insurance Open outside San Diego on Friday as a host of big names missed the cut.
While defending champion Jason Day, world No. 4 Rickie Fowler and local favorite Phil Mickelson all failed to advance at Torrey Pines, Woodlands and Choi fired matching five-under-par 67s to finish at nine-under 135.
Long-hitting Dustin Johnson was alone in third at eight-under after a 66, one stroke in front of fellow Americans Scott Brown (71) and Billy Horschel (70), and Scotland’s Martin Laird (68).
Photo: AFP
Veteran Choi, an eight-time winner on the PGA Tour who has not triumphed on the circuit since the 2011 Players Championship, birdied three of his last five holes on the easier North Course to move joint top.
“My putting hasn’t been too good inside 15 to 20 feet, but today I made five or six outside 15 feet,” Choi said. “I heard the weekend will be very windy and rainy, so I’m hoping my imagination, my driving and putting will be stable.”
Power hitter Woodlands, winless on the PGA Tour since the 2013 Reno-Tahoe Open, piled up five birdies on his front nine to reach the turn in a flawless five-under 31.
Though he stumbled late on with bogeys at the 16th and 17th, he rebounded by getting up-and-down from a greenside bunker to birdie the par-five 18th on the challenging South layout.
“The way I’m driving the ball right now, I’m very comfortable with my golf swing,” said Woodlands, who made an equipment change during the off-season.
Australian world No. 2 Day withdrew from the pro-am competition on Wednesday because of a virus he picked up last Friday and was unable to practice ahead of his title defense until his warm-up session for Thursday’s opening round.
“That was the frustrating part, knowing that I wasn’t able to prepare the way I wanted to,” said Day, who followed his first-round 72 with a two-over 74 to miss the cut by three strokes.
“I’m not trying to make any excuses. I’m just looking forward to getting over this virus that has run through our family,” he said.
Fowler, who won the European Tour’s Abu Dhabi Championship on Sunday last week, almost holed a greenside bunker shot on his final hole, but had to settle for a closing par and a 71 that left him one shot outside the cutline.
Mickelson bogeyed four of his last six holes for a 76 and a one-over total. On his ninth hole, a wild second shot ended up in a car park, but his ball bounced back underneath an iron fence marking out-of-bounds, thereby saving him a penalty stroke.
To play his third shot there, the American left-hander walked to the car park side of the fence to make a swing from where he banged his club on the fence before finishing up with a double-bogey seven.
TAIWANESE EXITS: Fellow Australian Christopher O’Connell joined Tristan Schoolkate as a winner following his 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Tseng Hsin-chun Australian qualifier Tristan Schoolkate on Monday dispatched rising Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 at the ATP Toronto Masters, ensuring a breakthrough into the world top 100. The 24-year-old from Perth moved to 98th in the ongoing live rankings as he claimed his biggest career victory by knocking out the ATP NextGen champion from November last year. Schoolkate, son of a tennis coach, won his first match over a top-50 opponent on his sixth attempt as he ousted the world No. 49 teenager from Brazil. The qualifier played a quarter-final this month in Los Cabos and won through qualifying for his
Top seeds Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff on Tuesday advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open after both players were pushed hard by their opponents. World No. 3 Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best, but emerged with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto. Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev’s favor when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set. “It was a very
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on Thursday said that he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future. “Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama, but, for me, it’s always been quite clear, and also for next year,” the four-time champion said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I’m discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I’m also staying with the team for next year,” he said. Verstappen has a contract with
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
RSS