Second-Round Notes – Friday, May 2, 2014
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2014 Wells Fargo Championship (The 25th of 41 events in the PGA TOUR Season) Charlotte, N.C. May 1-4, 2014 FedExCup Points: 500 Quail Hollow Club Par/Yardage: 36-36—72/7,562 Purse: $6,900,000 ($1,242,000) Second-Round Notes – Friday, May 2, 2014 Weather: Mostly cloudy, with highs in the lower 70s. Winds SW 5-10 mph. 36-hole cut: 73 players at 1-over 145 from a field of 156 professionals. Second-Round Leaderboard Angel Cabrera 66-69—135 (-9) Martin Flores 67-68—135 (-9) Justin Rose 69-67—136 (-8) Shawn Stefani 69-68—137 (-7) Martin Flores Martin Flores birdied two of his last three holes in round two, Nos. 7 and 8, to get to 9-under 135 through 36 holes. Following a 312-yard drive at the par-4 11 th , he holed his second shot from 105 yards for an eagle-two. In three previous starts at the Wells Fargo Championship, Flores missed the cut in 2010, finished T21 in 2012 and T38 last year. Flores has made 10 of 15 cuts on the PGA TOUR this season, but is in search of his first top-10 since a career-best T4 at the 2013 John Deere Classic. Flores is making his 100 th start on TOUR this week, highlighted by five career top 10s. Flores, a 2004 University of Oklahoma grad, is looking to become the second Sooner to win the Wells Fargo Championship (Anthony Kim in 2008). Flores is looking to become the fifth player since 2008, and third consecutive, to make the Wells Fargo Championship his first PGA TOUR title (Anthony Kim/2008, Rory McIlroy/2010, Rickie Fowler/2012, Derek Ernst/2013). Flores’ only previous lead after any round on the PGA TOUR was at last year’s FedEx St. Jude Classic, when he held a share of the 18-hole lead with five others. Angel Cabrera Making his sixth start at the Wells Fargo Championship, Angel Cabrera birdied four of his last six holes in round two, Nos. 4, 5, 7 and 8, to maintain his spot atop the leaderboard for a second straight day. This marks the first time in his career to maintain at least a share of an overnight lead two straight rounds. Cabrera is making his 10 th start of the 2013-14 PGA TOUR Season this week, with less than desired results. Of the two cuts he has made, he finished T52 at the Northern Trust Open and T43 at the Shell Houston Open. Cabrera is making his first start this week since missing the cut at the Masters three weeks ago. From the 2013 PGA Championship to the start of this week, a span of 20 rounds, Cabrera has managed just six sub-par scores. Today’s 69 is his first sub-par score of the season in a second round. The only previous second-round lead Cabrera has held was at the U.S. Open in 2007. He was T7 after round three, but ended up victorious by a stroke over Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk. Cabrera, winner of the 2007 U.S. Open and 2009 Masters Tournament, remains in search of his first non-major victory on the PGA TOUR. His closest was a third-place finish at the 2010 Wells Fargo Championship. Second-Round Statistics The only second-round leader of the Wells Fargo Championship to convert for the win was Tiger Woods in 2007. The winners of the Wells Fargo Championship came from an average of 3.45 strokes behind after 36 holes. The largest come-from-behind win after 36 holes was in 2010, when Rory McIlroy overcame a 10-stroke deficit. Ten of 23 second-round leaders on the PGA TOUR this season have been able to convert for the win in stroke- play events. Most recently, Bubba Watson achieved the feat at the Masters. Miscellaneous Player Notes Justin Rose Making his sixth start in the Wells Fargo Championship, and first since 2011, Justin Rose remains in search of his first top-20 finish in the event. Today’s score of 5-under 67 marks the first time he has posted a sub-par score in round two in the event. His previous best, posted in 2008 and 2011, was a 1-over 73. Rose is making just his ninth start of the 2013-14 PGA TOUR Season this week, and is coming off a T8 at last week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans. His other top-10 finishes this year have been fifth-place honors at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in Shanghai and a T8 at the Valspar Championship in the Tampa Bay area. Rose, a five-time winner on TOUR, is in search of his first win since last year’s U.S. Open at Merion GC. Geoff Ogilvy Looking for his first top-10 finish since a T2 at the 2013 Honda Classic, Geoff Ogilvy made seven birdies and two bogeys in round two to post a 5-under 67. The score is his lowest on the PGA TOUR since posting a 5- under 66 in round two of the Frys.com Open, his second round of the 2013-14 PGA TOUR Season. Prior to his 2013 Honda Classic finish, Ogilvy’s last top-10 finish was a T9 at the 2012 Open Championship. A seven-time winner on the PGA TOUR, Ogilvy is looking for his first victory since the 2010 Hyundai Tournament of Champions. At 5-under, Ogilvy will begin round three four strokes back. Ogilvy is making his 10 th start in this week’s Wells Fargo Championship, having never missed a cut. His two top-10 finishes, both T10s, came in 2004 and 2006. In 13 previous starts this season, his best finish is a T11 at the Valero Texas Open. Phil Mickelson Phil Mickelson’s 3-over 75 in round two ties his highest competitive score at Quail Hollow from round three in 2011. Mickelson is now 32/42 for rounds of par-or-better at Quail Hollow. Mickelson is poised to make his ninth (of 11) cut this season on the PGA TOUR, but is still looking for his first top 10. This marks the longest stretch of his career to start a season without a top-10 finish. Mickelson’s last top 10 came at the 2013 Barclays (T6). Mickelson led after rounds two and three at last year’s Wells Fargo Championship, before a final-round, 1-over 73 resulted in third-place honors. Rory McIlroy 2010 Wells Fargo Championship winner Rory McIlroy struggled in round two, posting a 4-over 76. In four starts (14 rounds) before this week, his previous highest score was a 3-over 75 in round one of 2011 (MC). Having made the cut on the number (+1), McIlroy will begin round three 10 strokes off the lead. In 2010, he also made the cut on the number and began round three nine strokes back. Weekend rounds of 66-62 gave him a four stroke win. Three of McIlroy’s last four competitive rounds at Quail Hollow have now resulted in over-par scores. Last year, he posted weekend scores of 73-73. He opened this year’s event with a 3-under 69, which he followed with a 76 in round two. McIlroy has shot par-or-better in 11 of 16 rounds at Quail Hollow Club. His career-low round on TOUR came at Quail Hollow Club with a final-round 62 on his way to victory in 2010. Brendon de Jonge Brendon de Jonge made quite the improvement between rounds one and two, following an 8-over 80 with a career- low-tying, 10-under 62. His 18-stroke improvement is two behind the record of improved score from round one to round two (dating to 1980). At the 2008 Frys.com Open, Kevin Stadler followed an 81 with a 61 (and missed the cut). De Jonge’s 62 ties Rory McIlrory for the course record (R4/2010). J.B. Holmes As required to maintain his Major Medical Extension status for the remainder of the year, J.B. Holmes cleared the necessary money at last week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans. In order to earn a spot into next week’s PLAYERS Championship, however, Holmes needs to earn at least eight FedExCup points this week. Holmes, who has missed just one cut in 11 starts this season (The Honda Classic), will begin round three tied for fourth at 7-under. A two-time PGA TOUR winner, he is looking for his first title since the 2008 Waste Management Phoenix Open, an event he also won in 2006. Miscellaneous The only way into THE PLAYERS Championship next week is to win the Wells Fargo Championship and, if needed to complete the field of 144, the highest-ranked players not otherwise qualified on the FedExCup points list, in order of their position, will earn a spot in the field. Among those in the field with Charlotte connections: Webb Simpson (T17), Brendon de Jonge (T31), Davis Love III (T40), Jason Kokrak (T40), Bill Haas (T59), Johnson Wagner (T59), Harold Varner III (MC) and Robert Karlsson (MC).. There were 17 eagles recorded in round two. The record for the most in a round at the Wells Fargo Championship is 18, coming in round three of 2006 and round two of 2012. Bogey-free rounds: R1 – Kevin Na (69), Vijay Singh (69), Ryan Moore (70), Scott Langley (70) R2 – Brendon de Jonge (62), Cameron Tringale (68), Michael Thompson (69), Rickie Fowler (71) Scoring Averages: Front Back Total Cumulative R1 36.506 36.878 73.385 --- R2 36.117 36.227 72.344 72.865 Morning Scoring Average (72.33) vs.