Second-round notebook:
Prayad cools to par 70 – WGC - Bridgestone Invitational
AKRON, Ohio – Thailand’s Prayad Marksaeng is still making noise in Asia. A par 70 at long, grueling Firestone, in the elite company of the Bridgestone Invitational, will do that for a guy who is fast rising from obscurity, even if he did cool off from his opening 66. “Greens quite hard and fast today,” said Prayad, after slipping just a bit to a tie for fourth with Steve Stricker (69) and Jerry Kelly (65) at 4-under 136, three off Padraig Harrington’s lead.
But quick greens weren’t the real problem. He hit only one of them on the back nine. He had trouble reaching them.
“Because tee shots not good, it was quite difficult,” Prayad said.
“It’s difficult to be on greens in regulation.”
THE MAN WITH THE SILK PURSE – England’s Oliver Wilson shot a sow’s ear of a round yesterday, and came away with a silk purse 69 and was as baffled as he was relieved to be at 2-under 138 after 36 holes.
“It was horrific all day,” Wilson said. “I don’t actually know how I was under par. It was probably the widest I have ever hit it off the tee, and it finally caught up with me at the end.” Meaning he bogeyed three of his last six holes. As to how he managed to score so well:
“I have no idea,” he said. “I got lucky, I guess. I hit it all over the place and managed to get breaks or still have a shot.” And after playing so well in practice. “I came here and my body is all over the place,” he said. “Everything is skew-whiff.”
* With rounds of 66-68-134, Tim Clark broke par in back-to-back rounds at this event for the first time in his seventh attempt at the Bridgestone Invitational.
* Tim Clark is enjoying a solid campaign on the PGA Tour, with 13 made cuts in 15 previous starts and eight top-25 finishes. One of those finishes was a T9 at the Accenture Match Play Championship, set up by a 4-and-2 victory in the second round over Tiger Woods. He sits No. 27 on the FedExCup points list.
* With rounds of 64-69-133, Padraig Harrington currently holds a two-stroke lead over Scott Verplank following the morning wave at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. Harrington recorded his lowest back-to-back rounds since shooting 66-66 over the final 36 holes enroute to his victory at last year’s PGA Championship, his last top-10 finish on the PGA Tour.
* According to Elias Sports, Verplank’s streak of 35 holes at par or better is the longest such streak to start a Tournament at Firestone Country Club in the last 25 years.
* Tiger Woods shot an even-par 70 to stay at 2-under-par for the Tournament. Woods is T13 following the second round. The 68-70 matches his 36-hole scores from his victory in 2007. He was T3 thru two rounds that year.
* Tiger Woods currently stands at T13 thru 36 holes at the Bridgestone Invitational Tournament, five strokes off the lead. The worst position Woods has ever held thru 36 holes at this event was T17 in 2002, the year the event was held at Sahelee Country Club in Sammamish, WA. His worst finish thru 36 holes at this event when held at Firestone Country Club is T9 in 2003.
* Before Friday’s second round, Tiger Woods had never finished a round of competition at Firestone Country Club outside of the top 10. That stretch includes the Bridgestone Invitational (1999-2007, 2009) and the NEC World Series of Golf (1997-1998).
* Jerry Kelly continues his late season charge to make the United States Presidents Cup team, matching Alvaro Quiros for the best round of the day with a 5-under-par 65. Kelly improved to T3 (-4) and is three strokes off the lead. Kelly has consecutive top-10 finishes leading into this week and has five top-10 finishes in 2009, including a victory at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Kelly entered the Bridgestone Invitational ranked No. 15 in the U.S. standings. He needs to crack the top 10 by August 16 to assure himself a spot on Captain Fred Couples’ squad.
* Robert Allenby is ranked No. 11 in the International Team Presidents Cup standings. Allenby is 3-under-par for the Tournament. He is looking for his fourth top-10 finish at this event in his ninth attempt. His best finish, T2, came in 2002.
* Steve Stricker, No. 2 in the FedExCup standings, finished the second round at 4-under-par and is three strokes off the lead. Stricker has seven top-10 finishes this year including victories at the John Deere Classic and the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. With a victory and a T16 or worse finish from Tiger Woods, Stricker would move into the No. 1 position in the FedExCup standings.
* Six-time PGA Tour winner Zach Johnson finished the second round at 3-under-par and is currently four strokes off Harrington’s pace. Behind two victories this year at the Sony Open in Hawaii and the Valero Texas Open, Johnson ranks 4th in the FedExCup standings and could move as high as 2nd with a victory this week. Last year, Johnson finished the season ranked No. 131 in the FedExCup, failing to advance beyond The Barclays, the first PGA Tour Playoffs event.
* Oliver Wilson shot his second consecutive 1-under 69 on Friday and is at 2-under for the Tournament. Wilson is one of five players who have finished in the top 10 in the previous two World Golf Championships this season.
* Oliver Wilson has eight career runner-up finishes on the European Tour, including four in 2008. Teamed with Henrik Stenson on the European squad at last year’s Ryder Cup, Wilson holed the winning putt on the 18th hole to beat Phil Mickleson and Anthony Kim, 2-and-1.
* Spain’s Alvaro Quiros equaled Kelly’s low round of the day with a bogey-free 5-under-par 65. Quiros leads the European Tour in driving distance with a 315.6-yard average. Quiros is looking for his first top-10 finish in a PGA Tour event.
* Of the 18 players in the Bridgestone Invitational for the first time, only Quiros is below par through 36 holes.
* Stuart Appleby was assessed a one-stroke penalty on Friday for violation of Rule 18-2a for an incident that occurred during Thursday’s first round. On the 15th hole, Appleby had not addressed his ball and placed his club behind the ball and noticed the ball move slightly. He called a PGA Tour Rules Official to the 15th green where they determined no penalty had occurred. After receiving phone calls from viewers of Thursday’s telecast, officials reviewed footage of yesterday’s round and determined that Appleby had, in fact, violated rule 18-2a. Appleby’s first-round score was changed from 73 to 74 and he is now at 2-over for the Tournament.
* Harrington is making his 11thstart at the Bridgestone Invitational, with three top-20 finishes. His best result came in his first start in 1999, finishing T12. Harrington, a three-time Major Championship winner, has just three top-25 finishes on Tour in 2009, with a season-best T11 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He is currently No. 142 on the FedExCup points list.
* The second-round leader has gone on to win 13 of 32 stroke-play events on Tour this season. The second-round leader has gone on to win here five out of 10 times.
* Three international players have earned victories at the Bridgestone Invitational:
Craig Parry, Australia (2002)
Darren Clarke, Northern Ireland (2003)
Vijay Singh, Fiji (2008)
* Tiger Woods is attempting to win the Bridgestone Invitational for a seventh time (1999-2001, 2005-07). Only Sam Snead has more victories in a single Tournament, with eight wins in Greensboro, N.C. Woods has never finished lower than fourth at the Bridgestone Invitational (4-2002, T4-2003).
* Woods has won 15 World Golf Championships events in 29 previous starts:
Official World Golf Championship Victories (15)
Bridgestone Invitational 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007
Accenture Match Play Championship 2003, 2004, 2008
CA Championship 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007
* The only player to win on the PGA Tour the week before the Bridgestone Invitational and then go on to capture the WGC event was Tiger Woods, doing so in 2000 and 2006. Both seasons he followed up his victory at the PGA Championship with a win at Firestone Country Club. Woods is hoping to perform the feat again this year, one week after his win at the Buick Open.
* The field includes 11 past champions of World Golf Championships events, including four past champions of the Bridgestone Invitational: Stewart Cink (2004), Darren Clarke (2003), Vijay Singh (2008) and Tiger Woods (1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007).
* Of the 80 players in the field, Padraig Harrington (1), Lee Westwood (T25), Phil Mickelson (T22), Darren Clarke (T36) and Stuart Appleby (T46) are the players who are competing for the 11th time at the Bridgestone Invitational. This group has combined for one victory (Darren Clarke, 2003), three second-place finishes, one third and 13 top 10s.
* In his 10th career appearance on the PGA Tour (four in WGC events), Prayad Marksaeng is at 4-under-par thru two rounds. His best Tour showing was a T13 at the 2009 WGC-CA Championship, where he shared the 18-hole lead with Phil Mickelson, Retief Goosen and Jeev Milkha Singh after a Tour-best 7-under 65.
* This is Marksaeng’s second start at the Bridgestone Invitational, posting rounds of 70-73-73-73 en route to a T68 finish in 2008.
* Marksaeng grew up in poverty, sharing a bedroom with at least 10 siblings in the upper room of a two-story house. Mornings consisted of driving a three-wheel taxi for six hours beginning at 4 a.m., with caddie duties beginning at the Royal Hua Hin Golf Club each morning at 10:00. Marksaeng played golf for the first time with a self-made club consisting of metal attached to a bamboo stick, with a used bicycle tire supplying the materials needed for a grip. He would use golf balls retrieved from the jungle surrounding the fairways at Hua Hin GC.
* Phil Mickelson, making his first start on Tour since a runner-up finish at the U.S. Open on June 21, finished the second round at 1-under-par for the Tournament. The lefthander owns five top-10 finishes in 10 previous starts at the Bridgestone Invitational, with a runner-up finish in his inaugural start in 1999 his best result.
* The par-70 Firestone Country Club played to an average of 70.696 during the second round, with the par-4 fourth hole playing the toughest at 4.354. The par-5 second hole was the easiest at 4.506.
* In recognition of the service and sacrifice that our men and women in uniform have made, the World Golf Championships–Bridgestone Invitational will hold an on-site ceremony to honor the special achievements of local military personnel on Saturday, August 8, 2009. The ceremony, made possible by global security company Lockheed Martin, in conjunction with the USO of Northern Ohio, will take place at the Championship Club, located on the 16th green of Firestone’s South Course. Nine individuals, representing the U.S. Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy, will be honored.
Time: 10 a.m. Location: Championship Club, 16th green, Firestone South Course
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