Chad Campbell and Kenny Perry shared the 2nd round lead at the 2009 Masters tournament. Campbell's laser irons and Perry's sky- high approaches left them both at -9. Campbell fired a 70, after yesterday's opening 65. Perry's -5, 67 was mated with yesterday's 68. Perry's attempting to become the oldest major champion at 49 years young. Campbell's trying to shake the "can't finish" moniker under the brightest of lights.
Angel Cabrera held solo 3rd after his pair of 68s. A resurgent Todd Hamilton was in sole 4th at -6. Tim Clark, who always seems to play well here, was alone in 5th at -5. There were herds of players at -4, -3, and especially at -2.
News and Notes From Round #2
I don't think the Masters is anywhere near the best test of golf since the field is so restricted, but there's no arguing it's probably golf's biggest spectacle. Stay tuned.
Til' next,
Movers. Sergio's 67 placed him at -4. Phil's 68 landed him at -3. Stephen Ames' -4 today and -3 overall landed him right back in the tournament. Anyone in the pack at -2, including Tiger Woods, had better make their move tomorrow and plan on having to be 5 or 6 under in Saturday's round in order to have a legit shot on Sunday. Woods' continued balky putter kept him from moving up today's board.
Bag Packing. Sent home with the cut at +1 were Greg Norman with an unfortunate 77 today, Adam Scott, Retief Goosen, Ernie Els (again), Stewart Cink, Justin Leonard, Boo Weekley, and Fred Couples. I'd love to see Boo win one of the things just to see what he serves for the champion's dinner.
Screwed. Padraig Harrington got screwed by one of the stupidest of golf rules. On the 15th hole, in high wind, he addressed his putt and the ball was moved by the wind. That cost him a penalty stroke. If they rely on players' integrity to call their own penalties, even when out of TV camera view, then why can't they rely on a player's integrity to say that the ball moved at address, but not because they touched it? If Harrington loses by a stroke it would be a huge injustice. This rule is way overdue for a revisit.
Screwed. Padraig Harrington got screwed by one of the stupidest of golf rules. On the 15th hole, in high wind, he addressed his putt and the ball was moved by the wind. That cost him a penalty stroke. If they rely on players' integrity to call their own penalties, even when out of TV camera view, then why can't they rely on a player's integrity to say that the ball moved at address, but not because they touched it? If Harrington loses by a stroke it would be a huge injustice. This rule is way overdue for a revisit.
Most birdies. Anthony Kim set a new Masters' record with 11 birdies today in his round of 65. He'd have been staring at 61 if the rest had been pars. Incredible.
Surprises. Larry Mize made the cut safely, ending at -1. Guy can still play I reckon. Rory McIlroy made the cut on the number despite giving back 5 strokes in just 3 holes. Ryuji Imada also made it on the button with a "must make" putt on 18. Zach Johnson and Bernhard Langer followed their opening round 70s with matching 80s today. Their champion's lockers will be cleaned out a couple of days early.
The weekend. Tomorrow is obviously pivotal. Can Campbell continue to play out of his mind even after being placed in the last group? Can Kenny Perry defy age for two more days? Can the superstars sitting 5, 6, or 7 shots back, namely Woods, Singh, Garcia, and Mickelson, rally and get within striking distance for Sunday? How will the course play? Some wind this afternoon had players guessing and reclubbing.
I don't think the Masters is anywhere near the best test of golf since the field is so restricted, but there's no arguing it's probably golf's biggest spectacle. Stay tuned.
Til' next,
Coulnd't agree more with you on the Padraig incident. Well said.
ReplyDeleteAG,
ReplyDeleteThank you. It's a real travesty. R&A and USGA could instantly fix this. They did it with the "rake the bunker" incident with Stewart Cink last year.