FRENCH LICK, Ind. — Rob Moss shot a 2-under 70 and Sonny Skinner had a 71 for a share of the lead through two rounds of the PGA Professional National Championship on Monday.Both are at 3-under 139.Moss, the head pro at Pepper Pike Club in Pepper Pike, Ohio, birdied four of his last eight holes to overcome an early double bogey.This is the second time he’s made the cut at the PGA National in four appearances. The other time came in 2005 when he finished tied for 18th.”You can’t let your guard down,” Moss said. “I certainly do not dazzle anyone with my ball striking. I have been playing well enough to know what I can and cannot do.”Skinner, the teaching pro at River Pointe Golf Club in Albany, Ga., birdied the 18th hole to tie Moss. He was second in 2008 at the PGA Nationals and tied for 29th last year.”I played from the back of the bus,” Skinner said. “I am not a fast player, but I feel good. I like my game plan. I feel I’m very prepared heading into the next two days.”"We came in trying to play four good rounds,” he said. “I got two good rounds out of the way and have two more to go.”Bruce Smith, the PGA director of instruction at Brookhaven Country Club in Dallas set a new competitive record on the Dye Course with a 3-under 69. He was tied for second at 2-under 140. He was joined at 140 by defending champion Mike Small and Ryan Benzel.Small, the University of Illinois men’s golf coach, shot a 72. Benzel, the teaching pro at Battle Creek Golf Course in Tulalip, Wash., had a 70.Danny Balin, Keith Ohr and Jeff Sorenson were at 1-under 141. Sorenson had a 3-under 67. Balin shot a 68. Ohr had a 69.The best score of the day was the 4-under 66 on the Ross Course by Kyle Flinton, the head pro at Quail Creek Golf & Country Club in Oklahoma City.First-round leader David Paeglow shot a 6-over 78. The head pro at Kishwaukee Country Club in Illinois had six bogeys, one double bogey and two birdies. He was at 1-over 143.The lowest 70 scores and ties made the cut at 5-over 147 from the field of 312.The final top 20 will earn spots in the PGA Championship on Aug. 12-15 at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
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BARRINGTON, R.I. — Suzann Pettersen and Hunter Mahan made up two strokes on the last two holes and tied Juli Inkster and Boo Weekley for the lead at 10-under par after the first round of the CVS Caremark Charity Classic on Monday.The teams shared the lead after opening 61s in the 10-team best-ball tournament involving PGA Tour, LPGA and Champions tour members at Rhode Island Country Club. The 36-hole event concludes Tuesday.Pettersen and Mahan were 8-under with two holes remaining before the six-time LPGA Tour winner rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt at the 17th and Mahan made a 10-footer for birdie at the 18th to forge a tie.”Suzann made a great bird on 17 and I had an easier one on 18,” Mahan said. “The greens were exceptional. I thought they would be softer but they were in perfect shape.”It’s a great course to play on because you can make some birdies.”Inkster and Weekley combined for six birdies in a back-nine 29. That score on the inward nine was matched by tournament co-founder Brad Faxon and Rickie Fowler, who finished in a five-way tie for third at 8-under.”Boo got on a nice birdie run,” Inkster said of the four birdies Weekley made on the back nine. “Fortunately, we didn’t birdie the same holes, which was nice.”When you can make those 15-footers like Boo did, it helps you keep the momentum. As the round progressed, I got my pom-poms out.”The teams of Bubba Watson, who was coming off his first PGA Tour victory at the Travelers Championship, and Camilo Villegas, Angela Stafford and Brett Quigley, Ricky Barnes and J.B. Holmes, and Billy Andrade and Bill Haas, were also 8-under.Andrade recorded the only eagle of the round when he made a 12-foot putt on the 538-yard 11th hole.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
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PITTSFORD, N.Y. — As confident as Cristie Kerr is playing, the top-ranked American was left surprised with how she ran away from the pack in the second round of the LPGA Championship on Friday.
LPGA Championship Leaderboard
1. Kerr (-10)
T-2. Miyazato (-5)
T-2. Park (-5)
T-4. Lincicome (-4)
T-4. Yang (-4)
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“I played awesome today,” Kerr exclaimed. “I don’t think anybody expected anybody to be in double digits after two days. But you know what, keep my head down and keep going.”The 14-year tour veteran, and 13-time winner, is two rounds from claiming her second major title after shooting a 6-under 66 to take a five-stroke lead at 10-under on the Locust Hill Country Club course. The 2007 U.S. Women’s Open Champion opened the day in a three-way tie for the lead before taking control by scrambling out of trouble several times to produce a bogey-free round.She birdied four of her last five holes to pull away with the low score of the round.Inbee Park, the 2008 U.S. Women’s Open champion, and Mika Miyazato were tied for second at 5-under after 70s. Brittany Lincicome (69) and Amy Yang (67) were 4-under in a field that has only 17 players at below par in the tour’s second major.Park was impressed by Kerr’s score but wasn’t prepared to concede anything just yet.”No, not at all. It’s still two days of golf left out there,” Park said. “Anything could happen on this golf course.”Much did happen to Kerr, and she managed to overcome it.Despite hitting only five of 14 fairways, Kerr muscled through the heavy rough that protects the narrow 6,506-yard course. That included a perfectly placed 135-yard shot she punched through a small opening between a pair of trees to bounce it on the green to save par on No. 16. She holed a 23-footer for birdie on No. 17 and then tapped on 18 for her final birdie in after hitting a 6-iron within a foot.”Weightlifting,” Kerr cracked, referring to playing out of the rough. “I ended up getting some pretty good lies, some not so good lies, but I managed. When you are in the rough, don’t try to be a hero.”She also credited the new putter she began using the before winning the State Farm Classic two weeks ago.”I’ve been searching for a a while,” Kerr said. “I’ve always been a good putter, but when I found a putter that feels right, I can make almost anything I look at. So I found it.”In two rounds, Kerr has made just one bogey while being particularly sharp on the back nine, which she has played a combined 8-under 66.The cut was at 4-over 148, knocking out several notables, including Se Ri Pak (10-over) and Pat Hurst (11-over).Sun and a light breeze made for good conditions a day after a heavy downpour briefly delayed play. With thunderstorms in the forecast for mid-Saturday, officials have taken efforts to ensure the third round will be completed.Start times have been pushed up 90 minutes to 7 a.m. And the groups will go off in threesomes rather than twosomes, while also going off both the No. 1 and 9 tees in a bid to complete the round by 2:30 p.m.Kerr is scheduled to tee off in the last group with Park and Miyazato at 9 a.m.Opening the week ranked fifth in the world, Kerr is proving serious about her objective in taking a run at top spot, which is currently held by Ai Miyazato — 3-over after rounds of 76 and 71.”I feel like I’m poised to do it,” she said. “I’ve won a lot of regular tournaments. It’s really time.”Jiyai Shin, the No. 2 player in the world, was 2-under after rounds of 72 and 70 in her first tournament since having an emergency appendectomy two weeks ago.Kerr also is eager to show that the U.S. contingent on the LPGA Tour can be competitive in the post-Lorena Ochoa and Annika Sorenstam era.”I think it’s very important,” she said, noting the cheers she’s getting from the large galleries at Locust Hill. “I can feel they want an American winner just in the way they’re cheering for me.”Lincicome, from Florida, agreed with Kerr, but with one exception.”It is important for Americans to win majors,” Lincicome said. “Hopefully, Cristie Kerr is not running away with it, so I can have a chance.”Lincicome got as low as 5-under for the tournament before a bogey-5 on No. 16. She then salvaged her round by sinking a 10-foot par putt on No. 18.Park produced four birdies and two bogeys to move into second. That’s an improvement a day after shooting a 69 despite carding four bogeys.”Only two bogeys, I think I can take that every day,” Inbee said.Mika Miyazato, who started on 10, was even for the round before scoring birdies on the par-3 fifth and par-5 eighth.”Today was all about keeping my patience and keeping my game steady,” Miyazato said.Juli Inkster (74) dropped to 1-over for the tournament, a day after shooting a 71 on her 50th birthday. Michelle Wie was 2-over, following an opening 72 with a 74.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
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CROMWELL, Conn. — Justin Rose shot an 8-under 62, birdieing five consecutive back-nine holes for the second straight round, to take a four-stroke lead over Kevin Sutherland on Friday in the Travelers Championship.
Travelers Championship Leaderboard
1. Rose (-14)
2. Sutherland (-10)
T-3. Singh (-9)
T-3. Lunde (-9)
T-3. Pavin (-9)
T-3. Wi (-9)
• Scores
Rose, the Memorial winner three weeks ago who failed to qualify for the U.S. Open last week at Pebble Beach, broke the tournament record for the first 36 holes, finishing at 14-under 126. The 62 was one off the course record at TPC River Highlands.”Yesterday’s finish was amazing, ran five birdies in the last six and then again today, managed to get five in a row again,” said Rose, who started his second round on the 10th tee. “Birdied 10 of the 12 holes, so from just cruising, suddenly I went to the top of the leaderboard just like that and began to get a nice little lead there.”Sutherland shot his second straight 65. Vijay Singh (66), Corey Pavin (66), Bill Lunde (63) and Charlie Wi (67) were five strokes back at 9-under.After making 162 PGA Tour starts without winning, Rose broke through at the Memorial three weeks ago. This was his first start since.”I think I’m just on a nice streak,” Rose said. “I’m not getting in my way. I’m letting it happen. It’s nice to not field the question, ‘Can this be your first win?’ I must say. That helps. Having done that, that’s one question that it’s just something less that I have to think about.”Winning a tournament in its own right is difficult. So, when you have the added expectation of it trying to be your first, that can be harder sometimes,” he said.Sutherland won’t be complaining about consistency after his 65s.”I’m very pleased. I’ve hit the ball very well,” Sutherland said. “I’ve had 10 birdies for the two days and haven’t had a bogey yet. I’m playing real consistent, real solid.”Lunde eagled Nos. 13 and 15.”That’s something on this golf course,” said Lunde, who also started on the 10th tee. “On the back nine, you got some opportunities to make some eagles and make a lot of birdies. It’s nice to get off to a quick start, to get the momentum going early.”Singh birdied his first two holes.”It started off, and I thought, ‘Here we go. It’s going to be a good one,’ and then I didn’t take the opportunities on the front nine,” said Singh, who played only par golf over the next seven holes.Pavin’s birdie bid on the ninth hole, his last of the day, stopped a revolution short.”It’s all fine by me,” Pavin said. “I’ve been here a long time. I guess the ones who are still alive are still cheering for me.”All eight of Rose’s birdie putts were inside 11 feet. His putts on the 13th and 15th holes were tap-in birdies after a pair of chip shots.”Really, I felt under-prepared coming in here,” Rose said. “I got to tell you. Didn’t do a lot of practice. I’m doing a lot of things well. My feel’s really good.”For a while, I was chasing results because I knew I was playing well, instead of just letting it happen. So, it’s a very fine line out here. It’s very subtle, and I haven’t really changed much. Suddenly, my name’s up there, and you think, ‘Well, what’s different?’ But really, nothing is different. It’s just suddenly happening,” he said.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
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MUNICH — Bradley Dredge of Wales had two eagles in a round for the first time in his 14-year professional career to earn a one-shot lead at the midpoint of the BMW International Open.He shot a 5-under 67 in Friday’s second round, picking up four shots at the sixth and 11th holes at the Golfclub Munchen Eichenreid.Dredge moved to 13-under for the tournament to pull ahead of Spain’s Pablo Larrazabal, who shot a 6-under 66 earlier in the day.Spain’s Ignacio Garrido and Scotland’s Peter Whiteford were tied for third at 11-under.Ernie Els missed the cut when he couldn’t make a 15-foot eagle putt on the last green.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
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MUNICH — Bradley Dredge of Wales and Peter Whiteford of Scotland led the BMW International Open by one shot after shooting 8-under 64s in the first round Thursday.A group of four players had 65s: Ariel Canete of Argentina, Jeppe Huldahl of Sweden, Chapchair Nirat of Thailand and Phil Price of Wales.
BMW International Open Leaderboard
T-1. Dredge (-8)
T-1. Whiteford (-8)
T-3. Canete (-7)
T-3. Huldahl (-7)
T-3. Nirat (-7)
T-3. Price (-7)
• Complete scores
The joint leaders played early Thursday and are likely to find the course much tougher when they start their second rounds after lunch Friday.The greens, softened by weeks of heavy rain, will become bumpy and unpredictable after being exposed to heavy player traffic.That was the view of the world No. 8 Paul Casey after he shot a 68 late on the first day.”I was maybe a little frustrated,” he said. “I gave myself so many opportunities tee to green. I was pretty strong. But we had had a lot of traffic on the greens and a couple of putts slipped by.”But the good news was that if I could play like that in the second round starting early when the greens will be fantastic, I will be able to take advantage of it.”Casey also remarked how different the conditions were in Munich, with damp fairways giving way to preferred lies, to those at Pebble Beach where he played last weekend in the U.S. Open.”These greens are very receptive and you can throw the ball very close to the hole, where at Pebble Beach it was a question of playing the ball bump and run into the greens. I was not surprised that a couple of guys coming over from the States struggled.”While U.S. Open third-placed finisher Ernie Els shot a 2-under 70, the chief victim was Sergio Garcia, who opened with a 5-over 77.The Spaniard didn’t speak to reporters after his round. He has slumped from second in the world to 36th over the last 15 months, and is worried his run of five straight Ryder Cups is about to end.”He isn’t enjoying his golf at all at the moment,” said Carlos Rodriguez, Garcia’s manager. “It is not fun for him.”Sergio has even said that if Colin Montgomerie were willing to offer him a Ryder Cup wild card he’s not sure whether he would be of any help to the European team.”
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
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CROMWELL, Conn. — Justin Rose birdied five of his final six holes for a 6-under 64 and a share of the first-round lead Thursday in the Travelers Championship.Rose, the Memorial winner three weeks ago who failed to qualify for the U.S. Open last week at Pebble Beach, missed a 12-foot birdie putt on 18, leaving him tied with morning starters Padraig Harrington, Charlie Wi and Mathew Goggin.Rose was 1 under through 12 holes, before making his run, which included a 34-foot birdie putt on 17.
Travelers Championship Leaderboard
T-1. Rose (-6)
T-1. Goggin (-6)
T-1. Harrington (-6)
T-1. Wi (-6)
T-5. Seven tied at -5
• Scores
“I was more than happy to walk off there with a par,” he said. “But sometimes when things are going your way, you roll in a 30-footer and suddenly, I was like, ‘Things are going right now.’”Harrington and Rose are trying to run Europe’s tour winning streak to four.”As I’ve been saying for quite a while, European golf is very strong and there’s a lot of good young players finding their way in the game, learning how to win, given the opportunity,” Harrington said. “You’ve seen three in the last three weeks and a few others during the year.”Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell won the big prize last week at the U.S. Open. The Memorial was Rose’s first tour win, and fellow Englishman Lee Westwood won before that at the St. Jude Classic.Harrington, Goggin and Wi all capitalized on perfect morning conditions, finishing well before high wind and heavy rain hit the area in the afternoon, forcing a 90-minute delay.Harrington birdied his first three holes and was 4 under at the turn.Goggin made his run on the back nine, birdieing Nos. 13, 15 and 17.Both Goggin and Wi played bogey-free rounds. Wi made four back-nine birdies, including three straight on 12, 13 and 14 to pull into even.”The conditions were perfect when we teed off,” Wi said. “The wind didn’t start blowing until about the seventh hole so I was able to make some birdies when the conditions were perfect.”Vijay Singh shot a 65 in the afternoon despite wind gusts in the area of up to 25 mph.”It wasn’t totally into us, except for six holes, I think,” Singh said. “It wasn’t awfully bad. It was gusty, but if you timed it well, it wasn’t that bad.”Six others also shot 65s, including 50-year-old former U.S. Open champion Corey Pavin, who hit all 14 fairways in regulation.”It’s really important to hit the fairways, keep it in play, hit some nice shots into the greens and take a birdie when you can get it,” he said. “And it’s not a course generally where the scoring is tremendously low, but it can be, but you have to play smart golf here and play your own game.”Last year, Kenny Perry won by shooting 22-under par. Harrington said knowing scores could go that low forced some aggressive play.”You got to think you got to make birdies,” Harrington said. “You really do. You gotta poach first and take your chance every now and again that you will get yourself in trouble, but hopefully you’ll recover. But you’ve gotta take a chance to make plenty of birdies.”The shot of the day came from Chad Campbell, who used a 6-iron to ace the 165-yard 16th hole. Campbell knocked the ball just above the pin and watched it roll back into the cup.”There wasn’t much reaction on the green,” he said. “We didn’t know if it was going in. It was so early, it was pretty much just marshals back there. We didn’t know for sure it was in.”Campbell said he has 10 aces in his life and this was his second on tour. It was the 30th ace in the history of the Connecticut tournament.For his effort, Campbell won a ,000 shopping spree at a jewelry store.He followed the ace with a birdie on 17, and finished the first round at 3 under, three shots off the lead.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
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