Zurich Classic of New Orleans: Second-Round Notebook  PGA TOUR Staff AVONDALE, La. -- The cut in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans came at 1-under 143 on Friday, with 85 players going off one tee in twosomes on Saturday morning. Two years ago at the TPC Louisiana, the cut was 1-over 145, with 84 players.  Lucas Glover is one of only six players with a chance to post four rounds in the 60s. (Marc Feldman/WireImage)
• The last time a second-round leader went on to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans was 2000, when Carlos Franco was tied with Blaine McCallister after 36 holes. Franco went on to defeat McCallister in a playoff with a par on the second playoff hole. • Only once in the last 14 years has a 36-hole leader gone on to win in New Orleans. There have been 10 playoffs in the history of the event, including in 2005, when Tim Petrovic defeated James Driscoll with a par on the first playoff hole. • There are only six players in the field who can potentially shoot four rounds in the 60s: Mark Calcavecchia, 66-69; Lucas Glover, 67-69; Wes Short, Jr., 69-69; Paul Stankowski, 69-69; Nick Watney, 69-67 and Charley Hoffman, 68-69. Two years ago when the event was played at TPC Louisiana, not a single player managed to put together four rounds in the 60s, Tim Petrovic and Lucas Glover had three rounds in the 60s that year. • Mark Calcavecchia is making his 10th start in New Orleans this week, but his first start at the TPC Louisiana. Including Friday, he has made five cuts with his best effort coming last year when he finished T25. Six weeks ago, Calcavecchia, who ranks 10th in the FedExCup standings, won for the 13th time in his career and crossed the $20 million mark in career earning at the PODS Championship in Tampa, Fla. • Mark Calcavecchia has held a 36-hole lead 15 previous times in his career and walked away a winner four times. The last time he held a second-round lead was at the 2005 Bell Canadian Open where he went on to win. He has finished inside the top-5 in 11 of those 15 events. • Lucas Glover is making his fourth consecutive start at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Glover missed the cut in his first attempt (16th career TOUR start), but has managed to finish in the top-10 in his last two starts -- T3 in 2005 (TPC Louisiana) and T7 in 2006 (English Turn Golf Club). Glover has one top-10 in 2007; he finished T4 at the PODS Championship, two strokes back of winner Mark Calcavecchia. • Nick Watney fired a 5-under 67 and is tied for second heading into the weekend. Watney, who has 10 career top-10s on his resume, is looking for his first TOUR title. • Daniel Chopra, who is T6 and three strokes back of Mark Calcavecchia, is making his fourth start in New Orleans this week. His best effort came in 2005 when he finished T9 (TPC Louisiana). He missed the cut in 2006 and finished T34 in 2004. Chopra is still searching for his first TOUR title. He finished runner-up at the Frys.com Open in Las Vegas last October.
• Last year, Chris Couch became the 15th player to win his first PGA TOUR event at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and the third consecutive, joining Bill Collins (1959), Bo Wininger (1962), Larry Hinson (1969), Jim Simons (1977), Lon Hinkle (1978), Bob Eastwood (1984), Ian Woosnam (1991), Mike Standly (1993), Scott McCarron (1996), Lee Westwood (1998), Carlos Franco (1999), K.J. Choi (2002), Steve Flesch (2003) and Tim Petrovic (2005) • Eleven players turned in bogey-free rounds Friday. Mark Calcavecchia is the only player to go bogey-free for the first 36-holes at TPC Louisiana. • Over the years, six players over the age of 40 have gone on to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans -- Vijay Singh (41 years, 2 months, 12 days) in 2004; Ben Crenshaw in 1994 (42 years, 2 months 22 days); Calvin Peete in 1986 (42 years, 8 months, 5 days); Billy Casper in 1975 (43 years, 10 days, 24 days), Gary Player in 1972 (42 years, 6 months, 16 days); and 1965, when Dick Mayer (40 years, 8 months, 17 days) won. Mark Calcavecchia (1st) is 46 years old and Wes Short, Jr (T3) is 43 years old. • The 2001 Zurich Classic champion, David Toms, sits in a tie for 20th with a 4-under 140 total. Toms, whose 12 TOUR victories include the 2001 PGA Championship and the 2005 World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, is looking to capture his first trophy since early last season. Toms, currently 19th on the Official World Golf Rankings and 24th in FedExCup points, has not missed the PGA TOUR's New Orleans stop since 1995. • Through the generous donations of CLC, Twins Enterprises and Zephyr Graf-X, 200 generic "Virginia Tech" hats have been donated to the PGA TOUR for this weekend. The hats will be made available to players and caddies to wear in support of the family and friends affected by this week's tragic events at Virginia Tech. Players will be responsible for checking with their existing hat sponsors before wearing the "VT" hats. • Craig Lile posted the low round of the day with career-best 7-under 65. Lile earned his card at the Qualifying Tournament last fall (T16) and is a rookie on the TOUR this year. He has now made three cuts in seven starts -- Sony Open in Hawaii (T34) and AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (T65). Before the 2007 season, he had made one start on the TOUR, he qualified for the 2000 U.S. Open Championship in Pebble Beach, playing as an amateur while at the University of Arkansas. • Jay Delsing needed only 22 putts to get around the TPC Louisana for a 2-under 70 in the second round. He is 1 under for the tournament and tied for 63rd. Delsing is making his third start of the season and Friday made his first cut. This is his 16th start in New Orleans. His best finish in New Orleans is fifth in 1990. • There have been eight eagles recorded over the last two days at TPC Louisiana. Briny Baird is the only player with two eagles. He eagled the par-4 10th hole in round one and the par-5 second hole in round two. • Of the five champions of the Zurich Classic of New Orelans in the field this week, four made the cut: 2005 winner Tim Petrovic (-5), 2001 winner David Toms (-4), the 1999, 2000 winner Carlos Franco (-2) and 2006 winner Chris Couch (-1). Former winner Steve Flesch missed the 36-hole cut. • Paul Gow was disqualified on Friday for an incorrect scorecard. ... Jose Coceres withdrew after nine holes due to a bad back. ... Kevin Na withdrew after nine holes due to illness. Copyright 2007 PGATOUR.com. All rights reserved. |
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