THE PLAYERS: Rd. 2 notes

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You want to talk about young guns? How about an old gun like Bernhard Langer? (Heathcote/Getty Images)

Round 2: Key links

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PERRY WITH THE LEAD: Second-round PLAYERS Championship leader Kenny Perry has now held or shared the second-round lead 16 times in his career, according to the TOUR's offcial second-round notes. He has gone on to win six times in the previous 15 events.

For more TOUR notes, click here. -- Mike McAllister (8:57 p.m.)

IRON MAN SIGHTING: Dana Quigley and Jim Thorpe, a pair of Champions Tour veterans, were among the faces in the gallery at the Stadium Course on Friday. Quigley was following his nephew, Brett, who made the cut at 2 under despite the windswept 76 in the second round. The elder Quigley said the TPC Sawgrass was quite a test.

"This course is harder than I remembered. Not as hard, but harder than I remembered," Quigley said.

His "ironman" streak over -- he once played 264 consecutive tournaments over nine years on the Champions Tour -- Quigley made his network TV debut last week during the telecast of the FedEx Kinko's Classic.

He teamed with his good friend John Jacobs and Dave Marr of the GOLF CHANNEL. Quigley almost didn't do it, though.

"I said, well, ok, maybe and then (Dave) said, well, you know you can't play, and I said, oh, baby, I'll tell you in a week," Quigley said with a smile. He enjoyed the experience, but he was disappointed Nick Price didn't win.

"(He) just broke all of our hearts, really. The Tour wanted him, I mean everyone really wanted him to win, it would have been great."

Quigley, who frequently plays 36 and sometimes 54 holes at home in south Florida, also plans to skip next week's Regions Charity Classic in Birmingham. He's been battling high blood pressure and the combination of the hills and the heat could be trouble.

"So I decided not to play and go strong the rest of the year," Quigley said. -- Helen Ross (8:50 p.m.)

CUT TIME: Those players at 3 over or better made the cut, which wasn't good news for former PLAYERS champions Justin Leonard and Fred Funk, and notable names such as Vijay Singh, Padraig Harrington, last year's tough-luck player Sean O'Hair and young gun Brandt Snedeker. Seventy-four players made the cut, with the first tee time scheduled for 8:40 tomorrow (Jason Bohn and Jose Coceres). -- Mike McAllister (8:15 p.m.)

FAILURE TO ADVANCE: It hasn't happened often. In fact, just six times in PLAYERS history has the leading score in the second round not improved on the leading score of the first round.

The latest instance came Friday. Kenny Perry leads after 36 holes with a score of 6 under -- the identical score that Sergio Garcia led with after Thursday's first round.

Here are those six instances:

-- Mike McAllister (7:51 p.m.)

ISLAND SCREAMS: Despite its island green, the 17th at TPC Sawgrass has always appeared much more difficult than it actually has played throughout the first 26 years of hosting THE PLAYERS Championship. During that time, the hole has ranked ninth in difficulty, playing at a stroke average of just .112 over par.

But Friday, in windy conditions, there was no doubt that No. 17 showed its fangs. As the second round neared its completion, the hole ranked as the fourth most difficult, playing at .304 strokes over par.

It wasn't necessarily about guys finding the water, although 18 players did get wet off the tee (19 found the water on Thursday). But making par was about as much as you could hope for Friday, with just 11 birdies recorded.

"I've probably played here 18, 20 tournaments," said second-round leader Kenny Perry. "That was probably the hardest conditions in all my years I can ever remember hitting that golf shot today."

Or as Chad Campbell succinctly put it: "17 was brutal." -- Mike McAllister (7:33 p.m.)

OPEN WEEKEND: If you believe Fred Couples -- and why wouldn't you? -- don't expect to see a lot of low scores this weekend.

"Tomorrow it's going to be brutal," he said after shooting an even-par 72, "and Sunday it'll be borderline U.S. Open-like." -- Mike McAllister (6:40 p.m.)

WEEKEND WEATHER: Saturday's forecast offers a slight chance of afternoon thunderstorms, along with 10-15 mph winds. But on Sunday, the chance of precipitation is 50 percent, with scattered afternoon and evening thunderstorms. "A few storms could be severe," is the ominous message from Meteorlogix. -- Mike McAllister (6:19 p.m.)

FOUR HOLES, NINE OVER: Tough finish for the Beemer.

Rich Beem was rolling right along in Round 2 -- he was even on the day and poised to make the cut. Then the wheels came off.

Beem double-bogeyed the straightforward par-4 15th after snap-hooking his drive. He then bogeyed the par-5 16th after dumping his approach into the water. He also double-bogeyed No. 17 after sending yet another ball into the drink.

The 18th hole was even worse. Beem pumped two tee shots into the water on the left side of the fairway before drilling a 310-yard drive into the right rough. Beem finally holed a 20-footer for a quadruple bogey and a second-round 80. -- Ryan Smithson (6:01 p.m.)

A VERY LONG PUTT: Bernhard Langer rolled in a birdie putt measured at 59 feet, 9 inches on the 17th island green. It's the longest putt ever recorded at the par-3 hole since the PGA TOUR began using ShotLink in 2003.

Langer, by the way, has made more birdies (24) than any other player at the 17th. Check out the list to the left.

After his long putt on 17, Langer bogeyed the 18th to cap off his round of 5-under 67. That ties for his lowest round at THE PLAYERS since he shot an opening-round 65 in 1993. -- Mike McAllister (5:45 p.m.)

THE 'BOO' BIRDS: With his homespun ways and aw-shucks demeanor, Boo Weekley has become something of a cult hero in the last two years. The man who lives in a town of less than 800 understandably is still adjusting to all the scrutiny.

"I like the attention, but it bugs me sometimes, you know what I mean?" Weekley said. "I'd like to just go do my own thing, kind of stay out of everybody's way. ... But it is fun to have it, because if they didn't holler your name, that means they didn't like you."

And trust us, they do holler his name. Long, drawn out "Booooos," echo from the crowd wherever he plays, and Weekley appreciates the way the fans have embraced him. He's quick to interact with the galley, too, just as he has this week at THE PLAYERS.

"That's what they come to see, ain't it?" Weekley said. "They pay their money to watch us play golf. They don't want to see us out there moping around and beating our bags like I do sometime.

"It's fun to be able to stand there and have people holler your name or 'Roll Tide' or something that means something to me -- that's important." -- Helen Ross (5:35 p.m.)

PUTTER OVERBOARD!: Charley Hoffman just tossed his putter into the water after three-putting for double bogey at the par-3 13th. He used a sand wedge to putt on 14. -- Mike McAllister (5:20 p.m.)

TIGER DISCUSSES TPC SAWGRASS: OK, he's not here. But he is here to help.

Woods

Want to know how Tiger Woods would play the the risk-reward finishing holes at TPC Sawgrass? Using digital flyovers from his EA Sports' Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 2009 video game, Tiger explains his approach to the 16th, 17th and 18th holes at THE PLAYERS.

Click here for the video. -- Mike McAllister (5:09 p.m.)

RYDER TALK: Might Bernhard Langer be a captain's pick on Europe's Ryder Cup team this fall? That was the question posed to captain Nick Faldo while he was watching Langer putt (for bogey, unfortunately) during Friday's round.

Faldo, in town as an analyst for the Golf Channel, joked that Langer just might qualify via points if his winnings on the Champions Tour (he's No. 1 on the money list) and his potential winnings here could count.

But then Faldo turned serious, saying,"Bernhard's experience might be very useful."

Langer has played in 10 Ryder Cups -- one short of Faldo's record of 11 -- and appeared most recently in 2002. His 24 points won is just one short of Faldo's record of 25.

Barring a collapse on the final three holes Friday, Langer should be among the leaders entering the third round of THE PLAYERS. -- Mike McAllister (4:56 p.m.)

FINE FINISH; Jonathan Byrd figured 2-under 70 was his number. After an opening 76, he figured he'd need to be around 146 to make the cut. With the wind whipping Friday afternoon, his 147 may well be good enough.

And that came courtesy of birdies on the last three holes -- 16, 17 and 18.

"I'm so glad I'm not playing this afternoon,'' Byrd said. "It's going to be a tough golf course.'' -- Melanie Hauser (4:18 p.m.)

HARDEST/EASIEST: The par-4, 481-yard 14th is thus far the most difficult hole in the second round, playing to an average of 0.447 strokes above par. Meanwhile, the par, 523-yard 16th is the easiest hole, playing to an average of 0.394 strokes under par. In the first round, the 14th was the most difficult and the 16th the easiest. -- Mike McAllister (4:08 p.m.)

WEEKEND STRATEGY: After shooting a 5-over 77 that left him at 2 over for the tournament, Todd Hamilton offered some insight as to how the pros will play TPC Sawgrass in the next two days.

"You've got to hope that your short game is good because you're not going to hit all the greens," he said. "It's probably going to be very important that not only do your drive it well ... but when you miss shots, you've got to calculate where your misses can be so you don't make a lot of big numbers.

"And I heard somebody use this phrase yestercday, you've got to pick off birdies when you can. You can't go trying to birdie every hole out here, or else you're going to shoot about 80 or higher. You've just go to kind of pick off the birdies as you go and minimize your mistakes." -- Mike McAllister (3:58 p.m.)

CUT LINE MOVEMENT: The cut line has been shifting from 2 over to 3 over this afternoon. Right now, it's at 3 over. -- Mike McAllister (3:49 p.m.)

HOT STREAK: He won his first PGA TOUR event last week at the Wachovia Championship. Now he's sitting pretty at 4 under through two rounds this week at THE PLAYERS Championship. It's good to be Anthony Kim right now.

"I love anything good that's attached to my game right now because I feel like I'm doing the right things and making good decisions and doing my best to perform my best out here," Kim said when asked about being the hottest golfer on TOUR.

"I'm just taking it shot by shot, and that was hard for me last year, and even earlier this year. But I'm starting to get some bounces go my way and playing a little bit better." -- Mike McAllister (3:46 p.m.)

GARRIGUS ON HIS ACE: Robert Garrigus discussed his hole-in-one on the 13th after his round Friday:

"We're standing on the tee box waiting for the group in front of us. I was joking around, trying to chuck stuff in the garbage. I'm not really paying attention, get up, slapped an 8-iron right at it and ended up going in.

"It was kind of a shock; I didn't expect it to go it. It was (my) first one on THE PGA TOUR and it couldn't have happened at a better place." -- Mike McAllister (3:34 p.m.)

NEARLY A RECORD: Had Bernhard Langer not bogeyed the par-5 ninth hole after he found a green-side bunker, he would have tied a PLAYERS tournament record by shooting 30 on the front side. His 31 comes up just one shot short. Here are the seven players who have shot 30 on the front side:

-- Mike McAllister (3:27 p.m.)

Finchem and Bush

A PRESIDENTIAL AUDIENCE: Billy Mayfair dunked a ball in the water at 17 each of the first two rounds and made a double-bogey, but on Friday he felt a little bit of extra pressure with Commissioner Tim Finchem and former President George H.W. Bush in the gallery.

Mayfair had met the former President when he was Vice President under Ronald Reagan, and after reaching the green with his third shot, Mayfair stopped by to shake the hand of the nation's 41st President.

"It was great seeing him there. I just wish I could have hit a better shot in front of him," Mayfair said. "That hole got me both days, otherwise I've played 34 pretty good holes." -- Dave Shedloski (2:58 p.m.)

LOCKED OUT: Things are tough all over TPC Sawgrass Friday. Ask Ernie Els and K.J. Choi. After holing out at 18, they dutifully marched to the small building that houses the scoring room where players sign their scorecards. Somehow, the door handle got stuck, and they were locked out for 1-2 minutes until a volunteer managed to get the door open. -- Dave Shedloski (2:26 p.m.)

CAN'T GET NO SATISFACTION: On Thursday, there was that water-logged triple bogey at the 17th hole. The nemisis on Friday was the par-4 fifth where Els also found the water off the tee. He's played his other 34 holes in 5-under par, so Els is painfully aware of the penalty he's paid.

"If I take out two holes, I'm leading the tournament," Els said simply. "I hit some really -- a lot better golf shots, so I want to keep working. I think I'm on track."

Els, who broke a four-year victory drought earlier this year at The Honda Classic, has a 36-hole total of 1-under 143. He shot 71 in the second round with the double bogey. -- Helen Ross (2:23 p.m.)

The famous belt

TIGHTENING THE BELT: On where yesterday's belt is today, Anthony Kim simply said at the end of his second round, "It needed a rest. It told me yesterday." -- Ceri Mobley (2:23 p.m.)

NO MORE LAMENT: Bernhard Langer is on track to go a little lower than his even-par 72 in the first round. Like Goydos, Langer also made an eagle on the second hole but then followed it up with birdies on holes 4 and 5. The Champions Tour and PGA TOUR straddling German has reached 4 under through six holes, leaping up the leaderboard. But, as the wind whips up this afternoon, will Langer be able to stay the course? -- Ceri Mobley (2:22 p.m.)

GO TIME FOR GOYDOS: Paul Goydos is fired up on Friday. After an eagle on the par-5 second hole, he moves to 2 under through two holes and snags the top spot on the leaderboard at 6 under. -- Ceri Mobley (1:55 p.m.)

UH-OH SERGIO: After the best round of the day Thursday -- a 6-under 66 -- Sergio Garcia bogeyed right out of the gate in his second round. After one hole, he is down to 5 under but still atop the leaderboard, though now in a tie for first place. -- Ceri Mobley (1:45 p.m.)

CUTS MADE: Tom Kite holds the record for most cuts made at THE PLAYERS with 23. Of the players in this year's field, Bernhard Langer has the most cuts with 20. With a projected cut of 2 over, here's how the players with the most cuts line up on Friday.

-- Mike McAllister (1:20 p.m.)

ROLLERCOASTER RIDE: It's been quite an adventure for Chad Campbell on Friday. He started off hot with birdies in two of his first three holes. After a five-hole stretch of pars, he heated up again, reeling off a string of three consecutive birdies. But one par later, he gave it away with three consecutive bogeys. So it wasn't much of a surprise that he found the water on 17, eventually carding a double-bogey on the island green. -- Mike McAllister (1:01 p.m.)

SIGHTS AND SOUNDS: The wind is blowing so hard that the white PLAYERS flags behind the clubhouse are standing straight out. Stroll down the walkway, and you can feel a faint mist from the fountain way out in the middle of the lake.

Billy Kratzert, a TOUR pro who lives in Ponte Vedra Beach, was taking a break from his duties for LIVE@THE PLAYERS. "I still think the winning score is going to be 6, 7 or 8 under," he said. "It's only going to get harder." -- Helen Ross (12:25 p.m.)

Poulter

POULTER FASHION REPORT, DAY 2: The colorful Englishman is somewhat understated -- that is, if lime green can be considered subtle. It's not a glaring shade, though, and Poulter tops the pants off with a white shirt. His saddle shoes are the same green and white, just as he wore all blue shoes to complement Thursday's outfit. Poulter must need an extra suitcase just to transport his footwear each week. -- Helen Ross (12:25 p.m.)

EXPECTED CUT LINE: The cut line has held steady this morning at 2 over. Among the notable players playing this morning who are expected to miss the cut are Zach Johnson (10 over with six holes left) and K.J. Choi (10 over with five holes to play). -- Mike McAllister (12:13 p.m.)

NOON REPORT: Anthony Kim and Chad Campbell have made the biggest moves on the PLAYERS leaderboard today. Kim is currently at 3 under on his round and 5 under for the tournament, one stroke behind first-round leader Sergio Garcia, who has yet to tee off. Campbell is 4 under for the day and 3 under for the tournament. On the flip side, Todd Hamilton, who was 3 under after the first round and had a more advantageous morning tee time, is 5 over for his round. -- Mike McAllister (12 p.m.)

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE, PART II: About the Ponte Vedra Beach TOUR pros and their insight into TPC Sawgrass that we noted a couple of hours ago... Jim Furyk just carded a 4-under 32 in his first nine holes today. He started his round on No. 10 and birdied 11 from seven feet, 14 from 18 feet, 16 with a short putt and 17 from 8-1/2 feet. He made the turn at 2 under for the tournament. -- Mike McAllister (11:17 a.m.)

PRESIDENTIAL VISIT: You probably saw a familiar face this morning at TPC Sawgrass -- former President George Bush, who is in the gallery. He spent time with PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem watching the action at the 17th from the special Presidential platform by the drop area. -- Mike McAllister (11:07 a.m.)

Cink

CINK'S SHAVED HEAD: Stewart Cink is on what he called a "strict tan management program" these days.

He shaved his head on Sunday night, so now there's tender white skin where his hair used to be. Maybe some spray-on tan will help until Cink, who shot 1 under in the first round of THE PLAYERS, evens things out naturally.

"I had some encouragement at home from the missus, but I did shave it myself," Cink said, taking off his white cap and running his hand over his white dome. He's already shaved his head three times this week.

Cink and his wife, Lisa, talked about the new look after they left Charlotte, where Cink tied for eighth at the Wachovia Championship. They decided when they got home, "we were going to attack," Cink said.

Cink, who began losing his hair when he was 17, also shaved his head during a three-week break last summer. He starting thinking about doing it again when a company called HeadBlade sent him one of their razors after the Masters.

"It looks somewhat like a Matchbox car with a razor in the front (and a wheel on the back)," Cink said, adding that the whole process takes about 10 minutes, including lathering. "It's pretty neat. -- Helen Ross (10:46 a.m.)

FIRST ACE OF THE TOURNAMENT: Using an 8-iron, Robert Garrigus aced the par-3 13th, which is playing at 164 yards to the pin today. It's the 10th hole-in-one at the 13th in PLAYERS history and the 24th ace overall during tournament play at TPC Sawgrass. In 2006, four aces were recorded at the 13th.

The hole-in-one moved Garrigus to 6-over for the tournament. - Mike McAllister (10:36 a.m.)

COMMISSIONER REACTS: PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem spoke about the tragic circumstances that forced Jeff Maggert to withdraw from THE PLAYERS Championship. Maggert's brother died in a small plane crash in Colorado on Thursday, with Maggert leaving to be with his family.

"This is obviously a tragic accident, and our thoughts and prayers are with Jeff and his family," Finchem said. "The PGA TOUR is here with any support we can offer the Maggerts during this difficult time." -- Helen Ross (10:25 a.m.)

Maruyama

MARUYAMA WITHDRAWS: Shigeki Maruyama withdrew prior to the start of his second round due to a shoulder injury. He had opened with an 81. He is the seventh player to withdraw this week. -- Helen Ross (10:18 a.m.)

CUE THE SPRINKLERS: NBC golf analyst Gary Koch got an early scouting report from TPC Sawgrass Course Superintendent Fred Klauk. Koch said that Klauk instructed the maintenance staff to water the greens twice as long overnight because of the forecast today for increasing winds that could reach 30 mph. Koch said that Klauk told him that the intent is to get the course to play to nearly the same conditions as it did in the opening round. Higher winds required the extra watering. -- Dave Shedloski (9:55 a.m.)

STILL DIGGING: Apparently, Dustin Johnson wasn't happy with his bunker play on Thursday.

Johnson was the first alternate who gained entry into the field when Trevor Immelman withdrew with an illness. He shot a respectable 73 in his first tour of THE STADIUM Players Course and is scheduled to play his second round starting on No. 10 at 1:33 p.m.

Yet, there was the PGA TOUR rookie dug into a bunker at 9:30 a.m. Friday at the practice area hitting a bag of balls out of the sand. He was the only player on any of the practice areas. -- Dave Shedloski (9:35 a.m.)

Kim

KIM'S START: It's still early, but you've got to like Anthony Kim as a possible winner this week. Not only does the 22-year-old have momentum coming off last week's win at the Wachovia Championship, but he produced a 2-under 70 in tough afternoon conditions in the first round.

Now, with an early-morning tee time, he's taking full advantage, having birdied two of his first three holes to move to 4 under for the tournament. You can follow his round by clicking here. -- Mike McAllister (9:33 a.m.)

WEATHER UPDATE: According to Meteorlogix, "a trough is currently moving through South Carolina and Georgia this morning with a line of showers and thunderstorms. This activity should remain north of the area today, but can't rule out an isolated thunderstorm this morning as the trough passes the region.

"Otherwise, partly cloudy, breezy, hot and humid conditions will continue today. Southwest winds of 10-15 mph this morning will increase to 15-20 mph, with gusts to 35 mph this afternoon." -- Mike McAllister (9:20 a.m.)

DOES LOCAL KNOWLEDGE EXIST?: It's probably really doesn't apply to the three most visible PGA TOUR players who reside in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. After all, they're usually a bit busy playing at other courses around the country, so it's not like they're hanging out at TPC Sawgrass and waiting for the club championship to start.

Still, one of the three -- Fred Funk -- is a former PLAYERS champion, while the other two -- Vijay Singh and Jim Furyk -- have combined for four top-10 finishes in this decade. A year ago, Furyk said he probably had a slight advantage because he was more familiar with the course changes than the rest of the field. (he ended up finishing tied for 28th). So, maybe there's something there. Or it might just be that they're just pretty good at what they do.

Whatever the case, none of the three could break par on Thursday. Here's where they stand going into Friday's round:

-- Mike McAllister (9:07 a.m.)

MAGGERT WITHDRAWS: Jeff Maggert, who shot an even-par 72 in Thursday's opening round, had to withdraw due to a family emergency. Maggert told PLAYERS tournament officials that his brother died in a small plane crash in Colorado en route to his son's college graduation, according to the Associated Press.

More from the AP: "The Gilpin County (Colo.) Sheriff's office said one man died and a 23-year-old passenger was injured Thursday afternoon when the single-engine plane crashed into a snowy mountain in Black Hawk, about 40 miles west of Denver. The Aspen Daily News reported the 1965 Cessna 1982 was co-owned by Barry Maggert and Carroll Winkler, who said that Maggert was flying the plane to Boulder for his son's graduation from the University of Colorado.

"Maggert, the golfer's older brother, has 23-year-old twin sons, Lee and Bryant. Lee Maggert was to graduate Friday. ... (Jeff Maggert) learned of the plane crash when he finished his round and was scrambling for information before withdrawing late Thursday and flying to Colorado." -- Mike McAllister (8:15 a.m.)

ROUND 2 UNDERWAY: Nick O'Hern, who started the day at 1 under, has birdied two of his first three holes. So has Mark Hensby. If Friday is anything like Thursday, a majority of the low numbers will be posted by the morning group before the winds (15-20 mph from the southwest, with gusts to 35 mph) kick in. First-round leader Sergie Garcia will tee off at 1:23 p.m. -- Mike McAllister (8 a.m.)