Stanford St. Jude Championship: Second-Round Notebook
By Stewart Moore, PGA TOUR Staff
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- After 36 holes of the Stanford St. Jude Championship, Michael Bradley, Jason Dufner, Dean Wilson, Tommy Armour III, Gavin Coles and Marc Turnesa find themselves tied for the lead at 3-under 137.
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• The 36-hole lead of 3-under 137 is the highest total to lead at the halfway point in the 50-year history of the Stanford St. Jude Championship.
• This is the largest grouping of players to be tied for the lead after any round on the PGA TOUR since six players were in the same position through 36 holes of the 2007 Shell Houston Open.
• The 36-hole cut fell at 5-over 145 with 74 players making it to the weekend. This marks the eighth over-par cut in the last nine tournaments on the PGA TOUR, with the lone exception being the AT&T Classic, where even-par 144 made it to the weekend.
• The only under-par 36-hole cut on the PGA TOUR this year came at the FBR Open, where 70 players made the cut at 2-under 140. At this point last year, the TOUR had five 36-hole cuts fall under par.
• In addition, this marks the highest 36-hole score to lead on the PGA TOUR since Angel Cabrera led at the halfway point of the U.S. Open last year with a total of even-par 140.
• The 36-hole leader has gone on to win the Stanford St. Jude Championship 15 times in the tournament's 50-year history.
• The cut has been over par five times since the tournament moved to TPC Southwind: 5 over in 2008, 5 over in 2007, 4 over in 2006, 1 over in 2004 and 2 over in 1989.
• While Tommy Armour has flown mostly under the radar this year, he already has three top-10 finishes to his name, the most for him in a single season since recording three in 2002.
• Armour has a history of running away from the field when leading after 36 holes on the PGA TOUR. He was the 36-hole leader in each of his two TOUR wins at the 2003 Valero Texas Open and the 1990 FBR Open, when he won by seven shots and five shots, respectively.
• Winning this week may not bode well for players heading to Torrey Pines next week for the U.S. Open. No player has won the week prior to the U.S. Open and followed it up with a victory in the second major of the year.
• The only Stanford St. Jude Championship winners in the past 15 years who were not in the top 10 through 36 holes were Jeff Maggert in 2006 (tied for 11th) and Len Mattiace in 2002 (tied for 31st).
• Dean Wilson (69-68--137) is keeping good vibes going from last year's Stanford St. Jude Championship, where he finished tied for fifth (his last top-5 finish on the PGA TOUR). Wilson is trying to collect a second top-10 of the 2008 season, but has a hurdle to overcome Saturdayas he is 169th in Round 3 Scoring on TOUR this year (72.69).
• Michael Bradley is in position to record his first top-10 on the PGA TOUR since finishing tied for ninth at the Michelob Championship in 2000.
• Bradley entered the 2008 season on a Major Medical Extension and was granted 14 events in which to earn $753,291, which would couple with his 2007 earnings of $31,889 and equal the earnings of No. 125 on last year's money list. Should he earn that amount, he would receive Major Medical Extension status for the remainder of the season. Bradley was limited to eight starts in 2007 after fracturing his right ankle while playing softball last fall. Bradley has earned $46,400 in three starts this year.
• Jason Dufner (69-68--137) has split time between the PGA and Nationwide Tours this year after finishing 140th on the 2007 PGA TOUR money list. The former Auburn University standout has made two cuts in four starts on the PGA TOUR and three cuts in five starts on the Nationwide Tour.
• On a side note, Dufner lost in the finals of the 1998 U.S. Public Links Championship to Masters champion Trevor Immelman at the site of next week's U.S. Open -- Torrey Pines. Dufner is not in the field at the U.S. Open next week.
• Gavin Coles' second-round 64 is the low round of the tournament so far and vaulted him from a tie for 69th to a tie for the lead.
• Alex Cejka has finally found a bit of success in Memphis after rounds of 69-69--138 and a tie for seventh through 36 holes. Cejka missed the cut with rounds of 73-85--158 in 2006 and was disqualified after the first round in 2007 for signing an incorrect scorecard.
• David Duval's rounds of 70-75--145 allowed him to make his first cut of the 2008 season and first since the 2007 Viking Classic, where he finished tied for 44th.
• Two-time champion David Toms fired a second-round 72 and made the cut at the Stanford St. Jude Championship for the 13th consecutive year, which is second on the tournament's all time list behind Gene Littler, who made 14 consecutive cuts from 1958-71.
• 2001 Stanford St. Jude Championship winner Bob Estes carded the second-best round of the day on Friday with a 5-under 65, highlighted by an eagle at the par-4 sixth. Estes' 65 moved him from a tie for 90th to a tie for 11th. Estes is playing in his 20th Stanford St. Jude Championship this week, where he has now made the cut an impressive 17 times.
• With a 36-hole scoring average of 73.206, the TPC Southwind is well on its way to being the most difficult course thus far on the 2008 PGA TOUR. Muirfield Village Golf Club, site of last week's Memorial Tournament, is currently tops on that list with an average of 74.397 (+2.397).
• Total rounds in the 60s through two days by wave: Players who teed off early on Thursday and late on Friday -- 23; players who teed off late on Thursday and early on Friday -- 22
• Total number of players under par through 36 holes at TPC Southwind since the course changed to a par-70: 13 in 2008, 15 in 2007, 22 in 2006 and 32 in 2005.
• Carlos Franco withdrew during the second round with an illness. ... Monday qualifier Lucas Wald was disqualified on Friday for signing an incorrect scorecard. ... Brent Geiberger withdrew during the second round with a thumb injury.
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