Second round: Overton, Pernice bring the fireworks
BETHESDA, Md. -- Jeff Overton doesn't feel like a different player than the guy who could couldn't make it to the weekend on the PGA TOUR over the last two months. Funny how seeing the ball go in the hole changes everything.
Overton continued his one-week turnaround Friday with a 5-under 65, giving him a share of the lead with Tom Pernice Jr. in the AT&T National before storms rained on the Fourth of July atmosphere at Congressional and interrupted the second round.
Overton and Pernice, who matched the course record on a soft, still day at Congressional with a 63, were at 9-under 131.
Anthony Kim, living up to his billing as the next young threat in golf, appeared poised to catch the leaders until a 1-hour storm delay that slowed his momentum. A bogey on the par-5 ninth gave him a 67, three shots behind with Cliff Kresge (65).
Consider how quickly Overton's prospects have changed.
He hasn't finished in the top 20 all year. He had not broken par since the last week in April. He missed the cut at the Buick Open last week, his sixth weekend off in his last seven tournaments.
He stuck around Detroit for a British Open qualifier -- Overton has never played in any major -- and was 9-under par over two rounds to finish first in his field and earn a ticket to Royal Birkdale.
He showed up at Congressional and hasn't stopped.
"I've hit a lot of great shots the last few weeks. It's been frustrating lipping out a lot of putts," Overton said. "And on Monday, made a bunch of putts and saw the ball go in the hole a few times, and it opens the flood gates mentally."
Pernice did most of his damage around the turn, running off four straight birdies, starting with a 20-footer on the tough par-4 sixth hole that played 494 yards.
"I've been playing well, and you never know when a round like this is going to jump up," Pernice said.
Perhaps even more surprising is that his left hip has been sore all week. He has spent much of his time with trainer Joey Diovisalvi and the TOUR therapists, trying to simply get around the golf course. Walking and setting up over the ball is causing the most pain, although he appears to be doing fine swinging the club.
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IT'S NOT OVER YET, BUT OVERTON HAS PLENTY TO CELEBRATE
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents
BETHESDA, Md. -- Jeff Overton grinned, thrust his arms into the air and did his best Rocky Balboa imitation. Minus the courthouse steps, of course.
"I finally made a cut," Overton explained the celebration.
And not only is Overton playing the weekend for just the third time in his last seven starts, the 25-year-old is tied with Tom Pernice Jr. for the lead at the AT&T National hosted by Tiger Woods.
Overton didn't make a bogey on Friday, and the 65 he shot left him 9 under. Until this week at Congressional Country Club, the Indiana graduate hadn't shot consecutive rounds in the 60s on TOUR all season.
Unless, of course, you count Monday's qualifier for the British Open where Overton earned medalist honors with rounds of 63 and 67 just two days after he missed the cut at the Buick Open. He finished six strokes ahead of John Rollins at TPC Michigan that day.
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| Friday's Best |
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For the second straight day, the 579-yard par-5 16th hole was the easiest. It played to a 4.678 average on Friday.
The hardest hole for the second day in a row, the par-4 11th played 0.304 strokes over par on Friday.
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Using a 3-hybrid on the 215-yard, par-3 10th hole, Corey Pavin became the second player in tournament history to log an ace. Pavin's tee shot moved him to 3 under for the round and even par for the tournament. Last year, Kevin Stadler made a hole-in-one in the third round on No. 13. To watch Pavin's ace, 
Pernice made a 63 -- with a bogey on the card, no less -- thanks to 11 one-putts on Friday and four straight birdies on Nos. 6-9. His 63 is the lowest score in the two-year history of the AT&T National tournament and not surprisingly it moved him to the top of the leaderboard.| Quote of the Day | ||
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AN UNUSUAL COINCIDENCE
An average start turned into a stellar finish for Tom Pernice Jr. on Friday at Congressional Country Club.
He was even par through four holes after trading a birdie for a bogey. He caught fire at No. 6, though, when he rolled in a 30-footer, then added birdies from 20, 2 and 4 feet to make the turn in 31.
Three more birdies followed on the back nine and Pernice signed for a tournament-record 63. The previous low at a PGA TOUR co-sponsored event at Congressional also is 63, but when Matt Gogel shot that during the 2005 Booz Allen Classic the par was 71 and the routing was different.
In an odd twist, Pernice was playing with Gogel that day. Pernice, who shot 68 to Gogel's 63, doesn't remember it, though.
"I could have," he said. "If you can remember who I played with and somebody shot 63, my hat's off to you. I don't know, I could, but I don't know for sure."
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'HELLO, THIS IS THE WHITE HOUSE'
Steve Stricker got an interesting call recently.
It was from the White House. Stricker was being invited to join President George W. Bush for his annual Fourth of July and birthday celebration. The 43rd President of the United States turns 62 on Sunday.
"It was kind of a weird call," Stricker admitted. "And then you give them all your vital information, you know, so it's pretty interesting."
Stricker has never been to the White House -- not even on a field trip when he was a kid. He'll be joined by other PGA TOUR players, including Davis Love III, Fred Couples and Canadian Mike Weir.
"Obviously driving by on the street looking at it but yeah, tonight, I get to go inside and get to attend President Bush's birthday party along with fireworks after the dinner, so I'm really looking forward to that," Stricker said.
"I wish my family was here to take advantage of that, too. Almost thought about flying them out. Yeah, it should be a great night."
LOW ROUND IS JUST THE RIGHT MEDICINE
Pernice has been playing well lately -- tying for eighth at the Stanford St. Jude Championship and sharing 13th at the Travelers Championship before missing the cut at last week's Buick Open.
His left hip has been bothering Pernice this week, though, which makes Friday's 63 that much more impressive. Walking several miles around Congressional, not hitting shots, appears to be the issue.
"I've been hobbling around all week and Tommy Lafontaine in the fitness trailer and my trainer Joey Diovisalvi, we've been working nonstop for two days trying to get my hip to where I can get around," Pernice said.
"I've been playing well, so just been trying to work and rest and get in good enough shape so I can get around here. My hat is off to those two guys for their help really because it seems to be getting a little bit better every day.
"More 63s, I think it will get better, too."
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A GOOD CAUSE
For once, missing the cut at a PGA TOUR event wasn't such a bad thing.
The Buick Open was the first win of Tom Pernice, Jr.'s career so he chose to play in the tournament even though that meant, if he made the weekend, he'd have to miss the Foundation for Fighting Blindness' Kansas City VisionWalk. But Pernice didn't make the cut so he took the trip to Kansas City for the Saturday morning walk.
| 13 | Number of events on the PGA TOUR affected by a rain delay in 2008. |
| 7 | Consecutive cuts made by Rocco Mediate now that he will see the weekend at Congressional. |
| 4 | Cuts Mediate made in his first 13 starts of the year. |
His daughter, Brooke, is an aspiring singer who performed at the fundraiser. Brooke has Leber's Congenital Amaurosis, which has made her blind since birth, so the walk-a-thon had special meaning in the Pernice household.
"We did good. The city raised almost $90-some-thousand, and Brooke's team, we raised over $65,000," Pernice said after his record-low second round at AT&T National. "A lot of my fellow players out here were very generous and helped contribute to Brooke and her team so it was a great success for the first year. So we were really excited."
THINGS TO WATCH ON SATURDAY
1. Jeff Maggert. It hasn't been a good year for Maggert. He lost his older brother in a plane crash two months ago and he hasn't finished inside the top 20 all season. But a second-round 65 means he's now in the hunt.
2. Steve Stricker. This is where he began that amazing run last season, which ended with a second-place finish in the FedExCup standings and a spot on the Presidents Cup squad. Plus, in 2008 Stricker was named Comeback Player of the Year for the second straight season. He's close to the top again this week -- he probably can't win the comeback award for three years in a row but he could get hot again and take home the FedExCup.
3. John Merrick. He made two eagles on Friday en route to a 64. In his last start, Merrick tied for sixth at the U.S. Open Championship. Could he do better than that this week?
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