Every takes the lead at Nationwide Tour Champ.
By Joe Chemycz, PGA TOUR Staff
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Matt Every fired a course-record, 9-under 63 today to take the second-round lead in the Nationwide Tour Championship at Daniel Island, the season's final event. Every is one stroke better than Australians Cameron Percy and Michael Sim.
Yesterday's 64 by Sim seemed likely to be the only course record posted this week, especially when Every shot a 2-under 70 in the first round and was content.
"When I got done yesterday, I thought 2 under was good, and then I saw on the scoreboard Michael (Sim) birdied eight holes in a row, and I thought there was no way. That's wrong, and it wasn't," said Every.
Every's 63 consisted of 10 birdies and a lone bogey. To some, a bogey may dampen a great round, but not in his mind.
"No. 10 was a good bogey. I pull-hooked my tee shot into the left sand trap. When I got to my ball, I noticed I didn't have a stance. I wound up chunking it into the next sand trap," he said. "Then I proceeded to chunk it again, this time into the fairway about 50 yards away. I got up and down for my bogey, and I was pleased with a 5."
This year hasn't been a very good one for Every by his own admission. He has made just 15 of 25 cuts with only six top-25 finishes. Earlier in the year at the Stonebrae Classic, Every played with Sim, and it changed the way he looked at putting. It's starting to pay off.
"I felt like we played about the same, but he beat me by eight," said Every, who is well known for being a quick player. "It's not like I'm trying to copy his stroke. I'm just trying to think of his rhythm and take my time."
Every has to finish no worse than solo third to possibly be in the top 25 on the money list and earn his 2010 PGA TOUR card. While that may be on his mind come Sunday, right now he's just thinking about having fun.
"It was great out there today. Early in the round, I was hitting everything to within 6 feet of the hole. I feel like I'm playing good again, so it's fun. The only stumble I made all day was on No. 10, but I made a 40-foot birdie putt on No. 13, which changed my momentum. I feel like I'm playing good enough to finish well, but there's a lot of golf left and a lot of good players in this tournament."
Sim is one of those good players. Sim, who turned 25 today, started the day with an eagle on the par-4 second hole and a birdie on No. 3 to get to 11 under. Despite three bogeys on the back nine, he managed to birdie the par-5 18th. Once the putt dropped, the crowd sang Happy Birthday.
"It lightens the mood," said Sim. "I was kind of beating my head there on the back nine and to come in and hear people singing to you is a nice way to finish."
Fellow countryman Percy closed his round by making birdies on four of his final five holes. Percy has seven top-10 finishes this year.
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Second-Round Notes:
• Two players celebrated birthdays on Friday -- Won Joon Lee turned 24, and Sim turned 25.
• Every's 9-under 63 broke Sim's one-day-old course record. Sim set the mark of 64 in yesterday's opening round. Jerod Turner matched the record earlier Friday before Every lowered it with his 10-birdie, one-bogey effort.
• Every's 63 today tied his career low score, which he set in the second round of the Stonebrae Classic earlier this year. Every grabbed the 36-hole lead in that event with scores of 69-63. He went on to tie for fourth at TPC at San Francisco Bay.
• Percy (65) leads the tournament with 14 birdies thus far.
• There is no 36-hole cut in this week's tournament. All 58 players will play 72 holes.
• There was only one eagle in today's second round, and that was by first-round leader Sim, who hit a knockdown 7-iron from 144 yards. The only other eagle of the week came in Thursday's opener when Chris Baryla made an eagle-3 at the par-5 third.
• Every's 63 matched the lowest second-round score in tournament history -- Jay Delsing, 2002.
• This is the second time this season that Every has held/shared a lead at any point in a tournament. He held a three-shot lead after two rounds of the Stonebrae Classic.
• Every's 6-under 30 on the front nine was the low nine-hole score for the week so far.
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