Bob Hope Classic: Second-round notebook
By Joe Chemycz, PGA TOUR Staff
LA QUINTA, Calif. -- Records of all kinds are being set and tied during the first two rounds of the 50th Bob Hope Classic.
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• Pat Perez set the PGA TOUR record for the lowest opening-36 hole score with his 124 total. Several players had reached 125. They include: Carl Pettersson (64-61) 15 under at 2008 Wyndham Championship; Corey Pavin (61-64) 15 under at 2006 U.S. Bank Championship; Tom Lehman (63-62) 19 under at 2001 Invensys Classic at Las Vegas; Marc Calcavecchia (65-60) 17 under at 2001 Phoenix Open; and Tiger Woods (64-61) 15 under at 2000 World Golf Championships-NEC Invitational.
• Perez is the first player in PGA TOUR history to reach double-double figures for any 36-hole stretch. Perez' rounds of 61-63 put him at 20 under par. Several players have posted 19-under totals over the years but Perez is the first to reach 20 under. Those reaching 19 under were: Gay Brewer in Rounds 2 and 3 at the 1967 Pensacola Open; John Cook in Rounds 4 and 5 at the 1997 Bob Hope Classic; Lehman in Rounds 1 and 2 at the 2001 Invensys Classic at Las Vegas; and Tim Herron in Rounds 2 and 3 at the 2003 Bob Hope Classic.
• Perez tied the PGA TOUR record for lowest consecutive rounds. Previously, Marc Calcavecchia had carded rounds of 60-64 in Rounds 2 and 3 to reach 18-under in the 2001 Phoenix Open.
• Perez also set the PGA TOUR record for most strokes under par through 36 holes. The previous low was 19 under by Lehman at the 2001 Invensys Classic at Las Vegas. Reaching 18 under were Marc Turnesa and Matt Kuchar at the 2008 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospital Open and Briny Baird right here at the 2009 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.
• Perez set a new career best for his lowest opening 36-hole total. His previous best was a 15-under 129 at the 2008 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals Open.
• This is the third time that Perez has held/shared the 36-hole lead in his PGA TOUR career: He led by four at the 2002 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am after rounds of 66-65--131 (-13) and went on to finish second; and was the co-leader at the 2002 Valero Texas Open after rounds of 68-62--130 (-10) and went on to tie for fifth.
• Perez broke the 36-hole record at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic previously held by Joe Durant at 18-under 126 and also matched Thursday by Baird. Just below them in the record books are Joe Ogilvie (17-under 127 in 2005) and David Berganio Jr. (17-under 127 in 2009).
• It's still a little early to start talking about Perez being a wire-to-wire winner, but such a feat has happened only one time previously in tournament history. Rik Massengale led from start to finish back in 1977. He fired a first-round 64 and led by three; he followed that up with a 66 to lead by four; then posted a 70 in the third round to lead by four; then carded another 70 in the fourth round to lead by six; and finished up with a 67 to win by six.
• Baird, now in his 10th year on TOUR, is still looking for his first career win. Baird, who is making the 276th start of his career, has put together a career-best 36-hole score of 63-63--126. Baird's previous career low was 128 (16-under) at the 2002 Michelin Championship.
• Berganio is among the leaders after two days. Berganio has posted scores of 63-64--127 and is in third place, three shots back of leader Perez. Berganio has not been on TOUR since 2003 when he made 15 starts. He has been hobbled by back troubles over the years and has not made more than three starts in any single year on TOUR since'03.
• This is his 138th career start. Berganio has received a Major Medical Extension for the sixth consecutive year and has five events to earn $346,342, which, coupled with earnings of $141,150 over the past six years, will equal No. 125 from the 2003 money list and earn Major Medical Extension status for the remainder of the 2009 campaign. Berganio finished tied for seventh at the 2008 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament to earn conditional status beyond his medical extension.
• Richard S. Johnson, winner of the 2008 U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee, has carded rounds of 63-65 and stands at 16-under 128, four shots back of leader Perez. This is his best career 36-hole efforts, improving on the 14-under 130 he carded at the 2003 FedEx St. Jude Classic.
• Jason Dufner, the second-to-last man in the field after replacing local favorite Anthony Kim on Monday, has made the most of his opportunity. Dufner (63-65) is at 16-under 128 and tied for fourth place, four shots back of leader Perez.
• Baird had a hole-in-one on the par-3 seventh hole at Nicklaus Private. Baird used a 9-iron to ace the 146-yard hole. The last player to make an ace in a tournament and then go on to win that event -- Jim Furyk at the 2007 Canadian Open.
• Bubba Watson (62-69) recovered from a tough opening few holes on Nicklaus Private. The now-Scottsdale resident was 4 over for the day after eight holes, thanks to no birdies, a bogey and a triple bogey (No. 6). However, he rallied with seven birdies on his final 10 holes to get to 13 under par.
• After the first two days, there are a total of 48 players already in double figures below par.
• If this event was a regular 72-hole event on the PGA TOUR, the 36-hole cut would come at an eye-popping 8 under par (71 players). The TOUR record for the lowest 36-hole cut is 6 under, which has occurred five times, including the 2008 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospital for Children Open.
• This has also been a career-best start for veteran Steve Elkington. The 46-year old has posted scores of 65-64 and is 15 under par. Elkington has never been this far under-par in any of his previous 502 PGA TOUR starts.
• Brad Adamonis shot a career-best 10-under 62 at the Nicklaus Private Course. Adamonis is at 15-under 129. He is making only his second career start in this event. He tied for 50th last year. Adamonis' previous career-best was a 64 in the first round of the 2008 Travelers Championship. He also had two eagles Thursday at Nicklaus Private on Nos. 4 and 16, both par 5s.
• Cliff Kresge carded a career-best 63 Thursday at Palmer Private. His previous career low round was a 64 (-6) in the third round of the 2008 Mayakoba Golf Classic. Kresge ran off a string of five consecutive birdies starting at No. 13 at Palmer Private.
• Kirk Triplett ran off a string of seven consecutive birdies starting at No. 11 at SilverRock. Triplett shot a 7-under 29 on the back nine, his opening nine.
• Stephen Ames ran off a string of five consecutive birdies starting at No. 13 at Nicklaus Private.
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