The Live Report, Round 2: Buick Invitational
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HOW GOOD WAS ROLLINS' ROUND? (7:20 p.m.): John Rollins has shot lower but it's hard to imagine too many more impressive rounds than the 64 he shot Friday on the South Course at Torrey Pines.
The round of 8 under moved him to within a shot of the lead held by Camilo Villegas at the midway point of the Buick Invitational. So where does it rank?
"If it was in the U.S. Open last year, it would have been the No. 1 round," Rollins said with a smile. "It's high up there for sure. It's a really tough golf course even now. But I have shot lower, made lower scores, but I would say for sure ... one of the top 10 rounds I've played."
Tiger Woods set the course record of 62 in 1999. Rollins didn't know what the mark was, but he stood at 9 under through 17 holes. Turns out a birdie -- instead of the bogey he ended up making -- on the par-5 finale would have given him a share of the record.
"I would hate to take anything away from Tiger, so I figured I'd better make bogey, not birdie," Rollins said, his tongue firmly in his check.
Of course, when you consider that the average score on the South Course was 75.372 that 64 got even better. -- Helen Ross
CYCLING HIS WAY UP (6:35 p.m.): Camilo Villegas has found a new way to keep that lean, muscled frame in shape.
Villegas, who holds a one-stroke lead entering the third round of the Buick Invitational, has taken up cycling. He went for his first ride a little less than a year ago when he was at home in Medellin, Colombia.
"One of my buddies goes, 'Listen, I've got a bike for you, let's go up this mountain,'" Villegas recalled. "I said, 'I don't know if we're going to be able to do it, man.' When I got up there, I said, 'I like this so much.' I just turned around and said I'll get a bike next week when I get home, and that's exactly what I did."
Villegas now rides anywhere from 40 to 100 miles four times a week when he's home in Jupiter, Fla., with a group that includes triathletes. He's also ridden with Santiago Botero, a Colombian who has won several stages in the Tour de France.
"We rode a couple times, and it's cool," Villegas said. "It's just like when somebody amateur comes and plays golf with us. It's interesting, you hit shots that are not a reality for them. You go with a guy like this, and to hear the stories and his experiences and all this stuff, it's pretty cool."
The rides back in Jupiter are "maybe a little more (competitive) than you think," Villegas said with a smile. He's not sure whether cycling helps his golf game, but it's clear he loves the pursuit.
"Is it dangerous? Yes," Villegas said. "Do I love it? Yes. Am I going to stop doing it? Probably not. It's a challenge, and I really enjoy the group I ride with. They're great guys, and it's just something different."
When he's playing golf, though, Villegas leaves the bike at home. He'll find a stationary bike in a gym and get some work in, but he concentrates on his golf game.
"This is what really makes me happy," he said. -- Helen Ross
TALE OF TWO COURSES (6:21 p.m.): The North Course actually played more difficult today than it did yesterday, but, with that in mind, the South Course still rules here and although it played easier today than yesterday, is still proving to be most difficult.
Here's a look at some players who had major swings on Friday -- some good, some not so good -- from the course they played yesterday. -- Brian Wacker
| Swings of 10 strokes or more on Friday at the Buick Invitational | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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TYING THE KNOT (6:07 p.m.): Looks like wedding rings are as important as a 63-degree wedge on the PGA TOUR this year.
Paul Casey won the Abu Dhabi Championship in January a month after his wedding. Ditto for Pat Perez last month at the 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer.
Will Charley Hoffman be next? His wedding was Nov. 29, 2008 -- two weeks before Perez's nuptials -- and Hoffman is in the midst of a pretty good stretch.
The San Diegan took Kenny Perry to the third hole of a playoff before bowing out on Sunday at the FBR Open. And Hoffman will start Saturday's final round of the Buick Invitational in third, just four strokes off the pace.
"Obviously there's something do it," Hoffman said, grinning. "Guys are married and winning. I don't think it really has anything to do with anything, really. I don't know."
Hoffman said he "couldn't have had more fun" at his wedding. But it wasn't quite on the scale of Perez's -- which had a quest list that included pitcher Mark Mulder and actor David Arquette. Race car driver Danica Patrick had a conflict and couldn't make it.
"Pat's wedding was one of the best things I've ever seen," Hoffman said. "I mean, it was a production. I don't even know if it was a wedding. There were fireworks and all different stuff. But it was a great time, good group of guys down there." -- Helen Ross
HOFFMAN HAS SIGHTS SET HIGH AT HOMETOWN EVENT (5:45 p.m.): When Charley Hoffman was a kid the San Diego native remembers coming to Torrey Pines to watch John Daly and Fuzzy Zoeller, among others, play in the Buick Invitational.
When he was a teenager, Hoffman used to play in the special qualifier the Century Club holds for amateurs and he won a spot in the tournament three times. He even made the cut the year he was 18 and a freshman at UNLV.
'What I vaguely remember was warming up on the range and Craig Stadler is to my right and Peter Jacobsen to the left and guys I grew up idolizing, and I'm playing the golf tournament with these guys on the weekend," Hoffman said.
"Unfortunately I didn't play that well on the weekend. My expectations were sort of met once I made the cut, so sort of all the hype was gone. I didn't end up playing that well."
Hoffman's expectations are a lot higher this weekend as he enters the third round of his hometown event in third place at 7 under, four strokes off the pace set by Camilo Villegas. Hoffman came close to his second PGA TOUR win last week at the FBR Open when he lost to Kenny Perry on the third playoff hole.
"Am I riding high?" Hoffman said. "No, I wanted to go out and get a W. I want to get in the Masters. It gave me a little more incentive to come out here. Even though it's my home tournament I wanted to get in the Masters and get ready for the end of the year and the FedExCup and play good golf throughout the whole year.
"So I think it burned a little fire underneath me to get it going and get another W."
No where would it be sweeter than in a tournament Hoffman calls his "major." He's not in any of golf's four crown jewels -- yet -- but a win at Torrey Pines would certainly give him a leg up.
"This is the tournament I want to win, and hopefully I win this and get into a few more majors," he said. -- Helen Ross
ROLLINS ON A ROLL (5:15 p.m.): John Rollins could be looking at a career-low round today after eagling the 454-yard, par-4 fifth hole on the South Course. Rollins stuck his approach shot from 124 yards and watched it disappear into the cup for an eagle to get to 7 under for the day on the South Course and 9 under for the tournament.
Rollins' career-best round is a 63, which he's shot three times, most recently in the fourth round of the 2007 FBR Open.
Maybe it has something to do with title sponsor Buick. Since 2003, Rollins has finished in the top 10 of a Buick event four times. Take a look at the chart below and follow Rollins' round live with Shot Tracker by clicking here. -- Brian Wacker
| John Rollins at Buick events: Best finishes | ||||||||||||||||||
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PHIL'S PUTTING WOES (4:59 p.m.:) Phil Mickelson is certainly in contention at 2 under heading into the weekend at the Buick Invitational, but unless he gets his putter straightened out -- and Camilo Villegas stops making birdies -- he won't be come Sunday.
Mickelson shot a 72 today and continued to miss his share of fairways -- he hit just 36 percent of them Friday -- but the bigger problem has been with the flat stick. Mickelson missed eight putts from 6 feet and in on Friday and that had him heading to the practice green after his round.
"I look back at putting as the real issue," Mickelson said. "You can get away with missing off the tee because the rough isn't as penalizing as the South Course."
Indeed. Friday, Mickelson took 32 putts. -- Brian Wacker
VILLEGAS IN, AND STILL LEADING (4:45 p.m.): Camilo Villegas just turned in another good round, this time at the more difficult South Course, with a 2-under 70 to maintain his hold on the lead.
Amazingly, Villegas is still missing more fairways than he's hitting -- a day after hitting 43 percent of his fairways, he hit just 23 percent (or four total) of them Friday. All that shows, however, is that Villegas has that special ability to find a way to get the ball into the hole as quickly as possible. Case in point: He leads the field in birdies. -- Brian Wacker
Here's a look at Villegas' card from today:
OBERHOLSER OUT (4:15 p.m.): Reader Brendon Hutchins just e-mailed in, noticing that Arron Oberholser has withdrawn from the field and was wondering if it was because of another injury. Indeed it was.
Though this is Oberholser's second tournament of the year, it's clear he's still bothered quite a bit by his injured wrists. Stay tuned for when he'll be back. -- Brian Wacker
CUT CHECK (4:05 p.m.): The cut line is sitting at 2 over right now and at the moment that leaves some players who had good rounds yesterday on the outside looking in.
Bob Tway and Brian Bateman are both struggling on the South Course today. Tway, who shot a 1-under 71 Thursday, is 4 over through 16 holes today. Bateman, who shot a 69 yesterday, is 6 over through 15 holes. Ditto that for Aussie Jason Day, also 6 over today after a 69 yesterday.
Other notables heading home for the weekend include Rory Sabbatini and Steve Marino. Sabbatini is currently 8 over for the week, Marino 6 over. -- Brian Wacker
LOVE DROPS BACK (3:50 p.m.): After turning in a very solid round of 6-under 66 on Torrey Pines' North Course yesterday, Davis Love III is struggling today. He's 2 over on the day after a back-nine 38 on the South Course that included three bogeys and just one birdie.
It's a little odd that he's hitting more fairways today than he did yesterday given his score, but that hasn't been the problem. Hitting the green has been. Love has hit just 33 percent of his greens in regulation today. As he a result, he's dropped from second to eighth for the time being. -- Brian Wacker
THE WEAK AND WOUNDED (3:32 p.m.): Add Wes Short Jr. to the list of players who have now withdrawn. After playing nine holes today, Short pulled out today with a back injury. He shot 81 yesterday. That brings the total number of players to WD to three with Eric Axley and Daniel Chopra having pulled out due to illness. -- Brian Wacker
TALE OF TWO VILLEGASES (3:20 p.m.): While Camilo Villegas is busy making short work of Torrey Pines, at least so far, his brother younger brother Manuel is making his Nationwide Tour debut down in Panama.
Unfortunately for Manuel, he missed the cut with rounds of 71-74. He stumbled down the stretch with two bogeys and a double bogey in his last five holes at Panama GC. -- Brian Wacker
MICKELSON STRUGGLING (3:10 p.m.): Phil Mickelson's scorecard is starting to look an awful lot like the one he turned in yesterday, at least in terms of bogeys. Despite playing the easier North Course today, Mickelson is 1 over on the day and just 1 under for the tournament.
Perhaps most troubling is that Mickelson bogeyed both the par 5s that he's played so far. Driving the ball continues to be an issue for Lefty. Yesterday, he hit just half his fairways. Today, he's hit just 22 percent of his fairways through his first 12 holes.
Mickelson is playing a new Callaway FT-9, which was just recently approved for play by the USGA. The driver is designed to allow him to hit a slight cut, but eliminate a big slice. -- Brian Wacker
Here's a look at Mickelson's scorecards from the first two rounds:
WEATHER UPDATE (3:00 p.m.): A series of downpours Friday morning have given way to overcast skies and drier, breezy conditions. Rain is expected to return around 3 p.m. PT, as the pros are finishing the second round, and become heavy overnight. This storm is stronger and will bring cooler temperatures than the one that came through the area on Thursday night.
An accumulation of more than an inch is possible. Local TV stations were telling people living in flood-prone areas that sandbags are available at local fire stations. The threat of rain -- and possible thunderstorms -- remains throughout Saturday, when the chance of precipitation is 70 percent, and Sunday, when there is a 50-50 chance. -- Helen Ross
MORNING MOVERS (2:50 p.m.): Leader Camilo Villegas picked up where he left off on Thursday, adding a couple of birdies on the back nine on the South Course before a bogey at No. 1 dropped him back to 1 under for the day.
Villegas is playing with Padraig Harrington in the first two rounds. After an opening-round 71, Harrington is 2 over today.
To see more of today's Morning Movers, click here 
. -- Brian Wacker
HOFFMAN AT HOME (2:40 p.m.): If you're looking for someone who can challenge Camilo Villegas this early in the Buick Invitational, look no further than Charley Hoffman.
Hoffman has a ton of things going for him: He's benefited greatly from an early tee time in the second round, when he was able to tee off on the North Course before the impending storm. He's taken advantage of the scoring available on the easier track -- he shot a 32 on the front side.
More importantly, Hoffman shot a 71 in his South Course foray on Thursday. He's got the length and putting touch to do well on the South Course over the weekend. He also has loads of momentum after finishing second last week at the FBR Open.
Hoffman's a San Diego native and this tournament must feel like a major championship to him. When he was a struggling pro early in his career, the Buick Invitational was often his lone shot all year on the PGA TOUR. Surprisingly, in all those years -- 12 tries in total -- he's never scored a top 10 here. -- Ryan Smithson
WITHDRAWALS (2:22 p.m.): In case you missed it, two players have withdrawn from the Buick Invitational.
Eric Axley, who shot an opening-round 85 on the South Course, withdrew with flu-like symptoms yesterday, while Daniel Chopra, who shot a 76 on the South Course, also withdrew due to illness after playing nine holes today. -- Brian Wacker
GLOVER GETTING GAME TOGETHER (2:10 p.m.): It looks like Lucas Glover's decision to step back from the game at the end of last season is paying off. He hasn't won yet, or even finished in the top 15, but you have to figure that's going to change given a) his talent; b) his improvements off the tee and on the greens.
Glover, who ranked 125th in driving accuracy in 2008, ranks 31st in that category with his percentage of fairways hit up almost 9 percent. Perhaps more telling is that Glover is ranked second in total driving (combination of accuracy and distance) and is second in birdie average.
Some of that birdie average can be attributed to the 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer, but consider that in nine rounds this season Glover has 51 birdies (and no eagles) in 162 holes.
This week, Glover is 3-under for the tournament after an opening-round 69 and one birdie and one bogey through file holes today.
Glover's biggest bugaboo has always been putting, which you could say about a lot of PGA TOUR players, but he's improved slightly in that area, too. Last year he ranked 103rd in putting average at 1.792. This year, he's 49th at 1.702. -- Brian Wacker
KEEPING UP WITH JONES (1:48 p.m.): After a 2008 in which Kent Jones posted just four top 25s and not a single top 10, the recently-turned-42-year-old, is making a push on Torrey Pines' South Course.
Jones is 3 under for the day after making the turn on the front nine in 33 -- despite 15 putts.
Jones, who secured his PGA TOUR card via a T18 finish at q-school, made just one more cut (11) than he missed (10) last year and if he can continue to score would be looking at his first top 10 since the 2007 Frys.com Open. -- Brian Wacker
TEES UP (1:35 p.m.): In anticipation of severe weather today, PGA TOUR Rules Officials made the decision to have players use the "up" tees on five holes on the South Course on Thursday and Friday.
The decision was based on the fact that Nos. 5, 7, 11, 12 and 13 would play into strong wind and/or contain a forced carry.
Lift, clean and place was not put into effect on Thursday, thus making round three the earliest the rule could be implemented due to the two-course rotation.
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