The Honda Classic: Second-round notebook
By Doug Milne, PGA TOUR Staff
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- A total of 79 players made the 36-hole cut, and as a result there will be a 54-hole cut on Saturday reducing the field to the low 70 and ties.
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• At 37 years, 1 month and 22 days, Korean Y.E. Yang fired a second-round, 5-under 65 to take a single-stroke lead over Robert Allenby, Jeff Overton and Will MacKenzie. Yang is competing in his second Honda Classic (tied for 72nd in 2008).
• Yang is competing in his fourth PGA TOUR event of the season. Among his finishes in the previous three were a tie for 22nd at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and a tie for 20th at last week's Mayakoba Golf Classic.
• Among his most notable achievements, Yang won the 2006 HSBC Champions Tournament on the Asian Tour by two strokes over Tiger Woods.
• Holding the second-round lead hasn't been a good omen at The Honda Classic. Only once in the past 12 years has the 36-hole leader gone on to win -- Jesper Parnevik in 2001. Over the past 21 years, only four second-round leaders have gone on to victory -- Parnevik, Tim Herron (1996), Mark O'Meara (1995) and Steve Pate (1991).
• The second-round leader/co-leader has gone on to win three of eight stroke-play events on the PGA TOUR this season, most recently Mark Wilson at last week's Mayakoba Golf Classic.
• Speaking of Wilson, he was unable to carry the momentum from his victory last week into PGA National, missing the cut with rounds of 75-75.
• At 25 years, nine months and eight days, Jeff Overton fired a second consecutive 3-under 67 in Round 2 to take a share of second place at 6 under into the weekend with Will MacKenzie and Robert Allenby.
• Overton may well be at The Honda Classic by virtue of his last eight events of 2008. After recovering from appendicitis, he made the cut in all eight events to work his way into the top 125 and earn his card for the 2009 season.
• Overton missed the cut in his two previous starts at PGA National in 2006 and 2008.
• Like Overton, MacKenzie picked up where he left off and fired a second consecutive 3-under 67 Friday to take a share of second place. Guided by a hot putter, Mackenzie one-putted five of nine holes on the front, combining for a total of 13 putts.
• Part-time Jupiter resident Robert Allenby backed up his first-round 4-under 66 with a second-round 68. By doing so, he made his 30th consecutive made cut, which places him in a tie for the TOUR lead with Tiger Woods. Allenby is making his ninth start at this event, with three top-5 finishes (tied for fifth in 2007, tied for fourth 2008, tied for fourth in 2004) to his credit.
• Ben Crane posted a 5-under 65 in Round 2 on the heels of an even-par 70 Thursday. Playing in his fourth Honda Classic, his second-round 65 in 2009 is his lowest score at the event. Last year, he posted a 4-under 66 in round two en route to a tie for 12th, his best finish.
• The low round of the day belonged to Greg Chalmers, who fired a 6-under 64. The 64 was one stroke shy of his career low round of 63, which came in Round 4 of the 2002 Buick Invitational. His 64 in Round 2 was his best round since shooting a 64 at the 2004 Michelin Championship and tied the course record, previously carded by Luke Donald in round one last year.
• Chalmers' 6-under 64 rocketed him up the leaderboard in Round 2. He began the day tied for 81st but will start Saturday's third round tied for seventh.
• PGA TOUR rookie Jeff Klauk birdied Nos. 14-18 in Round 2, which is just one consecutive birdie shy of Fred Couples' record of six (in Round 1 of 1985).
• Speaking of Klauk, he returns to work this week after taking last week off after making his first six consecutive cuts on the TOUR. Among those first six events were a tie for 12th at the Sony Open in Hawaii and a tie for 11th at the Buick Invitational.
• At 2-over 142, Davis Love III kept his perfect streak alive this week at The Honda Classic, making his 15th consecutive made cut here in as many attempts. Love enjoyed his best finishes at this event in back-to-back seasons, finishing runner-up in 2003 and 2004.
• After making the cut at The Honda Classic in his first 11 starts here, Chris DiMarco missed the cut for the first time in 2008. He got things back on track this week, posting rounds of 72-70 to finish the first two rounds at 2-over 142.
• For the second day in a row, Erik Compton posted a 1-under 69. He sits at 2 under through two rounds despite a triple bogey on No. 11 Thursday and a double bogey on No.17 Friday. In his last start on the PGA TOUR, the 2008 Children's Miracle Network Classic, he made the cut en route to 60th place honors.
• The par-70 PGA National played to a scoring average of 72.378 on Thursday and 71.000 on Friday, for a cumulative average of 71.694.
• Y.E. Yang, Alex Cejka, James Nitties and Ryan Palmer each played bogey-free in Round 2.
• Glen Day withdrew prior to the start of the second round with a neck injury. Mathis Gronberg withdrew in the middle of round two due to injury.
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