The Daily Wrap-up, Round 2: Verizon Heritage
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) -- Brian Gay's run of five straight birdies lifted him past a revived Todd Hamilton after two rounds of the Verizon Heritage on Friday.
Gay made six birdies on the front nine, including five in a row from the fourth through ninth holes to help him to a 66 and, at 9-under par, a one-stroke lead over former British Open champion Hamilton.
First-round leader Alex Cejka followed his 64 with an even-par 71 and was tied at 7-under with two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen.
Janzen's round of 70 featured an ace on the 17th hole.
Gay has steadily improved over his 11 full PGA TOUR seasons. His best came last year with his first career victory at the Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya - Cancun and a personal high of more than $2.2 million in earnings.
"That front nine was awesome," Gay said.
Gay's streak began when he rolled in an 18-footer for birdie on the par-3 4th hole, then picked up steam with a 25-foot putt a hole later. His approach from a fairway bunker landed inside 5 feet for a third straight birdie.
• To read the remainder of this story,click here.
HAMILTON HITTING HIS STRIDE AT THE RIGHT TIME
By Stan Awtrey, PGATOUR.COM Contributor
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. -- Todd Hamilton says he began to lose his way here in 2005, so perhaps it's fitting that Harbour Town may be the next step on his road to recovery.
Hamilton shot a bogey-free 5-under 66 on Friday to take the lead after the morning round of the Verizon Heritage. It's the second straight strong week for Hamilton, who tied for 15th at last week's Masters. He's now made the cut in three straight events after missing in seven of the season's first eight tournaments.
Hamilton won the Open Championship in 2004 and remembers playing well through the rest of that season and during the opening months of 2005. That's when the room began to spin. He missed the cut in 11 of the final 16 events that year, troubles that he links back to Harbour Town.
"I had a good really good finish (tie for 22nd at the Heritage Verizon) and it seemed like after that I just tanked," Hamilton said.
His struggles continued in 2006 and 2007, when he only made the cut in one-third of his events, and had only one top-10 finish. Things got a little better in 2008, but he entered the season down to the final year of his exemption for winning the Open Championship.
• To read the remainder of this story, click here.
| Top 5 notables at Verizon Heritage | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Friday's Best |
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The 530-yard par-5 fifth hole was easiest with a Friday scoring average of 4.600.
The 192-yard par-3 14th was toughest with a Friday scoring average of 3.331.
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Lee Janzen aced the 185-yard, par-3 17th Friday. As a result, the two-time U.S. Open champion remained in contention going to the weekend. 
Brian Gay shot a front-nine 30, making five birdies in a row at one point, and had just one bogey to surge into the lead after two rounds. | QUOTE OF THE DAY | ||||||||||
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INSIDE THE ROPES WITH THE PGA TOUR NETWORK
PGA TOUR Network correspondent Bob Stevens offers these observations from Friday's action. Listen to PGA TOUR Live coverage on XM 146/SIRIUS 209 or right here at PGATOUR.COM.
Lee Janzen has come to the Verizon Heritage in 18 of the last 19 years, but it took until the 17th hole of his 62nd round at Harbour Town for him to record his first ace in the tournament. Curiously, he told me afterward, he'd just finished telling his caddie that there was no way to get the ball close to the back left hole location and there was no point in even aiming at it. Then he hit an 8-iron he knew was pretty good, but with the sun in his eyes, said he didn't see it hit and had to wait for the crowd roar to know he'd made the hole-in-one.
Five-time champion Davis Love III and two-time defending champion Boo Weekley come from incredibly different golf backgrounds. Yet they not only share a love for the Harbour Town Golf Links, but an even bigger love of hunting. Davis told me that was the primary focus of their discussion while enjoying each other's company the first two days. Love says he can't wait to get Weekley to come visit his favorite turkey hunting sites in southeast Georgia. Could be every bit as entertaining as the great Florida/Georgia football rivalry.
A special guest at Harbour Town Friday was Oscar-winning film director Ron Howard (still probably better known in these parts as Opie Taylor). Howard is a regular visitor to the island with a son who's a promising collegiate golfer at South Carolina-Beaufort. Dad was enticed into coming see him play in a college tourney this weekend and decided to enjoy the Verizon Heritage. Howard downplays his own game, but told me he'd have no problem casting golfers in an upcoming film because they can concentrate on performing in the moment and can handle the pressure. As we were talking, Tim Petrovic came by and said hello, looking for a leading role either this weekend, or in Howard's next film.
SECOND-ROUND NOTEBOOK: VERIZON HERITAGE
By John Bush, PGA TOUR Staff
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. -- Brian Gay birdied five consecutive holes (Nos. 4-8) Friday on his way to a 5-under 66 and a one-stroke lead over Todd Hamilton (66) after 36 holes at the Verizon Heritage. It was the best birdie streak at the tournament since Boo Weekley birdied the same five holes in Round 3 in 2008.
• Gay is making his 10th start at Harbour Town, with three previous made cuts (tied for 42nd in 2001, tied for ninth in 2006, tied for 16th in 2007). So far this season, the 2008 Mayakoba Golf Classic champion has made 10 cuts in 11 starts, with a tie for fifth at the Sony Open in Hawaii his best of five top-25 finishes. He is currently No. 29 on the FedExCup points list.
• The second-round lead is the second of Gay's career. His first came at the 2001 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, when he shared the lead with Phil Mickelson on the way to a tie for fifth.
• This is the 13th straight year that the Verizon Heritage has produced an outright second-round leader. The last time there were co-leaders through 36 holes was in 1996, when Jeff Sluman and Tom Watson shared the lead at 6 under. In the 41-year history of the event, there have been co-leaders after two rounds just 11 times.
• To read the remainder of this story,click here.
| Live Essentials | ||||
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KODAK CHALLENGE: The first-of-its-kind competition for PGA TOUR players continues at the Verizon Heritage.
The Kodak Challenge celebrates beautiful holes and memorable moments on the PGA TOUR. The Kodak Challenge offers $1 million to the winner. There will be one designated Kodak Challenge Hole at 24 different PGA TOUR tournaments in 2009, with this week's featured hole the 411-yard par-4 18th.
Players, who must play at least 18 of the holes during the season to be eligible, will count their lowest score relative to par on the Kodak Challenge Hole made during an official competition round. The player, with the lowest cumulative score in relation to par at the end of the challenge, wins.
• For more on the Kodak Challenge, click here.
| This week's Kodak Challenge hole | |||
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| This week at the Kodak Challenge hole | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Round-by-round statistics on the par-4 18th at Harbour Town | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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