Shell Houston Open: Partial second-round notebook

text size

HUMBLE, Texas -- The second round started at 2:55 p.m. Friday after the first round was suspended on Thursday and carried over into Friday. The second round was suspended due to darkness at 7:43 p.m. with 65 players on the course and 72 players yet to start their second round. The second round will continue Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m. as only five players have completed two rounds of play.

Graythen/Getty Images

Geoff Ogilvy started his second round with seven birdies in nine holes.

Inside the Numbers

Round 2 Leaderboard

Player Score Thru T1. Paul Casey -8 F T1. Geoff Ogilvy -8 14 T1. John Senden -8 10 T4. Bo Van Pelt -7 F T4. Jonathan Byrd -7 16 T4. Henrik Stenson -7 13 T4. Tommy Armour III -7 11 T4. Colt Knost -7 8 T9. Briny Baird -6 16 T9. Camilo Villegas -6 14 T9. Stuart Appleby -6 14 T9. Scott Piercy -6 11 T9. D.A. Points -6 10 T9. Jason Dufner -6 9 T9. James Nitties -6 9:35

Note: Round 2 will finish Saturday morning.

• England's Paul Casey, who hustled from the 17th green to hit his tee shot on the 18th hole in order to narrowly beat the horn and suspension of play, is in the clubhouse at 8 under par after playing 36 holes on Friday. On the course and tied with Casey are Australians Geoff Ogilvy (thru 14 holes) and John Senden (thru 10 holes).

• Casey and Ogilvy squared off in the final match at this year's World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship with Ogilvy winning 4 and 3. That runner-up finish is Casey's best on the PGA TOUR, although he has won nine times on the European Tour.

• Should Casey hold or share the lead after all players have finished their second rounds, it would mark the first time that he has held or shared a 36-hole lead on the PGA TOUR. His best standing through two rounds is a tie for second at the 2007 Arnold Palmer Invitational where he finished tied for 14th.

• Ogilvy, already a two-time winner this year at the Mercedes-Benz Championship and the Accenture Match Play Championship, started his second round with birdies on seven of his first nine holes at one point, pushing his score to 11 under par. After making the turn, Ogilvy double bogeyed No. 2 and bogeyed No. 4 to put him in a tie with Casey and Senden as play was suspended.

• Ogilvy's two victories have helped put him in the lead in the 2009 FedExCup standings with a 51-point lead over Phil Mickelson.

• Ogilvy leads the TOUR in 2009 in putting average with 1.678 putts per hole. Ogilvy also leads the TOUR this year in birdie conversion at 39.18%, meaning that when Ogilvy hits a green in regulation, he has converted into a birdie nearly 40% of the time this year. With a birdie conversion rate of 39.18%, he leads No. 2-ranked Phil Mickelson (37.81%) and No. 3-ranked Charley Hoffman (36.41%).

• Ogilvy has enjoyed success at the Shell Houston Open with three top-10 finishes in five previous appearances including a tie for second last year. Ogilvy has held or shared the lead through 36 holes two previous times in his PGA TOUR career, converting both occasions into victories at the 2008 World Golf Championships-CA Championship and the 2009 Mercedes-Benz Championship.

• Senden leads the TOUR in 2009 in holes without a three-putt (251 holes this season thru Friday's 10 holes). He has yet to record a three-putt this week. Senden shot 67 during the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational to finish tied for fourth last week.

• Senden and Ogilvy are joined in the top 10 by fellow Australians Stuart Appleby and James Nitties. A two-time Shell Houston Open champion, Appleby (1999, 2006) recorded five consecutive birdies during his second round and is two strokes behind the lead at 6 under thru 14 holes. Six Australians have won the Shell Houston Open with Bruce Crampton and Appleby winning twice. There are 14 Australians in the field this week. Nitties will start his second round on Saturday at 9:35 a.m.

• Fred Couples is looking to make his 16th consecutive cut at the Shell Houston Open, which would be one less than the tournament record of 17 held by Jimmy Demaret. Couples finished the first round at 4 under par and is scheduled for his second-round tee time of 8:45 a.m. on Saturday.

• Bo Van Pelt, one of five players to finish his second round on Friday, is at 7 under par. On the course at 7 under are Jonathan Byrd (16 holes), Henrik Stenson (13 holes), Tommy Armour III (11 holes) and Dallas resident and Southern Methodist University graduate Colt Knost (8 holes).

• Brad Adamonis, who was playing the 18th hole when the horn blew signifying the suspension of play, opted to return on Saturday for his birdie putt at the final hole. Adamonis is currently 1 over for the tournament and is one below the projected cut line.

• Dean Wilson withdrew during the second round with a back injury. Bill Lunde withdrew with illness before beginning the first round and was replaced by James Oh. Chris Couch withdrew during round one with a shoulder injury.