The Daily Wrap-up, Friday: Shell Houston Open
HUMBLE, Texas (AP) -- Paul Casey shot a 2-under 70 on Friday for a share of the lead with Geoff Ogilvy and John Senden at 8 under during the suspended second round of the Shell Houston Open.
Casey was one of only five players to complete two rounds Friday after high wind suspended play Thursday afternoon. The horns sounded at 7:43 p.m. Friday with 65 players on the course and 72 others scheduled to start their second rounds Saturday morning.
"I didn't think we'd get done," Casey said, "but we did. That was great."
Ogilvy, the Australian star who won the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship and the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championships, played 14 holes in the second round, while Senden played 10.
Ogilvy opened with a 67, then birdied seven of the first nine holes of his second round. He had a double bogey on the par-4 second and a bogey at the fourth.
Ogilvy and Casey were two of the 72 players who had their first-round tee times pushed back to Friday. Casey shot a 6-under 66 in his first round, then raced the sun to finish a second-round 70. After two-putting for par on No. 17, he ran to the 18th tee and smacked a 318-yard drive into the fairway just before the round was officially suspended, allowing him to finish the hole Friday.
"I figured it was worth it," Casey said. "There's something to be said about saving energy. It's turning into a long week. If I had to get up early (Saturday), that could have been very detrimental. I took a chance, ran for the tee."
Bo Van Pelt (67) was 7 under along with Jonathan Byrd, Henrik Stenson, Tommy Armour III and former SMU player Colt Knost. Bryd played 16 holes in the second round, Stenson 13, Armour 11 and Knost eight.
Senden, Nicholas Thompson and Briny Baird shared the first-round lead at 7 under.
Playing the back nine first, Ogilvy began his surge with a 13-foot birdie putt on the par-4 11th and then hit approaches inside 10 feet on the next three holes to take the outright lead. He drove into the trees and bogeyed the par-5 15th, then holed a bunker shot on the par-3 16th before birdies on 17 and 18, two long par 4s.
His 6-under 30 on his front nine was one shot shy of a tournament record.
Casey shot an opening 66, then birdied four of his first 11 holes in his second round. The Englishman bogeyed both par 3s on the back nine to slip to 8 under.
Ogilvy and Casey are two of the 15 top-20 players here this week to tune up for the Masters next week. The Tournament Course at Redstone was set up to simulate Augusta National, with fast greens and light rough. But soft greens and ideal conditions Friday yielded 67 scores under par in the first round.
Fred Couples and Justin Leonard posted early 68s. James Nitties took the lead briefly with a 66, the best score among the 72 players forced to halt their rounds on Thursday.
Phil Mickelson didn't deal with the interruption nearly as well, stumbling to a 77.
Meanwhile, the players who started their first rounds Friday hardly got a break before starting their second 18s.
Thompson had eight birdies and a bogey on Friday, his best round in 11 starts this year. He walked off No. 18, stopped for a quick interview, then raced to a waiting cart to head to No. 10 for the start his second round.
Baird, playing in the group behind Thompson, didn't even stop for reporters, grabbing a sandwich from a cooler before another cart whisked him off to the 10th tee. Baird moved to 9 under early in the second round, but he was back at 6 under when play was halted.
Casey didn't mind hurrying.
"It's a bit like college golf -- here's your lunch and keep on going," the former Arizona State star said. "I honestly expected us to have maybe a short little break, maybe 20 minutes to compose ourselves or do whatever we needed to do. We weren't allowed that, we had to keep going. But hindsight, I'm glad we did."
The comfortable weather drew big crowds Friday and they got an early morning treat when fan favorite Couples birdied four of his first seven holes. He three-putted No. 6, but still wound up with his fourth straight sub-70 round at Redstone.
"I like the course," said Couples, who played at the University of Houston. "A lot of it is shaping it, and the way your eye looks at it."
Divots: Defending champion Johnson Wagner, who has missed six cuts in 10 starts this year, shot a 2-under 70 in the first round. "There's nothing about this place I don't like," Wagner said. "There are a lot of birdies out there, and I know where they are." ... Chris Couch withdrew after three holes Friday because of a shoulder injury. Dean Wilson also pulled out Friday, citing a sore back. ... Greg Norman, making a rare appearance on the PGA TOUR to prepare for the Masters, had two birdies Friday to finish a 71. ... Former President George H.W. Bush and wife Barbara rode around the course on a cart, waving to fans and watching the tournament. The Bushes live in Houston.
GRINDING LEONARD OVERCOMES ELEMENTS
By Melanie Hauser, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent
HUMBLE, Texas -- It was barely time for lunch and Justin Leonard was done for the day.
As in grab a sandwich, hit a few balls on the range and find a way to kill an afternoon.
Someone suggested -- if he was bored -- he could help them out by doing the laundry and cleaning the house.
Leonard chuckled. "I'll pass.''
These are good times for the hard-grinding Texan, who has won a dozen times in his career. He's opened the year with three top-10s in his first seven events and he's playing his way to the Masters on a Redstone course where he's had some early-round success. Although he's settled for a pair of thirtysomething finishes the last two years at the Shell Houston Open, he's opened with 67 and 68.
And this year? He threw out an opening 68 -- eight windblown holes of it Thursday morning, the remaining 10 Friday morning under a bright, sunny day with no wind. It was good, at the time, for a share of the clubhouse lead.
"Yesterday was obviously very challenging, but it got to the point -- you know, I had two different balls move on the green,'' he said. "Fortunately I hadn't addressed them yet, so there wasn't any penalty. One of them rolled 10 feet, totally changed my putt.''
Then, he stepped to the 18th tee. "And looking at that hole with a 30-mile-an-hour left-to-right wind, have to start it out in the water just to find the fairway . . . ." he said. As luck would have it, they called play for the day before he teed off, so he picked up right there early Friday.
• To read the remainder of this story, click here.
| Round 1 Best |
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The par-5, 590-yard 13th was the easiest with a Round 1 scoring average of 4.650.
The par-4, 480-yard fifth was the toughest with a Round 1 scoring average of 4.336.
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J.B. Holmes nearly holed a long eagle chip at the 590-yard, par-5 13th hole. Holmes shot a 1-under 71. 
John Senden of Australia had to wait until Friday to finish his first round, but managed to shoot a 7-under 65. INSIDE THE ROPES WITH THE PGA TOUR NETWORK
PGA TOUR Network correspondent Mark Carnevale offers these observations from Friday's action. Listen to PGA TOUR Live coverage on XM 146/SIRIUS 209 or right here at PGATOUR.COM.
Unfortunately the second round will not be completed until Saturday afternoon. Despite the rain and wind delays of the first round there were great rounds shot and some wonderful shots made.
I would have to say I probably saw something today that is extremely unusual. Early in the morning I was following the group of Vijay Singh, Sergio Garcia and Henrik Stenson. They were playing the par-4 sixth hole, and despite these players being in the top of the world rankings, there was not a single par made on that hole. Vijay made 5, Sergio 5 and Henrik 6. Maybe more unbelievable is that it happened again during the same round. At the par-5 15th, Sergio made 6, Henrik made 6 and Vijay 7. I am going to go out on a limb and say that the chances of that happening with some of the best players in the world is extremely low, once maybe but twice, you have to be kidding me.
Patience would have to be the word for the first two days, and it will need to continue for the remainder of the tournament.
How about this for a stretch of holes? To start his second round Geoff Ogilvy made birdies at Nos. 11, 12, 13 and 14 to move into a tie for the lead. He struggled to make bogey at the par-5 15th, but then at the par-3 16th, missed his tee shot and was disgusted with himself.
Looked like he might make consecutive bogeys, but instead holes out the bunker shot and proceeds to birdie the par-4 17th, making six birdies in seven holes. At that point he had a two-shot lead during the second round. Maybe we should not be surprised. Geoff won the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship earlier this year at the Ritz-Carlton Club at Dove Mountain. Now there is not much elevation here at the Redstone Golf Club, but there are big undulating greens and fairly wide fairways. I'm just saying, watch out for Geoff the remainder of the tournament.
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FIRST-ROUND NOTEBOOK: SHELL HOUSTON OPEN
By Mark Williams, PGA TOUR Staff
HUMBLE, Texas -- The first round was completed at 5:15 p.m. Friday after being suspended at 12:50 p.m. Thursday due to high winds.
• The last time play was suspended due to high winds during play was Round 4 of the 2007 Verizon Heritage at Hilton Head, S.C.. Boo Weekley was the eventual winner that week.
• Nicholas Thompson, Briny Baird and John Senden shot 7-under 65 to share the lead after the first round.
• Baird's round included seven birdies and an eagle at the 464-yard, par-4 sixth hole. Thompson posted eight birdies and a lone bogey at the par-3 seventh hole. Senden recorded a bogey-free 65 with seven birdies.
• Thompson has held the first-round lead/co-lead once, Senden twice and Baird three times. Only Senden has gone on to a victory after holding the first-round lead/co-lead (2006/John Deere Classic).
• Thompson played 36 tournaments on the PGA TOUR in 2008, the most of any player. This is Thompson's 11th event of the season, matching Brendon de Jonge, Alex Cejka and Johnson Wagner, the Shell Houston Open defending champion, with the most starts this year.
• To read the remainder of this story, click here.
KODAK CHALLENGE: The first-of-its-kind competition for PGA TOUR players continues at the Shell Houston Open.
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 488-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.
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