Quail Hollow Championship, Round 2

text size

Lecka/Getty Images

Tiger Woods shot an opening-round 65 on Thursday. What will he do this afternoon? Follow along all day.

PGATOUR.COM Instant Access

Quail Hollow Championship

PGATOUR.COM's The Live Report is on the scene at the Quail Hollow Championship and we'll provide updates all day long for each round, so check back often. (All timestamps are Eastern Time.) PGA TOUR Shot Tracker | Live Scoring | PGA TOUR Network | Facebook | Twitter

WOODS BOGEYS LAST TO FALL OUT OF LEAD (6:25 p.m.): Tiger Woods was 2 under on his round and grinding out pars on the back nine, looking like he would be in the lead, or at least share it, heading to the weekend at Quail Hollow -- until the "Green Mile" got him like it did most everybody else.

Woods bogeyed two of the final three holes, unable to get up-and-down from a greenside bunker on No. 16 when he missed a 14-footer and unable to convert a two-putt from almost 89 feet on the final hole. As a result, Woods dropped to even on the day and back to 7 under, one shot shy of the lead held by Bubba Watson and Retief Goosen, who will play in Saturday's final pairing

Dropping out of the final group, however, shouldn't have much effect on Woods. He's been terrific on the weekends and leads the PGA TOUR in final-round scoring average at 67.67. His third-round average (69.67) isn't too shabby either, ranking 31st. If Saturday is moving day, expect Woods to do just that. Whether or not Watson, Goosen or Zach Johnson or George McNeill can keep pace, we'll just have to wait and see. -- Brian Wacker

SECOND ROUND WRAPPING UP (5:55 p.m.): Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk and Retief Goosen are finishing off their second round, as are a few other players, and the leaderboard is shaping up to be ridiculously good heading into the weekend.

There are a combined 21 major championships between five players in the top 10. Of course 14 of those belong to Woods, but he has serious company with Furyk, Goosen, Zach Johnson and Phil Mickelson all in the hunt. Given the list of past champions -- Woods, Furyk, Vijay Singh and David Toms among them -- it's no surprise we have another leaderboard that's nothing short of spectacular. -- Brian Wacker

FURYK ON FIRE (5:36 p.m.): Joining Tiger Woods and Bubba Watson atop the leaderboard right now is Jim Furyk, who has charged up the leaderboard with six birdies and an eagle today.

After four birdies on the front nine moved Furyk to 4 under on the tournament, he rattled off five straight pars before chipping in for eagle on the par-4 14th, where his drive went just to the right of the 311-yard hole. That left Furyk with a 43-foot chip shot that he nailed. Two holes and two birdies later and he was tied for the lead.

On the year, Furyk has three top 10s, including a T10 at the Masters and a third-place finish at the World Golf Championship-CA Championship, but he's looking for his first win on the PGA TOUR since the 2007 Canadian Open. -- Brian Wacker

ANOTHER RECORD DAY (5:25 p.m.): Bubba Watson got the par he needed on No. 9 to match the front-nine record of 30 at Quail Hollow. As a result, Watson is in with a 7-under 65 and, at least for the moment, is tied for the lead with Tiger Woods, who just dropped a stroke.

Like Woods, Watson didn't find the fairway much, hitting just 4 of 14 on his round, but he still hit 13 of 18 greens in regulation and needed only 27 putts. For Watson, it's his lowest round since a 63 in the fourth round of the 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer. -- Brian Wacker

Here's a look at Watson's scorecard from today:

WATSON ON A ROLL (5:00 p.m.): Bubba Watson is not only making a run at the course record-tying front-nine 30 that Tiger Woods shot yesterday, he's making a run at Woods' lead.

After closing out the back nine with back-to-back bogeys, Watson got on the birdie train, making red numbers at Nos. 1, 3 and 4 before adding an eagle on the par-5 seventh, where he rolled in a 27-footer. Watson followed that with another birdie at No. 8 and needs only a par on the par-4 ninth to match the 30. -- Brian Wacker

CUT CHECK PART II (4:40 p.m.): The cut has been at even par pretty much all day and as we near the end of the second round nears it looks like it won't move much if any. That means some big names will be headed home early.

Last week's winner in New Orleans, Jerry Kelly, is among those possibly headed home. So might Stewart Cink. Both of them are at 1 over at the moment.

Rory Sabbatini will also have a short week after back-to-back rounds of 74, while Sergio Garcia is snowballing toward the cut at 5 over. Last year's PLAYERS Championship winner, Garcia had a brutal day with six bogeys, one double bogey and just two birdies. That's a long way from the 1-under 71 he shot yesterday.

Garcia, who has hit just 3 of 12 fairways and 8 of 15 greens in regulation today, has had some difficult rounds of late with a 75-74 weekend at the Masters and a final-round 81 the week before that. -- Brian Wacker

WEEKS MAGIC FOR MCNEILL (4:20 p.m.): George McNeill, who is currently tied for second two shots off the lead, was in a similar position here last year when he was in contention going into the final round before being undone by a Sunday 77 that featured five three-putts.

Since then, McNeill has taken some steps to avoid that kind of meltdown again, most notably working with Kevin Weeks. McNeill has known Weeks for years, but when he saw how Weeks helped Mark Wilson win in Mexico, he went to see him.

"[Weeks] helped me out last week, and I putted better," McNeill said Friday after a 4-under 68. "It feels more comfortable this week. It's not there yet. Obviously I see signs of improvement and that's all we're looking for."

What McNeill is working on specifically is his set up -- his hands were too low and his toe was in the air. That resulted in him using too much of his hands and not enough of his shoulders. "It almost frees up my stroke and allows me to release the club and not manufacture a stroke," McNeill said.

So far, so good, though it's still a work in progress: McNeill is averaging 28.5 putts through two rounds, though he's also had just one three-putt. -- Brian Wacker

TOUGHER ON DAY TWO (4:00 p.m.): "The Green Mile," as Nos. 16, 17 and 18 here at Quail Hollow are called, is undoubtedly one of the hardest finishing stretches in all of golf and today that stretch is playing even more difficult than it did yesterday.

The 478-yard, par-4 18th has been the hardest hole on the course both days (and will be all week), but 16 and 17 are playing even tougher than they did yesterday when they both played .118 strokes over par. Today, the 480-yard 16th is nearly a quarter-of-a-stroke over par, while the 217-yard 17th is nearly a half-stroke over par.

Perhaps the most telling stat of the day on that stretch: A combined 13 birdies have been made there all day. -- Brian Wacker

FAX ON THE WEEKEND (3:45 p.m.): It looks like Brad Faxon, who is 1 under through 36 holes, will be sticking around for the weekend for just the second time this season. That's good news not only for Quail Hollow, but good for Faxon, too.

One of the nicest guys and purest putters on the PGA TOUR, Faxon is in the twilight of his career out here, but is fighting hard in his return from microfracture surgery last season. Today, he turned it on with seven birdies in a nine-hole stretch, including four in a row at one point. During that same stretch, Fax had eight one-putts. Coming back from injury or not, he's still got arguably the best putting stroke on TOUR.

Playing on a top 25 on the PGA TOUR career money list exemption, Faxon, who will turn 48 later this year, should have full status on the TOUR right up until he's old enough for the Champions Tour. -- Brian Wacker

TIGER ON TOP (3:30 p.m.): It took a 55-foot birdie putt hitting the back of the cup, bouncing up in the air and dropping to the bottom, but Tiger Woods has regained the lead at Quail Hollow, where he's looking to win for the second time in three years.

Since that opening bogey on No. 1, Woods now has three birdies and is one of the few players who's been able to make some hay in the afternoon with the wind picking up in the afternoon.

Other players making a move this afternoon: Bubba Watson and Joe Ogilvie, both of whom are 4 under on their rounds so far. -- Brian Wacker

ODDS AND ENDS (2:50 p.m.): The second-round leader/co-leader has gone on to win 8 of 17 stroke-play events on the PGA TOUR this season, most recently by Jerry Kelly at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. The only second-round leader/co-leader to go on to win the Quail Hollow Championship was Tiger Woods in 2007, when a 36-hole total of 138 was good for a three-way tie with Vijay Singh and Arron Oberholser. ...

Vijay Singh has played every Quail Hollow Championship, with a win and four top-10 finishes on his resume. He entered the week as the only player with made cuts in all six Quail Hollow Championships, but that streak will end this week. Singh has yet to post a top-10 in nine starts this year and has not finished in the top 10 since winning back-to-back PGA TOUR Playoff events in 2009 (The Barclays and Deutsche Bank Championship), a span of 11 events without a top-10. ...

Defending champion Anthony Kim carded a 3-under 69 to move to 5-under through 36 holes and within shouting distance of the clubhouse leaders. Kim did this despite a double bogey on his scorecard for the second straight day. One hole that doesn't give Kim trouble is the par-5 seventh -- he has now birdied or eagled the 532-yard hole seven consecutive times, dating back to the final round in 2007. ...

Jonathan Kaye is making his 300th career start on the PGA TOUR. He stands at 2 under through two rounds. -- John Bush

A sip of Maginnes

WATCHING WATKINS (3:10 p.m.): I became an Aaron Watkins fan last week. Playing in the penultimate group on Sunday, Aaron was in uncharted waters. This was just the second time in Aaron's life that he had a Sunday tee time on the PGA TOUR. No one expected him to win the golf tournament, but with a top-10 finish Aaron could book a trip to Charlotte for the Quail Hollow Championship. A solid final-round 70 left Wadkins tied for seventh with a big smile on his face. His first trip around Quail Hollow didn't go so well. He shot 75 in the opening round. On Friday morning he came storming back twice. He was 3 under through six holes and was back inside the cut line at even. Then he bogeyed the last three holes on the back nine and made the turn at 3-over par. Aaron wasn't done yet -- he made back-to-back birdies on Nos. 4 and 5. Then he did it again on Nos. 7 and 8 to move to 1-under par, which was safely inside the cut line with one hole remaining. His week ended sadly, though, when he made double bogey on No. 9 to slip outside the cut line. He will need the wind to pump and the scores to sky rocket to have a tee time this weekend. Strange things happen in the journey that is a PGA TOUR career, so there is certainly still a chance. Right now, 1-over par is inching closer to a tie for 78th. -- John Maginnes

JOHNSON, MCNEILL ON THE RISE (2:25 p.m.): This is Zach Johnson's sixth start at the Quail Hollow Championship and though he's had little success in the past here, he's steadily improving year over year. After missing the cut in his first three appearances, Johnson has since since finished 84th and T25, respectively, in each of the last two years. His 67 on Friday was also just his second sub-70 round in 16 attempts. The other came in the first round last year.

George McNeill, meanwhile, is making his third start here after missing the cut in 2007 and finishing T22 last year. With today's 68, he was just one shy of the personal-best 5-under 67 he posted in the second round a year ago. McNeill finished T7 in his first start of the year at the Sony Open in Hawaii, but has failed to crack the top 10 since. -- Brian Wacker

TWITTER INCENTIVES (2:00 P.M.): First Stewart Cink (twitter.com/stewartcink), then John Daly (twitter.com/pga_johndaly), now the HP Byron Nelson Classic. All are offering various prizes for people who follow them on social-networking site Twitter.

Officials at the HP Byron Nelson today just announced that daily Facebook and Twitter contests will begin May 4 and will be exclusively for the tournament's friends on Facebook and followers on Twitter. Trivia contests will be held four times daily on both sites and one tournament ticket will be awarded for the first correct post on each site.

Experiential contests also will be held once daily on Facebook only, asking friends to creatively describe a certain Championship experience. After officials announce the specific topic, Facebook friends will have 24 hours to post their answer before one is chosen as the winner. Prizes include hats and t-shirts, gift cards, premium parking passes, brunch for two at the Four Seasons, spa treatments at the Four Seasons, tournament badges and other prizes.

For more details, go to hpbnc.org or follow along on Twitter at twitter.com/hpbyronnelson. -- Brian Wacker

TALE OF TWO TIGERS (1:40 p.m.): Tiger Woods got off to a slightly slower start today compared to yesterday, making his first bogey of the week with a 5 on the first hole after he hit his tee shot into the trees right of the fairway. Yesterday, Woods birdied No. 1 -- his ninth hole of the day -- when he hit his approach shot to 3 feet.

The wind will absolutely have an effect on the players going off in the afternoon and it'll be interesting to see how Woods and the rest of the field handles it. The lowest score of the day is a 67, shot by Zach Johnson, Camilo Villegas and Ross Fisher. All three of them, however, went off this morning and are already in. -- Brian Wacker

MICKELSON REMAINS IN THE MIX (1:25 p.m.): With an early tee time, it looked like Phil Mickelson was in perfect position to post a low number early and let everyone else try to catch him -- most notably Tiger Woods, who didn't tee off until about an hour ago. And things certainly started off well enough with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 14 and 15. Six holes and a double bogey and a bogey later, however, and Mickelson was at 1 over and fighting his game.

Thanks to two more back-to-back birdies, this time at Nos. 5 and 6, Mickelson was able to get back under par on the day and 6 under for the tournament. That leaves him in good shape heading to the weekend, but also sent Mickelson to the practice green to work on his game.

"I wasn't quite into the round," Mickelson said. "I had a couple of mistakes and didn't take advantage of birdie holes."

Mickelson acknowledged that the greens are as perfect as could be, but there are some tough pin positions out there and because of that, players are being left with a lot of 40, 50 and 60 footers they'll need to lag putt. Sure enough, Mickelson had nine two-putts and one four-putt. -- Brian Wacker

A sip of Maginnes

CUT CHECK (1:00 p.m.): The cut line is hanging by its fingernails at even par. There are 69 players at 1 under or better as the morning wave is cleaning up its second round and the afternoon wave hits the course. If the cut slides to 1 under, that would be the lowest cut line ever in the Quail Hollow Championship. The lowest previous cut came at even par in 2004 when Joey Sindelar hoisted the trophy. Pat Perez, who made a 10-footer to save par on his final hole, and Rich Beem have done all they can do posting even par through 36 holes. For them, it is an afternoon of wait and see. When you are in that situation you go through your normal post-round practice session and act as if you made the cut. Before leaving the golf course, you take one more look at the Shotlink computer then you try to forget about it. Then the best thing to do is to turn off your cell phone and go to a movie or take a nap. Check again in a few hours and see if the line has moved. If things go your way, you will have to be up at the crack of dawn for an early tee time on Saturday. If not, you probably still have to be up early to catch a flight out of town. -- John Maginnes

WOODS GETS SET TO TEE OFF (12:40 p.m.): Tiger Woods is getting set to tee off and it looked like he might have to play catch up at one point with Zach Johnson making birdies all over the place. Thanks to three straight bogeys by Johnson to close out his round, however, Woods will begin the day in a tie at 7 under.

Of the 23 previous times that Woods has led or shared the lead going into the second round, he's gone on to win 13 times. He's also had a couple of pretty good second rounds here as well, as you'll see below.

One thing to watch: How the wind blows. It's expected to be in the 16-mph range for the afternoon groups, with gusts as high as 20 mph. -- Brian Wacker

HARRINGTON HEADED HOME (12:23 p.m.): Padraig Harrington is headed home before the weekend for the first time since the Northern Trust Open after rounds of 73-75.

Harrington, who prior to today's bizarre round had shot four straight rounds of 73 dating back to the Masters, had nearly as many birdies (3) as he did bogeys (4) this morning. He also had a double bogey on No. 11 after hitting his second shot from the native area left of left.

The three-time major champion continues to have some inconsistency with his iron play, having hit just 18 of 36 greens this week. He also hit just 10 of 28 fairways.

Up next for Harrington is next week's PLAYERS Championship, where he's twice been a runner-up, in 2003 and 2004. -- Brian Wacker

JOHNSON MAKES BOGEY (12:10 p.m.): It looks like the course record will be safe for now after Zach Johnson nuked his second shot from the middle of the fairway on No. 16 left of the green. Johnson wasn't able to get up-and-down and made his first bogey of the day, dropping back to 7 under on the day and 9 under for the week. Nonetheless, depending how he finishes, this looks like it will be Johnson's best round of the year since the a third-round 64 at the Mercedes-Benz Championship, where he finished T6. -- Brian Wacker

COURSE RECORD? (11:50 a.m.): Zach Johnson just made another birdie -- his fifth in the the last six holes and eighth of the day -- and is now alone in the lead at 10 under and more impressively one birdie away from challenging the course record of 64.

Johnson continues to do it with the type of accuracy and putting him that won him a Masters title. He's missed just one green in regulation and taken only 21 putts so far.

Up next, however, is one of the toughest finishing stretched in all of golf, which includes the most difficult hole on the course, No. 18. Yesterday, though, Johnson played that stretch in 1 under, making a birdie on No. 16 and two pars to finish off his round. Follow it live with Shot Tracker by clicking here. -- Brian Wacker

NEW LEADER (11:35 a.m.): The birdie train rolls on for Zach Johnson, who is challenging the course record right now with seven birdies and no bogeys in a round of 7 under with four holes to play.

That moves Johnson to 9 under for the tournament and two ahead of overnight leader Tiger Woods, who will tee off in just over an hour from now.

One other player who's made a significant move: Jason Dufner, who is 3 under on the day and one back of Johnson's lead. Dufner's been playing well this season and has put in a ton of time in the fitness trailer and it's paid off with two top 10s, including one last week in New Orleans. -- Brian Wacker

MICKELSON DROPS BACK (11:00 a.m.): Phil Mickelson got off to a nice start this morning with two straight birdies on the back nine here, but has since given those strokes back and thensome.

On the par-3 17th, Mickelson four-putted from 42 feet to make double bogey and four holes later made another bogey when he struggled to get out of the rough after hitting it into a tough spot left of the fairway.

As a result, Mickelson, who began the day just two back of Tiger Woods and who many figured would make a run at the lead given his early tee time, is 1 over on the round, 4 over for the week and now three back of the lead. -- Brian Wacker

EARLY MOVERS (10:45 a.m.): Tiger Woods doesn't tee off for another couple of hours, but a few players are doing what he did yesterday and taking advantage of an early tee time. Chief among them is Zach Johnson, who is 5 under through his first 11 holes and is now tied for the lead.

Johnson stuffed his approach shots on Nos. 8, 9, 10 and 11, making birdie on all four holes. That Johnson is on a pretty hot streak right now isn't all that surprising -- he won in Hawaii earlier this year and was T3 in Orlando. That he's playing this well here is a little bit of a surprise.

The Quail Hollow Championship has only been in existence since 2003, but Johnson has never played particularly well in the event with only one finish inside the top 80, a T25 last year. In 2005, Johnson missed the cut by shooting back-to-back 80s.

A big reason why he's been able to turn all that around today? Johnson has hit 10 of 11 greens in regulation and taken just 16 putts. -- Brian Wacker

Groups We're Watching

Tee time Players   7:40 am ET No. 10 Phil Mickelson, Davis Love III, Anthony Kim Mickelson was very pleased with his opening 67, and really wants to stick a big number up on the big board this morning. Track 'em 12:20 pm ET No. 1 Jeff Maggert, Tommy Armour III, Nick O'Hern Maggert has missed seven of his last 10 cuts, but was in vintage form Thursday. A big week would help him tremendously. Track 'em 12:50 pm ET No. 1 Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk, David Toms Woods tore up his first nine Thursday, but didnt do much on the second nine. Can he score on the whole course Friday? Track 'em

Live Essentials

Follow every shot with our newest application The only place on the Internet for real-time live scoring Listen to expert commentary on the PGA TOUR Network News, notes, stats and analysis during each round