Brett Quigley and Gavin Coles share the second-round lead at ten-under par. Quigley, who could be described as “Mr. Unassuming” posted his second 67 of the tournament and has put himself in a position to do very well over the weekend. Quigley’s putting has been solid as he is tied for 3rd with 1.593 putts per round this tournament. His results this year speak highly of his play as he has four top 25’s and one top ten already in 2005. “I think the biggest thing for me is I’ve come in to the first two days pretty relaxed and confident in my game,” said Quigley. “I think on the weekend I have a tendency to try too hard. I’m just going to go out and stay in my routing and not worry about results.”
The Aussie Gavin Coles who is tied for 138th place in driving distance doesn’t seem to mind the 7508-yard Redstone Golf Club as he is fairing well against the long hitters. Coles credits a large percentage of fairways hit and greens in regulation for his good preformance the past two days. He managed five birdies but dropped two shots to finish at three-under at the end of round two. His chip-in for birdie at 18 bumped him into the tie for first.
It is great to see big John Daly string a couple of solid rounds together. Daly’s recent putter change seems to have had a dramatic impact in his performance on the greens. After having a dismal start to the 2005 season and missing the cut in his last two tournaments, John is in contention again. Both Daly’s caddie Peter Van Der Reit and his teacher Steve Holden had similar observations for John. They told him to return to his 35″ long putter with a 70 degree shaft angle. “The ball is rolling better than I’ve rolled it in a long, long time,” observed Daly. He is tied for fewest putts per round at the Open at sixth.
Vijay’s first-round lead at the Shell Houston Open slipped as he wasn’t able match his first-round magic during round two finishing the day with a one-under 71. He avoided any bogeys in the first round but carded his first missing from the fringe when his ball lipped out at the ninth hole. He only managed to post birdies on holes four and six.
Jeff Maggert had a solid four-under 68 for a total of nine-under par. He is hitting 71 percent of fairways through round two. “I wanted to be aggressive today and shoot another low score,” said Maggert. “This course will penalize you if you don’t hit the ball in the fairway. I just kept it in play all day and gave myself lots of opportunities for birdies.”
Joe Ogilvie, a native of Texas, is one of four players tied for third. He posted a 67 today with six birdies and one bogey. Among Ogilvie’s highlights were a tee shot that ended up 6 feet from the hole on the 222-yard par-three third which he sank for birdie. He ended up with birdies at three of the four par-3’s today. On the 582-yard par-5 ninth he carded another birdie with a six-foot putt. It was a solid round for Ogilvie who has 11 birdies and two bogeys at the end of two days.
It is great to see so many players in contention at the end of round 2. Lets hope solid golf continues from so many into the weekend.
Pos Player Tot R1 R2 T1 Brett Quigley -10 67 67 T1 Gavin Coles -10 65 69 T3 John Daly -9 68 67 T3 Jeff Maggert -9 67 68 T3 Vijay Singh -9 64 71 T3 Joe Ogilvie -9 68 67 7 Greg Owen -8 67 69 T8 Jose Maria Olazabal -7 70 67 T8 Bo Van Pelt -7 69 68 T8 Thomas Levet -7 72 65
Photo Credits: © AP Photo/David J. Phillip.
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