Matt Gogel shot a blistering course-record 63 in the opening round at the Booz Allen Classic on Thursday, but he couldn’t follow that round up with another good one on Friday. Gogel stumbled to a 72 on Friday and was passed by Australian Robert Allenby. Allenby followed his opening-round 68 up with a second-round 65 on Friday to take the lead at the halfway point at Congressional Country Club. He had seven birdies and only one bogey on his card to put himself in great shape going into the weekend. Allenby leads by two shots over a foursome sitting at -7.
That foursome includes Gogel, Adam Scott, Steve Elkington, and Lee Westwood. Gogel was the only one in this group to move down the leaderboard on Friday. The other three had very good rounds to move themselves into contention one week before the U.S. Open. Scott, who is currently the eighth ranked player in the world, shot a 5-under par round of 67 on Friday. He moved from a tie for 14th after round one into a tie for second going into Saturday. He will be playing alongside Allenby in the final group on Saturday, making it an Australian twosome.
Steve Elkington, who hasn’t won on the PGA Tour since the 1999 Doral, also shot a 67 on Friday to move into a tie for second place. “Elk” hasn’t played very well the last couple years, but he did tie for sixth at The Players Championship earlier this year. He always seems to bring his best game to tough venues. Westwood, the last member at -7, shot a 69 Friday to hang around the top of the leaderboard. He used an eagle on the ninth hole to boost his round. Westwood has yet to finish in the top ten on the PGA Tour in 2005.
The “Big Four” this week haven’t been mentioned yet, but they are definitely lurking near the top of the leaderboard going into the weekend. Ernie Els has had the best start after the first two days. The “Big Easy” is currently in a tie for sixth at -6, only three shots off the lead at the halfway point. Phil Mickelson was sitting at even par after Thursday’s opening round, but he shot a brilliant 67 on Friday to move into contention yet again. Vijay Singh, the world’s number one golfer, is currently at -2 and hasn’t really gotten anything going yet. Singh missed the cut last week at the Memorial, and he only made the cut this week by two shots.
Retief Goosen is the final member of the “Big Four” competing this week at the Booz Allen Classic. Like Singh, he hasn’t really gotten anything going either. He has carded back-to-back rounds of 70 to find himself at -2, seven shots behind Robert Allenby. I picked Goosen in my preview this week, so he better get things going on the weekend if he has any chance of making me a winner. My “sleeper” pick was Tom Lehman. He was +3 going into the back nine on “cut-day”, but he turned it around and finished at even par. The cutline was around even par all day long, but in the end, Lehman missed the cut by one shot.
Other notables that are hanging around the leaderboard include Jim Furyk (-6), Luke Donald (-5), and Davis Love III (-5). Furyk has three top-five finishes in his last five starts, and it looks like he will maintain that consistency this week. Love III has been battling inconsistency all year long, but maybe this will be the week he turns that around for the better. Luke Donald has played as consistent as anyone so far this year, but he has only played on the PGA Tour once since his tie for third at The Masters. He also has a tie for second at The Players Championship and a tie for second at the Buick Invitational.
Sergio Garcia leads the group of notables that are down the leaderboard a little ways but can make things interesting on the weekend. Garcia is at -3 right now, which is a half dozen shots off the lead. Chris DiMarco shot 73 in the opening round, but he bounced back with a nice 67 on Friday to make the cut safely at -2. He will have to go very low to get back into contention at Congressional.
Friday was also “cut-day” as mentioned before. There were some very high-profile players that won’t be around for the weekend. This group will get to head to Pinehurst early to prepare for the U.S. Open. Padraig Harrington was the highest ranked player in the field to miss the cut, missing it by a decent three strokes. Justin Leonard shot a 73 on Friday to miss the cut by one shot. Fred Couples, who finished second last week at the Memorial, missed the cut by four shots. Two other notables worth mentioning that can head to Pinehurst early are Stewart Cink and Charles Howell III.
The weather for the weekend will more than likely be just fine. There are small chances for thunderstorms, but they probably won’t be anything to worry about. The highs should be in the high 80s, which will make the conditions hot and humid. Congressional Country Club should play much more difficult on the weekend with the tougher pin placements. This combined with the big names near the top of the leaderboard will make the Booz Allen Classic worth watching. The action can be seen on ABC from 3pm to 6pm ET on both Saturday and Sunday. Here is a look at the leaderboard at the halfway point:
Pos Player Tot R1 R2 1 Robert Allenby -9 68 65 T2 Adam Scott -7 68 67 T2 Matt Gogel -7 63 72 T2 Steve Elkington -7 68 67 T2 Lee Westwood -7 66 69 T6 Paul Goydos -6 67 69 T6 Ernie Els -6 69 67 T6 Shigeki Maruyama -6 69 67 T6 Tommy Armour III -6 68 68 T6 Jim Furyk -6 67 69
Photo Credit: © Nick Wass, AP.
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