It was a crazy day in Irving, TX, to say the least! Tiger Woods missed his first cut in 142 events, dating all the way back to 1998. He holds the record for most cuts in a row, and it will more than likely stand for quite some time, if not forever. “I just didn’t quite have it,” Woods said. He also had this to say when the media asked him what the worst part of the streak ending was. “I don’t get that opportunity to win the tournament.”
With that being said, Mr. Woods wasn’t the only story at the Byron Nelson Championship on Friday. Two guys who are basically “unknowns” share the lead at one of the top events on tour. That is right, Brett Wetterich and rookie Sean O’Hair sit atop the leaderboard going into the weekend and will play in the final group on Saturday.
The hype coming into the weekend was all about the “Big Five” being in the same event for the first time since The Masters. Wetterich and O’Hair stole the show on Friday, however, and now find themselves in relatively unfamiliar territory. Wetterich, who has been up and down between the Nationwide Tour and the PGA Tour the past few years, shot an opening round 64 followed by a 67 on Friday. He has carded 11 birdies to only two bogeys the first two days at the Byron Nelson. Brett Wetterich was in this position at the Honda Classic earlier this year but didn’t close the deal. At that event, he led after the second round and was tied for the lead after the third round. He went on to tie for sixth there, his best ever finish on the PGA Tour.
Sean O’Hair had a very solid bogey-free round of 65 on Friday to put himself in a tie for the lead. He used three birdies on the front nine and an eagle coming in to get him where he currently sits. He added that great score to his first-round 66 to leave him at -9 overall. O’Hair found himself on the PGA Tour for the first time this season after going through all three rounds at Qualifying School. His best finish so far was a tie for 14th at the Zurich Classic two weeks ago.
Ted Purdy sits in third place alone at -8, followed by Billy Mayfair at -7. Mayfair shot the round of the week so far (63) to move himself from a tie for 68th after round one to fourth place alone. A host of guys sit in a tie for fifth including J.P. Hayes, Todd Hamilton, Steve Lowery, and Shigeki Maruyama. Maruyama won this tournament back in 2002, and he will be one to keep an eye on for the weekend.
So what happened to the “Big Five” the first two days? As was mentioned earlier, Tiger missed the cut this week, as well as world number five Retief Goosen. Neither of those guys ever really got anything going. Phil Mickelson went out early and shot 66 to put himself only four behind the leaders going into tomorrow. Vijay Singh, also sitting at -5 overall, has had quiet rounds of 68 and 67, respectively, to put himself in great position to win this tournament for the second time in his career (also won in 2003). The remaining member of the “Big Five” is Ernie Els, and he was sitting in second after day one. He staggered to a sloppy second round 72 to leave himself a handful of shots behind Wetterich and O’Hair. With that being said, the three remaining members of the “Big Five” still have a great shot to make a move on Saturday’s “moving day.”
Stuart Appleby and John Daly were two other guys who were at the top of the leaderboard after round one but never found their rhythym Friday. Appleby shot a sizzling 63 in the opening round, but it took him 10 more shots to finish his second round. He still sits at -4 within shouting distance of the lead. Daly, who has shown signs of inconsistency for many years now, also shot a three-over par round of 73 on Friday to leave him a half dozen shots behind. Sergio Garcia, who is defending this week in Irving, shot a nice 68 on Friday to make the cut by a couple shots.
With all the players above making the cut, there were also some popular names that won’t be around for the weekend. Tiger Woods and Retief Goosen have already been mentioned, but other notables that won’t be teeing it up tomorrow and Sunday include Charles Howell III, Zach Johnson, Players Champion Fred Funk, and Brad Faxon. All of these players missed the cut by one stroke, with the exception of Funk, who missed it by two shots.
The weekend is shaping up to be great! There are a couple unfamiliar guys at the top, but there are also some big guns chasing close behind. The Byron Nelson Championship can be seen on CBS Saturday and Sunday from 3-6 pm ET. Here is a quick look at the leaderboard going into the weekend.
Pos Player Tot R1 R2 T1 Sean O'Hair -9 66 65 T1 Brett Wetterich -9 64 67 3 Ted Purdy -8 65 67 4 Billy Mayfair -7 70 63 T5 J.P. Hayes -6 69 65 T5 Todd Hamilton -6 67 67 T5 Steve Lowery -6 65 69 T5 Shigeki Maruyama -6 67 67
Photo Credit: © Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News.