Leonard shoots 64 for two-stroke lead
Published Saturday November 14th, 2009
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Justin Leonard is one of the few players not feeling any pressure this week to secure his PGA Tour card next year.
He's already got that in hand. That much is clear from his play. Leonard shot an 8-under 64 in the second round of the Children's Miracle Network Classic on Friday, surging to the top of the leaderboard in the final Tour event of the season.
"Any time I can come out and do that and play a nice, relaxed round where there's not a lot of pressure, I'm giving myself a lot of chances," he said. "It just makes the game easier."
Sure seems that way. Leonard had 11 birdies and three bogeys on a sun-baked day at Disney World, where the 25 km/h winds caused problems for some players. Justine Rose and George McNeill were two strokes back. Leonard landed his approaches close to the pin, but he had to three-putt twice and missed a chance to extend his lead.
"On the flip side of that, I came back and birdied the next hole each time," Leonard said. "I was able to hit the ball pin-high a lot, which is really important when you're playing in windy conditions."
Calgary's Stephen Ames fired a second-round 70 to move into a tie for 23rd at 5 under for the tournament.
Chances to lock up a tour card next year are quickly fading for others. Only those who finish in the top 125 on the money list are guaranteed full status. The next 25 will at least get conditional status and be able to enter more than a dozen tournaments.
Former world No. 1 David Duval missed the cut and was among those who will likely lose their cards. Duval finished 5 over par and near the bottom in the tournament.
Duval's runner-up finish at the U.S. Open this year and his 2001 British Open championship will get him into the first three majors next year. But losing his full status on tour is a demoralizing blow in a once shining career that has sputtered for nearly a decade.
"It's not a position you want to be in," Duval said. "It's not fun, but really, I haven't been focusing on it a whole lot."
Kevin Streelman, on the other hand, couldn't have been happier Friday. He won US$1 million in the Kodak Challenge, a contest that designates a hole on each course and keeps score throughout the season. Streelman protected his lead on the 17th at Disney's Magnolia course by knocking a 118-yard shot about three feet from the pin, and he was helped with Bo Van Pelt missing the cut.
After sinking the putt, Streelman pumped his fist twice and got a hug from New York Yankees centre-fielder Johnny Damon, who was among the celebrities playing as an amateur. Streelman then jumped up to high-five fans sitting above him the bleachers.
"I wanted to close it out in style," Streelman said. "I wanted to do it with maybe some class. For me, I enjoy that moment, the nerves and the excitement and the exhilaration of playing golf for a living. And then being in that arena and atmosphere, that was pretty much the height of it thus far for me."
Erik Compton, the two-time heart transplant recipient who made his return to the tour at this same event last year, also missed the cut. Compton received a sponsor's exemption and finished at even-par 72. He already advanced to the second stage of qualifying school.
Twenty-year-old Rickie Fowler followed his dazzling first-day 66 with a 75, moving him back to a tie for 43rd place. The former Oklahoma State star is trying to join Tiger Woods as one of the few college players to bypass qualifying school in the same year by earning enough money through sponsors exemptions. Fowler probably will need to finish in the top 10 to accomplish that feat.
But with only two rounds complete on a course ripe for birdies, nobody was satisfied with his standing.
"I want to be leading after four rounds," Leonard said. "It's nice to put myself in position going into the weekend, so I'm looking forward to the challenge of putting myself in good position in order to go into the last round and try and win the tournament."
Shin shoots 6-under 66 to lead
by three at Ochoa Invitational
GUADALAJARA, Mexico - Jiyai Shin took a big step toward adding the LPGA Tour player of the year award to her top rookie trophy, shooting a 6-under 66 on Friday for a three-stroke lead in the Lorena Ochoa Invitational.
The 21-year-old South Korean star, a three-time winner this year who has a four-point lead over Ochoa in the player of the year race, had an 11-under 133 total on the Guadalajara Country Club course.
"I don't know much (about) this course, so I try to just play safe," Shin said. "Like just the middle of the fairway, just the middle of the green and make it a very simple game. ... I have found my tempo - great tempo. So I have a really good feeling."
Michelle Wie (66) and Paula Creamer (69) were tied for second, and first-round leader Song-Hee Kim (72) was four strokes back at 7 under.
Suzann Pettersen (67), Brittany Lincicome (70), Cristie Kerr (70), Brittany Lang (70) and Mariajo Uribe (72) were 5 under.
Ochoa was 4 under after a 69 on her home course.
"I'm OK," Ochoa said. "It was a better round today, but I'm still a little behind. I hope the weekend will be better."
If Shin wins this week she'll wrap up the player of the year award if Ochoa fails to finish at least seventh. If not, the title will be decided next week in Houston in the season-ending LPGA Tour Championship. Nancy Lopez is the only player to win both the rookie and player awards in the same season, accomplishing the feat in 1978.
"I'm just focusing on the game this week and not thinking about that at the moment," said Shin, who took the outright lead with a birdie at 13 and added birdies on 14 and 15 to get to 11 under.
Shin also leads the money list with US$1,709,168. Ai Miyazato, 10 strokes back after a 72, is second with $1,468,679.
Wie, winless on the LPGA Tour, eagled the 10th to reach 6 under. She hit two 3-woods and made a 5-foot putt. She added three birdies after that, though she dropped a shot on 17 when she missed a 4-foot putt.
"I do feel really close," said Wie, who has two second-place finishes this year. "I feel like I need to shoot a lot lower and play a lot better over the weekend. But if everything works out, hopefully it will be the week."
Her only nagging problem is a sprained left ankle that forced her to wear a large, black brace that extends 6 inches above her shoe top.
Asked if it was hurting her game, she replied: "I don't know. I don't want to think about it."
Creamer has eight career wins, but she's been shut out this season and also is nursing injuries and illness.
She's been fighting off-and-on stomach problems since playing in the event a year ago. She's lost up to 15 pounds in a few stretches, she said. The illness has popped up after tournaments around the world - and in the United States., too. Hoping to beat it, she's carrying her own food with her.
She reached 8 under with a birdie on No. 6, and stayed there for much of the round. She dropped a shot on 14, but recovered with a birdie on 17 - chipping in from the fringe - and finished saving par with 5-footer on 18.
"I've been hitting the ball really well," Creamer said. "I haven't quite gained all my distance back off the tee, but it's starting to come back with my irons, and it shows."
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