Senden heads Australian hopes at PGA
BY Bruce Young | US PGA Tour | 2011 US PGA Championship | Round Two | 13 Aug 2011
Round two of the PGA Championship at the Atlanta Athletic club is complete and while the two players at the top of the leader-board are now credentialed PGA Tour players, their relatively low profile adds further intrigue to an event where those expected to do well have hardly done so to date.
Jason Dufner and Keegan Bradley have the lead at 5 under, the pair holding a one shot lead over D.A. Points, Jim Furyk, Scott Verplank and the leading Australian John Senden.
Bradley won his first PGA Tour event earlier this season but having missed five of his last six cuts on the PGA Tour this is an amazing turnaround for Dufner. Interestingly, however, Dufner finished 5th in this event last year at Whistling Straits and did finish 6th at the Players Championship earlier this year before his recent slump began so he is not a complete stranger to contention in big events.
Dufner was not as surprised as many as to how well he had performed over the opening two rounds. “You know, I hadn’t played very well this summer, but that’s kind of par for the course for me, so I had three weeks off coming into this event,” he said. “I had never seen the golf course, but I’ve been here since Friday, being in the south, playing college golf in the south, I seem to play most of my good events around bermudagrass. So I was pretty pumped coming in. We don’t get a chance to play too many majors on this grass.
“I wouldn’t say that I expected to be 5-under after two days, but you know, I felt like I could have a good chance if I played fairly well, yeah. So I was pretty comfortable on this style of golf course.”
Bradley won the Byron Nelson Championship earlier this season but is currently ranked outside the top 100 in the world so with the greatest of respect to a young player who is clearly going places these are giddy heights. He knows it but is clearly enjoying the moment.
“Well, it’s probably granted, it’s my rookie year,” said Bradley. “I’m just kind of getting started. I’ve got to tell you, I do feel very comfortable out there. It’s always so much fun to be out here. I’m finishing up and Tiger is finishing, I’m teeing off, Tiger is on 1. He’s one of my idols. It’s cool to look around and see all these guys that I’ve looked up to my whole life and able to be peers with them and compete at the highest level with them.”
Senden produced his typically no frills but at times very effective brand of golf. As one of the game’s better ball strikers (he finished atop the Greens in Regulation rankings on the PGA Tour last year and is 4th this year), Senden has found the penal nature of this golf course to his liking in that it rewards consistency. He has generally avoided some of the pitfalls that have plagued others with just three bogeys and no double bogeys or worse in the opening 36 holes.
Senden was delighted with where he stood and was looking forward to what lay ahead.”I’ve been striking the ball well and letting it go well, so looking forward to the weekend. I made some great putts out there today, and you know, put myself in good positions off the tee I’m just hanging around. So I need to keep letting it go for the weekend.
“It is about patience. I think the golf course is definitely drying up. I believe that the greens are getting a little quicker, and there will be some testing putts on the weekend, as well. So it’s about me just being patient and putting myself in good positions and having a chance, and you know, letting it go again on the greens.”
Jim Furyk is another just one off the pace after a season which has him floundering well below what he is capable of. He described after the round why so many shorter hitters are doing so well.
“It’s a tough golf course. And it looks a lot longer on the card than it is, said Furyk. “I’m shocked at how far the ball is travelling. I don’t know if it’s because it’s so hot, but the ball is flying a long way. It’s bouncing in the fairways. So even a guy like, you know, Scott Verplank and I are not the longest guys on Tour, but it’s still very playable and I think they have done a good job of setting it up so far. I like the position I’m at and played a very solid round today.”
First round leader, Steve Stricker, battled to a round of 74 but is still very much in the mix just two behind the leaders.
Of the Australians other than Senden only two have made the cut. Adam Scott was challenging for the lead for much of the back nine before a costly mistake at the last resulted in a double bogey and a second consecutive round of 69.
Scott found the trees to the right with his tee shot and, in attempting to run it down close to the water in order to set up a simple pitch for his third, the ball ran on and on and found the water. It would lead to a double bogey and instead of being one back he is now three behind the leaders.
It is still however a great base from which to build his weekend assault and provided Scott sees the glass half full with his position rather than half empty as a result of his double bogey he will prosper. Scott has been around long enough to know however that this is a great chance of securing his first major championship and said as much after his round.
“I played very good today. I did everything I needed to do. You know, it was just disappointing to finish that way. But it’s a hard hole. You can’t escape that. I hit a loose shot off the tee and got myself in trouble. Overall, though, I am really happy with two 69s, and under par, and not far from the lead. It’s a good spot to be.”
Robert Allenby is at 2 over and although seven from the lead he has done well to make the weekend and in doing so has likely kept his Presidents Cup hopes alive. The withdrawal of Tim Clark from Presidents Cup consideration this week and the roller coaster Ryo Ishikawa is on has opened up the chance of Allenby representing the International side and he will be keen to press home what is an advantage this weekend.
Ogilvy and Baddeley however have not helped their cause by missing the cut.
Jason Day missed his first cut in major championship golf after what had been a great start to the day. Through six holes of his second round he had moved to 3 under for the tournament before an almost unexplained collapse. He dropped seven shots in his next eleven holes, one of those coming late in his round when he missed a putt of less than two feet.
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