Laird takes lead at Bay Hill
ORLANDO, Fla. – Martin Laird shot a 7-under 65 on Friday afternoon and finished 36 holes at 9-under 135, good enough to lead by one over first-round leader Spencer Levin and K.J. Choi. Choi posted the best round of the tournament with a 64.Laird has top-10 finishes in his last two starts and three for the young season. His round was punctuated by an eagle at the 16th, his seventh hole of the day, where he drained a putt that was just the kind of putt you need to make to have a chance at contention on Sunday.
“Yeah, as you mentioned, 16 was kind of a nice break for me,” Laird said. “If that putt didn't hit the hole, it probably would have went about ten feet by. I had a couple of putts yesterday that looked really good and didn't go in and today. Any putt that looked good went in pretty much, with the exception of 8.
“Most of it was all on the greens, and obviously I'm driving the ball really well and putting really well,” Laird continued. “Ask any pro; that's a pretty good combination to have, especially on a golf course this long where you have to drive the ball in the fairway.”
Steve Marino heads a group of players at 6-under and trailing by two, including Charles Howell III, Hunter Mahan and Vaughn Taylor.
Marino has been chasing his first PGA Tour win and has come close, but not closed the deal. He has seemed impatient to get to the winner’s circle at times, but understands it will come as a result of good play.
“ Obviously I've dealt with a couple of disappointments,” Marino said after a second-round 67. “I've been right in there probably four or five tournaments and haven't been able to pull it off. “But you know, every single one of those experiences, I felt like I've played pretty well. It's just something was missing to kind of get me over the top; a good break here or a putt to drop in there, and that's how it is out here.
“I heard Spencer talking earlier: These guys, everybody is so good out here, that every shot is so precious, that to win a golf tournament, you can't really afford to throw away any shots. You know, unfortunately the times that I've been in contention, I've just maybe thrown away one or two here and there, and you just can't afford to do that.”
Tiger Woods showed signs of life as he posted a 68 to get to 3-under overall heading into the weekend. Conditions were perfect for scoring as the wind that blew strongly, particularly in the afternoon yesterday, was nearly non-existent today.
Woods said he was happy with where he was heading into the weekend.
“Yeah, I'm right there,” he said. “I'm right now five back, four back. I'm still right there. Long weekend ahead of us with temperatures supposed to be getting up. Depends on how much water they put on these things. They were pretty fast today. We were surprised that the balls were holding. Not a lot of low scores but obviously Dickie's (Pride) posted a pretty good one out there.”
With temperatures expected to get to the low 90s by Sunday, just how much water they put on those greens could play a significant role in whom holds the trophy.
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