Round 2 Notes – PODS Championship
Following a two-hour and 30-minute rain delay in Round One due to inclimate weather, play resumed at 7:30am Friday. The first-round officially ended at 10:04am, while the second-round got underway at 8:45am. The last tee time for Round Two was 3:20pm. Lightning led to the suspension of play for the day at 4:38 pm. Players will be in place at 7:30 am Saturday to complete their second-round. A total of 71 players still have to complete their round.For the third time this year, preferred lies were in effect on the PGA TOUR. Preferred lies were also played in the third-round of the 2008 Mercedes-Benz Championship and the final-round of the 2008 Buick Invitational.
The story of the day was wind. Sustained winds of 25 mph with gusts up to 39 mph impacted virtually all scores in Round Two. With three birdies over the course of his first four holes, Jeff Maggert was one of the few exceptions. After Maggert birdied his first and second holes to get to seven-under-par, he built the first lead of the tournament larger than a single shot. A third birdie at the par-three fourth hole extended that lead to three strokes, a lead he still holds.
Maggert’s best birdie streak was this year in the first-round of the 2008 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic when he birdied holes four through six.
Should Maggert complete Round Two still holding at least a share of the 36-hole lead, he will do so for the 12th time headed in his career. Of the previous 11, the only one he managed to parlay into victory was the 1993 Children’s Miracle Network Classic. Most recently, he was one of five players to hold a share of the 36-hole lead at the 2007 Shell Houston Open. He finished T14.
The 36-hole leader has gone on to win the PODS Championship three times since the inaugural tournament in 2000, including two-time winner K.J. Choi in both 2002 and 2006. Retief Goosen also carried the lead at the midway point on to the winner's circle. In 2008, the second-round leader/co-leader has gone on to win five of nine stroke-play events, including most recently Phil Mickelson at the Northern Trust Open.
Mark Calcavecchia, currently T7 place at three-under-par, is well-positioned in his bid to post the best-ever finish by a defending champion at the PODS Championship. 2006 champion K.J. Choi currently holds the honor with a T6 finish a year ago. The PODS Championship has never had a player successfully defend a title.
Assuming the cut remains at one-over-par heading into the third round, Ernie Els’ string of consecutive cuts will stop at 13. Els and Justin Leonard were tied with 13 consecutive made cuts and counting until this week. Justin Leonard is not playing this week. Tiger woods leads the list with 25 straight made cuts.
The PGA TOUR announced today that Academy Prep Center for Education, the primary charity of the PODS Championship, has been chosen as the 2007 PGA TOUR Charity of the year. With two schools in the Tampa Bay area, Academy Prep serves to promote the educational, social and ethical development of middle school students who qualify for full need-based scholarships. This year, Academy Prep students are serving as standard bearers for the second, third and final rounds while their families and Academy Prep faculty and staff are serving in other roles.
The two low rounds of the day (of those who finished) belonged to Tim Petrovic and Kevin Sutherland. Both fired three-under-par 68s.
Bo Van Pelt, Mark Hensby, and Brad Adamonis all withdrew during the second round.
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