Friday
Sep162011
Wilson joins Rose as co-leader through 36 at Cog
Friday, September 16, 2011 at 1:05PM
Writing from Lemont, Illinois
Friday, September 16, 2011
A hometown hero, albeit adopted, and a lad from across the pond are the co-leaders halfway through the 108th Western Open.
One of the two may come away with the $1.44 million first price supplied by title sponsor BMW, the German automaker whose largess has helped fill the pockets of the pros for five years now. Or perhaps not, though through 36 holes, the scores posted by Mark Wilson – the Elmhurst resident, via Wisconsin – and Justin Rose – England’s very own – are extremely impressive.
On a soft day for scoring, Wilson tacked a 6-under-par 66 to his opening 65 and stands at 11-under 131, a record for the first two rounds on Cog Hill Golf & Country Club’s sturdy Dubsdread course. Rose added a 3-under 68 to his opening 63 for his 131. Either way, way to go. The previous best in the opening 36 on Dubs was Daniel Chopra’s 132 in 2006. The 131s also matched the overall Western / BMW mark set by Camilo Villegas at Bellerive three years ago.
Scarily, Wilson didn’t think he expended much effort to get there.
“Everything came pretty easily,” he said. “I feel at peace out there.”
And at home.
“I probably have played here 100 times,” Wilson said. “I don’t think I’ve played it a ton, but I don’t have to look at the yardage book a lot. Six rounds each year at the tournament, plus practice rounds. And the people I know here by name, there are about 100, and others saying ‘Go Elmhurst.’ ”
All that added up to amazingly good vibes for Wilson, who opened with a bogey and then went on a tear, especially through the soft middle of Dubs, where there are birdies to be had. He found four in a row beginning on the eighth hole.
“When I bogeyed the first, the first thing that came into my mind is two years ago, I played with Tiger (Woods) when he shot 62, opening with a bogey.”
Wilson’s 65 shoulda, woulda, coulda been a 64. How he missed the three-footer on the 16th hole after a splendid approach from 160 yards, he had no clue.
“I probably already counted it,” he said. “I was in shock when it missed the hole.”
He didn’t just walk up and swipe at it, either. Then again, two holes earlier, he made an all-universe save on the par-3 14th, floating a flip wedge to five feet from a dodgy lie 30 yards out, and making the putt.
“One of my all-time best,” Wilson said.
Rose’s tour of the grounds was equally lively, including an eagle on the par-5 15th. That jumped him to 11-under, and for a few minutes a stroke ahead of Wilson. A big drive and a 214-yard 3-iron to 32 feet set up the putt that elicited a roar from those in the gallery of about 20,000.
“That eagle was very timely,” Rose said. “Leading up to that I’d had chances on 10, hit a great drive at all, got a little lucky with the tee shot on 12 (landing it to the left of a pin tucked left), bogeyed 13, and had a good chance at 14. I was hoping for something to happen. I’d gone a little flat.”
Interestingly, Rose also credited a previous round with Woods on Dubsdread for imprinting a positive mindset in him. It was the final round in 2007, the fourth of Woods’ five victories on Dubsdread.
“We were both sort of 4-under through seven or eight holes, going along really nicely,” Rose recalled. “I shot 68. He was very jovial to start with, and the way he closed it out (with a 63) was a huge learning curve. He got more and more focused, more tunnel vision as the round went on. Funnily, I thought about that today on the 13th tee.”
More funnily, Rose bogeyed the 13th, as well as the 18th, but the eagle-birdie combo on the 15th and 16th brought him in as the co-leader.
The duo stands two strokes clear of third-place Webb Simpson, whose 68 places him at 9-under 133 after two rounds. The steadiest of the leaders, he’s made one bogey, on the par-4 fifth on Friday, in 36 holes.
Australian John Senden is fourth, at 8-under 134, needing a big finish to both make it to next week’s Tour Championship via the PGA Tour’s playoff point system, and a victory to qualify for the International squad for next month’s President’s Cup, which will be held at Royal Melbourne – the original Down Under, not the version in Long Grove.
And lurking tied for fifth at 6-under 136? Bill Haas, whose family has Illinois roots, and Robert Allenby, who won the Western in a sudden-death playoff in 2000.
It’s Allenby whom the rest of the leaders should be worried about. He’s in the best position of the five Western Open winners in the field – it was six until Steve Stricker withdrew after the second round, citing neck pain – and posted one of only two bogey-free rounds on Friday. Brandt Jobe, with a quiet 7-under 64 after an opening 75, had the other, and played with Allenby while doing so.
On a day for scoring – the average of 69.800 was the seventh lowest in a Western since 1940, and the second-lowest second round since then, with only the 69.250 registered at Bellerive in 2008 lower – the top 11 players all scored in the 60s. The high score, 4-over 75, was posted by four players, including Brendan Steele, dead last in 69th place thanks to his opening 78.
At 11-over 153, Steele is a light-year away from Wilson and Rose, but a low score doesn’t mean a late tee-time on Saturday. A two-tee start is necessary thanks to NBC’s screening the Michigan State-Notre Dame football game at 2:30 p.m. That means Wilson, Rose and Simpson will commence firing at 9:15 a.m. on the first tee. Steele and Tommy Gainey will do so from the 10th tee at the same hour.
– Tim Cronin
Friday, September 16, 2011
A hometown hero, albeit adopted, and a lad from across the pond are the co-leaders halfway through the 108th Western Open.
One of the two may come away with the $1.44 million first price supplied by title sponsor BMW, the German automaker whose largess has helped fill the pockets of the pros for five years now. Or perhaps not, though through 36 holes, the scores posted by Mark Wilson – the Elmhurst resident, via Wisconsin – and Justin Rose – England’s very own – are extremely impressive.
On a soft day for scoring, Wilson tacked a 6-under-par 66 to his opening 65 and stands at 11-under 131, a record for the first two rounds on Cog Hill Golf & Country Club’s sturdy Dubsdread course. Rose added a 3-under 68 to his opening 63 for his 131. Either way, way to go. The previous best in the opening 36 on Dubs was Daniel Chopra’s 132 in 2006. The 131s also matched the overall Western / BMW mark set by Camilo Villegas at Bellerive three years ago.
Scarily, Wilson didn’t think he expended much effort to get there.
“Everything came pretty easily,” he said. “I feel at peace out there.”
And at home.
“I probably have played here 100 times,” Wilson said. “I don’t think I’ve played it a ton, but I don’t have to look at the yardage book a lot. Six rounds each year at the tournament, plus practice rounds. And the people I know here by name, there are about 100, and others saying ‘Go Elmhurst.’ ”
All that added up to amazingly good vibes for Wilson, who opened with a bogey and then went on a tear, especially through the soft middle of Dubs, where there are birdies to be had. He found four in a row beginning on the eighth hole.
“When I bogeyed the first, the first thing that came into my mind is two years ago, I played with Tiger (Woods) when he shot 62, opening with a bogey.”
Wilson’s 65 shoulda, woulda, coulda been a 64. How he missed the three-footer on the 16th hole after a splendid approach from 160 yards, he had no clue.
“I probably already counted it,” he said. “I was in shock when it missed the hole.”
He didn’t just walk up and swipe at it, either. Then again, two holes earlier, he made an all-universe save on the par-3 14th, floating a flip wedge to five feet from a dodgy lie 30 yards out, and making the putt.
“One of my all-time best,” Wilson said.
Rose’s tour of the grounds was equally lively, including an eagle on the par-5 15th. That jumped him to 11-under, and for a few minutes a stroke ahead of Wilson. A big drive and a 214-yard 3-iron to 32 feet set up the putt that elicited a roar from those in the gallery of about 20,000.
“That eagle was very timely,” Rose said. “Leading up to that I’d had chances on 10, hit a great drive at all, got a little lucky with the tee shot on 12 (landing it to the left of a pin tucked left), bogeyed 13, and had a good chance at 14. I was hoping for something to happen. I’d gone a little flat.”
Interestingly, Rose also credited a previous round with Woods on Dubsdread for imprinting a positive mindset in him. It was the final round in 2007, the fourth of Woods’ five victories on Dubsdread.
“We were both sort of 4-under through seven or eight holes, going along really nicely,” Rose recalled. “I shot 68. He was very jovial to start with, and the way he closed it out (with a 63) was a huge learning curve. He got more and more focused, more tunnel vision as the round went on. Funnily, I thought about that today on the 13th tee.”
More funnily, Rose bogeyed the 13th, as well as the 18th, but the eagle-birdie combo on the 15th and 16th brought him in as the co-leader.
The duo stands two strokes clear of third-place Webb Simpson, whose 68 places him at 9-under 133 after two rounds. The steadiest of the leaders, he’s made one bogey, on the par-4 fifth on Friday, in 36 holes.
Australian John Senden is fourth, at 8-under 134, needing a big finish to both make it to next week’s Tour Championship via the PGA Tour’s playoff point system, and a victory to qualify for the International squad for next month’s President’s Cup, which will be held at Royal Melbourne – the original Down Under, not the version in Long Grove.
And lurking tied for fifth at 6-under 136? Bill Haas, whose family has Illinois roots, and Robert Allenby, who won the Western in a sudden-death playoff in 2000.
It’s Allenby whom the rest of the leaders should be worried about. He’s in the best position of the five Western Open winners in the field – it was six until Steve Stricker withdrew after the second round, citing neck pain – and posted one of only two bogey-free rounds on Friday. Brandt Jobe, with a quiet 7-under 64 after an opening 75, had the other, and played with Allenby while doing so.
On a day for scoring – the average of 69.800 was the seventh lowest in a Western since 1940, and the second-lowest second round since then, with only the 69.250 registered at Bellerive in 2008 lower – the top 11 players all scored in the 60s. The high score, 4-over 75, was posted by four players, including Brendan Steele, dead last in 69th place thanks to his opening 78.
At 11-over 153, Steele is a light-year away from Wilson and Rose, but a low score doesn’t mean a late tee-time on Saturday. A two-tee start is necessary thanks to NBC’s screening the Michigan State-Notre Dame football game at 2:30 p.m. That means Wilson, Rose and Simpson will commence firing at 9:15 a.m. on the first tee. Steele and Tommy Gainey will do so from the 10th tee at the same hour.
– Tim Cronin
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