Daily Wrap-up: Round 2, WGC-HSBC Champions
Highlights: World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions
Fredrik Jacobson's career year continued when he grabbed the second-round lead at Sheshan.
Nov. 4, 2011
By Staff and wire reports
SHANGHAI (AP) -- Adam Scott can join rare company with a second World Golf Championships. Keegan Bradley still has hopes of winning PGA TOUR Player of the Year. Paul Casey thought his PGA TOUR card was gone, but has a shot at getting it back.
HSBC Champions
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The World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions, the semi-official end of the PGA TOUR and the start of a big finish on the European Tour, offers a little bit of everything to so many players.
Scott, Bradley and Casey put themselves in contention Friday on a humid, overcast day at Sheshan International. They were chasing Fredrik Jacobson, who rattled off six birdies and kept mistakes off his card for a 6-under 66. Jacobson tied the tournament record at 11-under 133 and led by one shot over Scott and Louis Oosthuizen going into the weekend.
Jacobson, a Swede who lives and plays primarily in America, won his first PGA TOUR title this year at the Travelers Championship and believes his game has improved to the point that he can think about getting on his first Ryder Cup team.
That's still 10 months away.
There are more immediate goals for others in Shanghai -- and not just of the PGA TOUR variety.
U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy still has the best chance of running down Luke Donald on the European Tour money list, though he might need to win the HSBC Champions and fare well in Hong Kong in three weeks to make a real game of it. McIlroy sputtered along Friday on a day of supreme scoring, trading birdies with too many bogeys for a 69 that left him six shots behind.
"I was just always trying to play catch up," McIlroy said. "I feel like over the past two days, I've left quite a few shots out there. It's one of those things. I just have to try and make them up over the weekend.
"I'll need to do something pretty good over the weekend if I want to try and win this tournament."
Scott was in much better shape after making nine birdies in 18 holes and missing only one green in his round of 65.
As always, Scott feels as though he could have done more this year, though he wouldn't trade that one win at the Bridgestone Invitational. A win this week would allow him to join Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson as the only players to win multiple World Golf Championships in the same year. Woods did it five times, while Mickelson won at Doral and the HSBC in 2009.
"That would be a really good year," Scott said. "I feel like overall I played really well this year, and I wouldn't say I would be disappointed to only win one tournament for the year. But I feel like I've played well enough, and been in a position a few other times, and haven't taken advantage of it. So I would like to be in a position late on Sunday and see if I can edge out the field here.
"And then to win two World Golf Championships ... these are the tournaments that you want to add up by the end of your career."
Shot of the Day: Jaidee
Thongchai Jaidee rolled in a 40-foot breaking putt for birdie on the 12th hole at Sheshan.
He certainly looked up to the task while playing alongside Bradley and Lee Westwood, a threesome that combined to make 16 birdies and an eagle that kept their gallery thoroughly entertained. Westwood wound up with a 68 and was four shots out of the lead.
Scott led the way by running off four straight birdies early in his round, capped off by a 7-iron from 190 yards to 3 feet on the par-3 sixth. It looked as though he might make it five in a row until he tried to ram in a 12-foot birdie putt, only to run it some 5 feet by the hole and three-putt for bogey. He bounced back with two more birdies to close out his front nine and get into the hunt.
Bradley might have the most at stake this week. A win at Sheshan International would be his PGA TOUR -leading third win of the year, and with two of those being the PGA Championship and a World Golf Championships, it might be enough to be voted PGA TOUR Player of the Year.
For now, Bradley was pleased to still be in the game.
He was even par on the back, and thankful for it. On two holes, Bradley left himself 10 feet and 12 feet away for par, and both times he holed the putt. He missed his last four tee shots, yet hit a sand wedge to 5 feet for birdie on the last hole to salvage a 70 and stay only two shots behind at the halfway point.
"The birdie on 18 was big," Bradley said. "Today could have easily been even par, and I was 2 under. I'm only two shots back. I'm in a really good spot. I know I could shoot a really good number on this course again."
Malaysia winner Bo Van Pelt had a 69 -- he's 31 under in his six rounds of this Asian adventure -- and was three shots behind. Joining him was Casey, who suddenly has a chance for a happy ending to an otherwise dour year.
Casey dealt most of the year with a foot injury that got his swing out of sync. His domestic PGA TOUR season ended at The McGladrey Classic a few weeks ago when he missed the cut, and he wound up at No. 136 on the money list to lose his PGA TOUR card.
However, just as it does for Bradley, a win at the HSBC Champions would count as official for PGA TOUR members. That means Casey, who had limited status when he left for Shanghai, could return home with an official win and a three-year PGA TOUR exemption.
"The season is not over yet, although I kind of feel like I'm working toward next year already," Casey said. "And the golf I played today is the golf I remember playing."
Round 2 notebook: World Golf Championships - HSBC Champions
Fredrik Jacobson
For the second day in a row, Jacobson posted a 32 on the back nine of Sheshan International Golf Club, the low back-nine of the tournament thus far, tied with Keegan Bradley (R1); Alvaro Quiros (R2); Thoman Bjorn (R2); Louis Oosthuizen (R2); Jim Furyk (R2).Jacobson started on No. 10 Friday with a birdie. On Thursday, he started on No. 1 with a bogey, his lone bogey thus far in the tournament.
Jacobson's 11-under 133 total ties the 36-hole tournament record, set by Kevin Stadler at the 2007 HSBC Champions.
Jacobson is in the field this week -- marking his first HSBC Champions start -- thanks to his first PGA TOUR victory earlier this summer at the Travelers Championship. In his career, Jacobson has three international victories to go with his PGA TOUR title, all coming on the European Tour and all in 2003: the Omega Hong Kong Open, the Algarve Portugal Open and the Volvo Masters.
Jacobson is No. 54 in the Official World Golf Ranking. A win this week would make him the second-lowest ranked player to with the HSBC Champions, behind Y.E. Yang, who was No. 77 when he won in 2006.
Year Champion OWGR 2010 Francesco Molinari No. 30 2009 Phil Mickelson No. 2 2008 Sergio Garcia No. 3 2007 Phil Mickelson No. 2 2006 Y.E. Yang No. 77 2005 David Howell No. 19
Last week in Malaysia, Jacobson was tied for the lead at the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic Malyasia after rounds of 65-64. He finished the tournament with rounds of 71-68 to post a third-place finish at the unofficial event.
Jacobson's best World Golf Championships performances are a tie for ninth at the 2003 Accenture Match Play Championship and a tie for 11th at the 2011 Bridgestone Invitational.
Jacobson is looking to become only the second Swede to win a World Golf Championships event, joining Henrik Stenson, who won the 2007 Accenture Match Play Championship.
Louis Oosthuizen
Oosthuizen
Oosthuizen is having a much better HSBC Champions experience this time around. In 2010, he posted rounds of 69-80-80-72 to finish tied for 72nd in a field of 77 players. This week, Oosthuizen followed up a rather non-descript, first-round 71 with a course-record-tying 63 in round two. Oosthuizen joined Ernie Els, Daisuke Maruyama and Rory McIlroy, who all carded the Sheshan International Golf Club record of 9 under in the final round of the 2009 tournament.
Oosthuizen's bogey-free 31 on the front nine set the lowest score recorded on the outward nine this week at the 2011 HSBC Champions (Adam Scott tied that mark 40 minutes later). His back-nine 32 is one of six recorded thus far this week.
Oosthuizen posted nine birdies in round two, just one fewer than he totaled over all four rounds in 2010. His 63 is his lowest score in a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event this season. His lowest round in an official PGA TOUR event was recorded in the first round of his most recent TOUR start, a 65 at The McGladrey Classic, where he finished fourth.
Oosthuizen's best finish in a World Golf Championships event is a tie for ninth at the 2010 Bridgestone Invitational, his lone top-10 in 10 previous World Golf Championships starts.
Adam Scott
Scott, the reigning World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational champion, moved into contention at the HSBC Champions with a 65 performance on Friday. His front-nine score of 31 tied Louis Oosthuizen for low outward nine of the week. Scott ran off four straight birdies (Nos. 2-6), followed by a bogey on No. 7 and two more birdies on Nos. 8-9. He was one of only four players to post birdies on Nos. 17-18 in round two (with Lucas Glover; Michael Hooey and Aaron Baddeley, who birdied Nos. 16-18).
Scott is looking to become only the second player to win back-to-back World Golf Championships starts, joining Tiger Woods, who accomplished the feat six times (including three in a row in 2007-08). Woods owns 16 World Golf Championships titles; the only other multiple World Golf Championships winners are: Geoff Ogilvy (3); Ernie Els (2); Darren Clarke (2); and Phil Mickelson (2).
Keegan Bradley
Bradley was the only player in the field without a bogey through round one and extended that streak to 26 holes before recording a bogey on No. 9 during the second round. He made only his second bogey of the week on No. 17, but rebounded with a birdie on No. 18 to move into fourth-place position, two shots behind Fredrik Jacobson.
This is only Bradley's second World Golf Championships appearance. He tied for 15th at the Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, OH, where he led after the second round (67-65). The following week, he also led after 36 holes at the PGA Championship (71-64) and converted that lead into his first major championship win.
Should he go on to win, Bradley, at age 25 and 4 months, would be the youngest winner of the HSBC Champions. Sergio Garcia was 28 years, 10 months, 1 day when he won in 2008, although the HSBC Champions wasn't yet a part of the World Golf Championships series.
A win this week would make Bradley the youngest player to capture a World Golf Championships title since Tiger Woods won the 2000 Bridgestone Invitational at the age of 24 years, 7 months and 28 days. Bradley would also be the only player in history to win both a major championship and a World Golf Championships title as a rookie. Henrik Stenson won the Accenture Match Play Championship as a rookie in 2007.
Bo Van Pelt
After winning the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic Malaysia last week in Kuala Lumpur, Bo Van Pelt has maintained his good play. He has now posted six consecutive rounds in the 60s: 66-64-67-64 at the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic and 67-69 thus far at the HSBC Champions. Van Pelt is 31-under par over his last six rounds and has recorded only eight bogeys in 108 holes.
This is Van Pelt's fifth World Golf Championships start, with four of those appearances coming this year. He tied for 17th at this year's Accenture Match Play Championship, followed by a tie for 35th at the Cadillac Championship. He tied for 23rd at the Bridgestone Invitational. His top World Golf Championships finish came in 2010, when he tied for third at the Bridgestone Invitational.
Van Pelt, a resident of Tulsa, Okla., is ranked 25th in the Official World Golf Ranking and is the 11th-ranked U.S. player. His only PGA TOUR victory came at the 2009 U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee.
Paul Casey
With seven birdies and a lone bogey, Paul Casey moved up the leaderboard after a 66 in round two and trails leader Fredrik Jacobson by three strokes.
Casey and Ian Poulter are the only players in the field who have competed in all six previous HSBC Champions. Casey withdrew after three rounds in 2009, but aside from that year, he has finished no worse than T11 (2005-7th; 2006-T6; 2007-T9; 2008-T11; 2010-T6). Casey's four top-10 finishes at this event is the most by any player. (Poulter's career-best finish at the HSBC Champions is a T13 in 2010; he's currently T11 through 36 holes.)
In 28 previous World Golf Championships starts, Casey has yet to win, but he has posted 10 top-10 finishes, including back-to-back runner-up finishes at the Accenture Match Play Championship (2009-2010).
A year after he finished a career-high eighth on the PGA TOUR money list, Casey failed to remain retain his card for 2012. He withdrew after two rounds of The McGladrey Classic with an illness and wound up No. 131 on the money list. A win this week would take care of that issue, however; the HSBC Champions counts as an official PGA TOUR victory and offers a three-year exemption on the PGA TOUR provided it is won by a PGA TOUR member.
Miscellaneous Notes
The World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions is the last opportunity for a player to earn a spot in the PGA TOUR's season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions. Of those in the top 10 on the HSBC Champions leaderboard through 36 holes, six players would need a win this week to qualify for a trip to Maui: Louis Oosthuizen (T2); Bo Van Pelt (T5); Paul Casey (T5); Martin Kaymer (T7); Thongchai Jaidee (T7); Lee Westwood (T7).
Jim Furyk, the last alternate in the field, improved 10 strokes in round two. He followed an opening-round 78 with a 68 on Friday. Matteo Manassero, the youngest player in the field, improved 11 shots Friday (82 in round one; 71 in round two.)
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