Capelle On Golf

Can Chad Campbell Win?
Chad Campbell is our co-leader with rounds of 65-70-135. The closest he’s come to winning a major was at the 2003 PGA where he finished solo second, two back of Shaun Micheel. He was in a big group that tied for third at the 2006 Masters, three back of Mickelson. So, he plays well enough to contend, but does this four time winner on tour have what it takes to win a major? We’ll find out soon enough.

Kenny Perry Leads in GIR
Perry is acting as if he’s playing in the Milwaukee Open this week as he’s grabbed a share of the lead with rounds of 68 and 67. While he’s done next to nothing in the majors since losing a playoff at the 1996 PGA, this could be his week. He got in the habit of winning last year with four victories, and he’s hitting the ball exceptionally well. He’s hit 80.6% of the greens in regulation (#1) and he’s hit 75% of the fairways (21st, but even better among those who made the cut).

Angel Cabrera on a Roll
The stars may be aligned for this free swinging Argentinean as they were when he found his groove on his way to the US Open title in 2007. He’s plenty long and he’s got a major under his belt, so we can’t dismiss his chances going into the final 36.

Todd Hamilton
Hamilton, at 138, is only three off the pace going into the weekend. Should he manage to win he could become the worst player in the modern era to win two majors. He has as one top 10 in a major, his win at the 2004 Open. The current title holder for Worst Two Time Major Winner is John Daly, who has two wins and a third at the 1994 Masters – that’s it for top tens. You can forget about two time US Open champion Andy North – he has 3 top tens in addition to his two majors.

Anthony Kim Sets Birdie Record
At the start of the day Kim looked like he’d be lucky to make the cut after an opening 75. But then he went on a tear, birdieing six of the first eight hole for a front nine of 32. On the back he double bogeyed 10, then birdied 12-15 and 18 for a 33 and a round of 65.

Sergio Garcia is Alive and Well
Garcia, who’s been MIA this season, declared that personal issues would keep him from contending at this year’s Masters. Maybe this was his way of deflecting the pressure that suffocates him at the big four events. Armed with the infamous belly putter, he birdied three of the final four holes to vault into a tie for sixth.

Phil Mickelson’s Back Nine Charge
Phil Mickelson was in danger of missing the cut when he made he moved to two over with a bogey on 11/ But then he drained a 20 footer on twelve to ignite a back nine of 32. On 13 his second from 165 yards stopped 8 inches from the pin for a tap in eagle. A patented flop shot from over the 15th green stopped on a dime and he rolled home a five footer. He capped his round with a 30 footer on 18 for a birdier to go -3.

Tiger Woods and the Two Unders
Tiger Woods hit the ball well again, but got little out of his round after another poor day with the flat stick. As a result, he tied for 19th with eight other players going into the weekend. If he doesn’t get it going on the greens, this could be the fourth straight Masters that he’s failed to win due to poor putting. Still, since it’s Tiger and because we’ve seen so many players take off on subpar runs this week, it is entirely possible that Tiger will light up the board on moving day and get back into the thick of things.

At minus two, he’s got plenty of company: John Merrick, Aaron Baddeley, Graham McDowell, Sandy Lyle, Dustin Johnson, Lee Westwood, Padraig Harrington, and Camilo Villegas.

McIlroy Fails to Close the Round
Rory McIlroy was on a roll and had moved to -4. Then he four putted 16 and triple bogeyed 18 to barely make the cut at 145. I suppose he will learn to close rounds, but to date this is a huge weakness in his game that has appeared all too often.

The Super Teens
There time is coming, but apparently it hasn’t arrived quote yet in the big ones.
Ryo Ishikawa shot 150 to miss the cut by five shots.
Danny Lee shot 155 to miss the cut by ten shots.

World Rankings Top 10
The average score for the field through 36 holes was 145.99. The WGR top 10 averaged 142.1. Robert Karlsson, who finished in the top 10 in the first three majors last year, was the only member of the WGR top 10 it miss the cut.
142 Tiger Woods (1)
141 Phil Mickelson (2)
140 Sergio Garcia (3)
141 Geoff Ogilvy (4)
142 Padraig Harrington (5)
144 Paul Casey (6)
141 Vijay Singh (7)
141 Henrik Stenson (8)
147 Robert Karlsson (9)
142 Camilo Villegas (10)

The Course
The course played quite a bit tougher in the second round as the average score jumped from 72.25 to 73.74, or nearly one and half shots. Still, numerous players were able to go subpar barrages, so evidently the course will give up red numbers if a player can pull off the shots, unlike the last couple of years.

Par 5 Report
The par 4.5s are back! In the second they yielded 16 eagles, five eagles in the first round.
Rd.1—Rd. 2
#2  4.54—4.83
#8  4.83—4.77
#13  4.64—4.59
#15  4.65—4.57