LA QUINTA, Calif. – Mark Wilson fired a career-low 62 on Friday at the Palmer Course to vault into a tie for the lead at the Humana Challenge with Ben Crane and David Toms.
Wilson started with birdies on his first three holes, then capped off the round of 10 under with a 9-footer for his eighth birdie of the day. The four-time PGA TOUR champ also made a 15-footer for eagle on the 11th hole.
The trio will start Saturday’s third round at 16 under, three strokes ahead of Camilo Villegas, Harris English, Chris Kirk, John Mallinger and Bobby Gates. English also shot 62 but his came on the Nicklaus Course.
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM
LA QUINTA, Calif. — At least Phil Mickelson has something to build on after Friday’s round of 69 on the Nicklaus Course.
Of course, it wasn’t looking too good at the beginning of the day as the big lefthander started on the back nine and was 3 over after five holes. Mickelson reeled off three straight birdies to get back to even par for the day, though, and found the front nine much more accommodating as he closed with a 33.
Granted, Mickelson still has a ways to go it he wants to be around on Sunday. The two-time Humana Challenge champ is just 1 under for the tournament and currently tied for 124th. Only the low 70s and ties at the end of Saturday’s third round will get to play on Sunday.
But at least there were signs of life in his game during the second round.
“After a rough start today being 3 over I played the last 13 in 6 under, I played much better,” Mickelson said. “I’m excited about how I was playing heading into this tournament, but I had a bit of a slap in the face with my first two scores.
“I’ll try tomorrow to go out and play a good round, hopefully make the cut, but get a little bit of momentum heading into next week’s event in San Diego.”
Mickelson put the Razr Fit driver he’d been practicing with during the offseason in the bag on Friday and was pleased with the results.
“I got dialed in in the off season, but I felt like I didn’t want to start the year with any changes in my bag,” Mickelson said. “And the first day, of course, I hit two out of bounds and I kind of bagged that idea. So this driver I hit much straighter and I ended up hitting it a lot better today.”
Regardless of what happens on Saturday, Mickelson feels like he’s been able to identify some weaknesses in his game in advance of next week’s home game at the Farmers Insurance Open, where he’s a three-time champ and finished second last year.
“I had a good conversation with Butch and also a good practice session after the round yesterday to try to work it out,” Mickelson said. “I think that having great weather on these golf courses with great practice facilities here in the Palm Springs area gives us a good foundation to start the year.
“And so I’ll go back this afternoon and practice for a couple hours and get dialed in and see if I can put it together for tomorrow’s round and I’ll carry that momentum into next week.”
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM
LA QUINTA, Calif. — Mark Wilson started quickly, David Toms finished strong and Ben Crane simply owned the par 5s.
The three veterans may have gotten to 16 under and the top of the Humana Challenge leaderboard in different ways on Friday. But they’ll be of the same mindset on the weekend — go low again or get left behind.
Their lead is three over Camilo Villegas, Harris English, Chris Kirk and Bobby Gates. English, the rookie who won a Nationwide Tour event as an amateur last year, shot a 62 while Kirk and Gates each had 63s.
Wilson actually conjured up images of the magical 59 on Friday — and not just because he was playing with Harrison Frazar, who posted that number at the Nicklaus Tournament Course just down the street when he claimed medalist honors at q-school in 2008.
Wilson birdied his first three holes on the Palmer Course and was 8 under after an eagle on No. 11. He came back to earth over his next four holes but made birdies on Nos. 16 and 18 to seal a 62.
“After I was 8 under through 11 I don’t know why the conversation went there, but we started talking to Harrison about his 59 …,” Wilson recalled. “So I thought about it. But I was just trying to keep hitting good shots and roll the putts in. It kind of stalled there in the middle, but it was still a great round.”
Wilson feels extremely comfortable here in the desert. His in-laws live in nearby Palm Desert and their club, Ironwood, has “adopted” Wilson and given him a membership. He often comes to practice in the area and its his base of operations during the West Coast swing.
“So I got a lot of good vibes here, and (I am) excited about my start so far during this Humana Challenge,” Wilson said.
Crane, whose in-laws also live in the Palm Springs area, fired a 63 in the second round that included a 31 on the back nine, his first of the day, where he made an eagle, five birdies, two bogeys and just one par. He has gone on to win three of the five times he’s shot 63 or better in a tournament.
Through two rounds Crane has played the par 5s in 12 under — making three eagles and five birdies. He said those holes have been a point of emphasis this season, and it’s easy to see why. He ranked 145th in par-5 performance and eighth in par-4s.
The reason for his success this week is two-fold.
“The fact that we’re probably hitting slightly shorter clubs into some of these par 5s instead of some of the other par 5s that we play, and also I’m playing them more aggressively,” Crane said. “So I’m trying to, if I can’t get the ball on the green, I’m trying to get the ball up and around the green somewhere.
“And yesterday I tried to shape a couple shots into the par 5s, which worked out for me. But if I didn’t hit a little fade on one of the holes yesterday, I wouldn’t have had an opportunity to get the ball close.”
Toms, who held a share of the overnight lead with Villegas, turned what he called a “so-so day” into a “pretty solid” one” when he went birdie-eagle-birdie to post a 65 on the Nicklaus course. The eagle came courtesy of a perfect low-cut 3-wood that scooted back to the right and settled 12 feet from a challenging pin.
“We were just grinding along,” Toms said. “I knew I was playing well. It was a matter or time where I would start making some birdies, and I finished strong. So I just stayed patient all day.”
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM
LA QUINTA, Calif. — Chris DiMarco doesn’t enjoy the good-byes. Not with two teenagers and an 8-year-old at home.
And when you’re not playing well, it’s even harder to pack your bags and head to the next PGA TOUR stop. DiMarco knows as well as anyone. He’s only had one top-10 finish in his last 86 starts.
Things appear to be looking up for DiMarco, though — particularly after Friday’s 64 on the Nicklaus Course that left him at 12 under and four strokes off the lead. He birdied all four par 5s and “threw in a couple extra there,” DiMarco said.
“You got to have one of these rounds to contend here,” he said. “You have to have an 8 or 9 under and you got an 8 under today to put myself in position at least to see the leaders for the next couple days.”
A new caddy and a healthy outlook after putting shoulder surgery and nagging wrist injuries behind him has helped. His iron play is much improved, too, and DiMarco, who tied for 13th last week in Hawaii, is excited to see what he can make happen this year.
“The problem with golf is you have to play through (injuries),” DiMarco said. “So you tend to work yourself into some bad habits and what you’re used to seeing isn’t happening as much, so your confidence goes a little bit.
“So as far as confidence goes, my confidence is really coming back, I’m hitting the ball as good as I’ve hit it in a long, long time. For me, … when I’m not seeing anything go left, that’s when I’m playing really good and that’s what I’m seeing right now.
“I’m able to be real aggressive and I’m hitting the shot, I’m looking up, and the ball’s going where I want it to go and that’s always a good thing.”
DiMarco, who was ranked seventh in the world back in 2005, admits he got discouraged at times. But now that he’s playing better golf, it will be easier to justify those road trips.
“For me it’s definitely, would I rather be with my kids? Absolutely,” DiMarco said. “But as long as I’m playing good golf and I’m still competitive out here, this is where you want to be. Not a bad gig to be out here.
“So obviously when I’m playing the level I’m used to playing — and I’m getting back there, I really am — I’m starting to get the confidence and the feel and feeling like I should be there and I think that’s the most important thing. You lose it for a couple years and you don’t know if you’re ever going to get it back and I’m starting to feel that again.”
LA QUINTA, Calif. – Conventional wisdom holds that it’s difficult to follow one really low round with another. That is, unless you are playing golf in pristine conditions in the California desert.
Just ask David Toms. After opening with a 63, Toms fired a 65 on the Nicklaus Course to tie Ben Crane for the lead at the midway point of the Humana Challenge. Crane, meanwhile, shot 63 on Friday.
Toms surged into a share of the lead with a sizzling finish that saw him birdie Nos. 7 and 9 and make a 12-footer for eagle at the eighth. The LSU product had shared the first round lead with Camilo Villegas.
Toms and Crane, who has played the par 5s in 12 under with three eagles in the first two rounds, are one stroke ahead of Mark Wilson. Wilson is 9 under for the day with two holes remaining.
LA QUINTA, Calif. — Mark Wilson has just eagled the 11th hole on the Palmer Course to move to 8 under for the day.
Wilson, who birdied his first three holes and turned in 31, is now 14 under and two strokes behind Ben Crane, who shot 61 in the second round. He’s alone in second with a one-stroke edged on overnight co-leader David Toms.
Wilson has three par 5s, a trio of par 3s and two par 4s remaining. The course record on the Palmer Course is the 59 David Duval shot in the final round of his 1999 victory.
Wilson, who won twice last year, will defend his title at the Waste Management Phoenix Open in two weeks.
LA QUINTA, Calif. – Dustin Johnson, who had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in November, has withdrawn from the Humana Challenge.
Johnson said his knee was fine but that pain in his lower back prompted the early exit.
“My knee is ok. I am not worried about it,” Johnson said. “My lower back is really stiff and hurting, which I think is from the way I am walking or the fact that I have not walked a lot since the surgery. Yesterday was the first time I walked a full 18 holes. I do intend to play next week in San Diego,”
Although he had been hitting full shots for several weeks, Johnson had not walked an entire round prior to the start of the tournament. Johnson had originally targeted next week’s Farmers Insurance Open for his return to competition but was feeling so well he wanted to play this week.
Johnson shot an even-par 72 on the Palmer Course in the first round but was 4 over through nine at La Quinta when he withdrew.
