Lowry survives four-putt; Meadow in the mix as Lexi fires 61
Justin Rose hits a knockdown shot to the 18th on the South Course
Shane Lowry recovered from a sickening, four-putt, triple bogey seven to make the cut on the mark in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.
The Clara man was two under for the tournament, one under for his round, with six holes to play when he took four putts from 44 feet at the fourth, his 13th.
Putting for par after a bunkered drive had left him needing to get up and down from 81 yards for his four, he left his lengthy par putt more than four feet short and promptly three-putted from there.
The poa annua greens on the South Course at Torrey Pines are tough in the afternoon and after missing a two and a half footer for a double bogey, Lowry did well to gather himself to tap in for a seven, then chip dead for a birdie four at the sixth before finishing with three pars.
It all added up to a 33-putt, one-over 73 for the world No 50, who made the cut on the level par limit.
He's eight strokes behind Justin Rose, who birdied the 18th to add a one under 71 on the South to his opening 65 on the North Course to snatch the outright lead.
But he at least fared better than compatriots Seamus Power (74N, 72S, +2) and Pádraig Harrington (74S, 74N, +4), who joined world No 1 Jason Day (73S, 74N, +3), No 3 Dustin Johnson (72S, 74N, +2) and top draw Tiger Woods (76S, 72N, +4) in missing the cut.
But for his error on the fourth and a missed six-footer for birdie at the last, Lowry might be within shouting distance of Rose.
With Torrey Pines playing long and tough — the rough is particularly difficult — Lowry is ranked just ahead of Rose in terms of strokes gained from tee to green.
The difference between them has been mainly on the greens.
While Lowry had three three-putts in round one and a four-putt in round two, Rose has had just one three-putt all week.
As a result, he leads by one stroke from two brilliant putters in Adam Hadwin (71N) and Brandt Snedeker (69S) on eight under par.
It's only Power's second missed cut in eight starts since winning his PGA Tour card last year.
But he will be frustrated by this one having battled his way back to level for the tournament after a two under par outward 34 on the tough South Course.
After a bogey at the par-three 11th, he made a double bogey the 12th en route to a 72 that left him two shots outside the magic number.
Driving accuracy is key at Torrey Pines and Power hit just four fairways on day one and only five on Friday.
His double bogey at the 12th came when he missed the fairway by a couple of yards on the left, then came up 40 yards short in the right rough in two and then went through the back of the green in three before taking three more shots to get the ball in the hole from there.
Even though he birdied the par-five 13th and 18th holes, he bogeyed the 15th when he missed the fairway by a few feet and could only advance the ball some 116 yards along the left rough.
Harrington, 45, came into the week after his nine-week break suffering from physical "niggles"m including a tripped
He sounded unsure in the build up about what to expect from his game but feared the worst and had those fears realised as he struggled to generate any power, or accuracy, from the tee
Having opened with a two over 74 on the South Course, he followed up with a 74 on the North Course and in both cases, wayward driving proved to be his downfall.
The Dubliner hit just two of 14 fairways on Thursday and on half the fairways on Friday.
Needing a fast start, he began with three successive bogeys to slip out to five over par and did well to play the remaining holes in one under par, successfully scrambling for par six times out of seven.
Meadow up to 20th as Thompson blasts historic 61
LPGA Tour — Stephanie Meadow carded a six under par 67 to share 20th on seven under par as Lexi Thompson made history in the Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic at Paradise Island.
The Jordanstown native is 10 strokes behind Brittany Lincicome (64-65) who leads by one on 17 under par from Thompson, who shot a 12 under par 61, which is the lowest round with respect to par on a par 73 course in LPGA Tour history.
The LPGA reported:
Lincicome posted an eight-under par, 65 to set a new 36-hole Tournament scoring record of 129. It shatters the previous record set by Jessica Korda in 2014 by six-strokes. Lincicome heads into the weekend with a one-stroke lead at 17-under par, ahead of Lexi Thompson who shattered a few records of her own on Friday. Thompson posted a career low 12-under par, 61 - a new course and Tournament scoring record.
“The way it's been going the last two days, the putter has been making everything, which is obviously really fun, so if I can keep that up then it could be good on Sunday,” Lincicome told the media. “I'm just playing well, and still made everything today. Putter is on point right now, and it's exciting to see.”
Lincicome followed her opening round 64 with a 65 on Friday, which included her sixth career hole-in-one. The ace came at the par three, 12th hole where she holed a 7-iron from 161 yards.
“When it went in I was like, do I jump up and down or do I just wave my arms? There are so many thoughts that went through my head, but obviously it's pretty fun,” Lincicome said. “I didn't feel like I hit the greatest shot, but got way with it and pretty impressive.”
Click here to watch Lincicome's hole-in-one.
Click here to watch Lincicome's post-round interview.
Thompson’s 61 was the first 12-under par round on a par 73 in LPGA Tour history. Eight players have carded 11-under par rounds on par 71, 72 and 73 courses. Annika Sorenstam holds the record of 13-under par when she carded a 59 in 2001 at the Standard Register PING on a par 72. The elusive number did cross Thompson’s mind during the round but said she knew it would be tough to accomplish on the par 73 track.
“I thought about it, but I just wanted to keep on playing my own game and see where it goes,” Thompson told the media. “I was just pin seeking the whole day. I was just trying to stay with my routine and have good tempo with my golf swing. That's just all I've been working on.”
Thompson’s previous low round was a 63, which she recorded in the second round of the 2013 Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia where she won her second title on the LPGA Tour.
