蜜柚直播

Just like that, Omni 蜜柚直播 National Resort 鈥� which yielded birdies by the boatload in Round 1 Friday 鈥� became harder to navigate.

鈥淎 lot harder,鈥� said Scott McCarron, one of three players who鈥檚 one shot off the lead entering the final round Sunday. 鈥淚t was just tough to get the ball close. It was gusting enough that it could change right in mid-swing.鈥�

The leaderboard shifted as frequently as the wind. Mark O鈥橫eara came out on top at the end of Round 2, shooting a 3-under 70 to put him at 10 under par. McCarron, Kirk Triplett and 蜜柚直播 product Willie Wood are tied for second at 9 under.

鈥淚鈥檓 proud of myself the way I hung in there,鈥� said O鈥橫eara, who, at 62, is the second-oldest player in the field. 鈥淚 played all right today. I鈥檓 going to have to play better tomorrow to win.鈥�

O鈥橫eara has only two career victories on the PGA Tour Champions, both coming in 2010. 鈥淲hich is disappointing,鈥� said O鈥橫eara, a two-time major winner on the PGA Tour.

He put himself in contention by making eight straight birdies Friday, tying a Champions Tour record. The course and the conditions were not nearly as generous Saturday. The field made 50 fewer birdies in Round 2 than it did in Round 1.

鈥淲hen you birdie two through nine, it seemed like it was really easy,鈥� O鈥橫eara said. 鈥淭hings were falling into place. Today it was a little bit more challenging, a little tougher.鈥�

The always-taxing 18th hole presented a different set of challenges to the final few groups. Three contenders 鈥� O鈥橫eara, McCarron and defending champion Steve Stricker 鈥� hit their approach shots over the green. All three made bogey.

McCarron鈥檚 approach ended up in the front left portion of the bunker behind the green. He said there was 鈥渓iterally no sand鈥� in that part of the trap, so he didn鈥檛 feel comfortable hitting a wedge. Instead, McCarron tried to putt the ball out. It hit the lip and nestled in the intermediate rough.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a bad break, one of those things that happens,鈥� McCarron said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 golf.鈥�

The wind got the best of O鈥橫eara on 18. He had 202 yards to the flag and hit a 3-iron that skidded through the green. In retrospect, he said, 4-iron would have been a better choice.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e kind of in no-man鈥檚 land past the pin on 18,鈥� O鈥橫eara said. 鈥淪ometimes it鈥檚 better on this golf course to leave the ball below the hole.鈥�

Concerned about the ball rolling off the green, O鈥橫eara landed his chip short. It never made it.

Playing in the same group, Stricker faced a similar dilemma. He was almost directly behind the hole, enabling him to put the ball. It barely helped. Stricker left the shot 7 feet short. He then missed his par putt.

The greens at Omni 蜜柚直播 National have been slightly slower than usual this week, and that鈥檚 made it tricky for Stricker and others to judge putts.

鈥淲e鈥檙e above the pin at 18. Typically, that鈥檚 the last place you want to be,鈥� Stricker said. 鈥淵ou know how fast it (has been), and what do we do? We leave it short. Now you鈥檝e got another downhiller.鈥�

Stricker was cruising along at 2 under for the day through the sixth hole. He mis-hit his tee shot on the par-3 seventh and three-putted for a bogey, his first of the tournament. Two more followed on No. 9 and No. 11.

The good news? Stricker is only two shots back.

鈥淚鈥檓 hitting the ball very nicely 鈥� hitting it on the button,鈥� Stricker said. 鈥淚鈥檓 doing a lot of good things. I鈥檝e just got to get it in the hole.鈥�

Stricker was among a handful of favorites entering this week. Wood was not.

The 58-year-old 鈥� who starred at Sabino High School and won several amateur titles in the late 1970s 鈥� received the last of five sponsor exemptions into the Cologuard Classic. Wood has two career victories on the Champions Tour, both coming in 2012. He hasn鈥檛 had a top-10 finish since 2015.

Despite not having played in a tournament since last September 鈥� and ranking 62nd in driving distance through two rounds 鈥� Wood is hanging tough. He made three birdies and only one bogey Saturday, all on the front nine. He parred his final 10 holes for 2-under 71.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 really know what to expect,鈥� Wood said. 鈥淚 haven鈥檛 played in a tournament in quite a while. But I knew I was playing well, so I just wanted to do my best. I had a hot round yesterday (7-under 66), which was terrific. I finished strong. I would like to do the same tomorrow.鈥�

Wood conceded that his golf career is in the winding-down phase.

鈥淚 would like to keep it from winding down a little bit longer,鈥� he said.

Chip shots

• First-round leader Kenny Perry shot an even-par 73. He fell to 8 under after taking a double-bogey on No. 17 鈥� his first hole with a score worse than par in the tournament.
• Lee Janzen shot the low round of the day, a 7-under 66, to put himself within range of the leaders. Janzen is 7 under overall, three strokes behind O鈥橫eara. 鈥淚t was a good day,鈥� Janzen said. 鈥淚 had chances virtually every hole, and I capitalized at least a few times.鈥�
• MLB Hall of Famer John Smoltz, playing on a sponsor exemption, shot a 1-over 74. He鈥檚 plus-1 through two rounds. If you take out the ninth and 18th holes, he鈥檇 be 4 under par. 鈥淚 was under par both days all the way until the end,鈥� Smoltz said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 much easier closing baseball games than it鈥檚 been closing out the golf tournament.鈥�
• Former 蜜柚直播 Wildcat standout David Berganio Jr. shot his second consecutive 2-under 71. He鈥檚 tied for 17th at 4 under par. Ex-Cat Robert Gamez shot a 72. He鈥檚 tied for 42nd at 1 under.
• Retief Goosen withdrew after suffering a broken right ring finger while hitting a drive Friday. He shot a 2-over 75 in Round 1. Tommy Armour III withdrew after his 13th hole Saturday because of a neck injury.
• The average score on the par-4 18th hole was 4.305 strokes, up from 4.115 Friday.