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DUBLIN, Ohio: Kenny Perry posted an eagle on the
sixth hole en route to a 1-under 71 and a share of the lead after
the second round at the PGA Memorial tournament on Friday.
Perry made bogey on three of his
first five holes before his eagle from 35 yards at his sixth hole,
the par-5 15th, boosted his confidence.
“That gave me some momentum,
turned the round around and lifted my spirits,” said Perry, who
carded a 1-under-par 71 to join Mathew Goggin at 7-under 137, one
stroke better than Jerry Kelly and two clear of Luke Donald.
Phil Mickelson fell 10 strokes
behind on a day when the field averaged nearly 76 strokes in high
winds. Only three players broke 70, with Johnson Wagner’s 67 the
day’s best score.
Perry’s pitch from a bank left of the 15th green trickled
into the middle of the hole at a perfect speed.
“I hit the shot of my life to keep the ship from sinking,”
the two-time Memorial champion said.
“I knew I could chip the ball down within 15 feet, and it
came out perfect and just fell in, like a slow-motion deal.”
Goggin, who played in the morning, had a hot start, shooting a
4-under through five holes thanks to a hot putter. But in the end, he had to settle for a roller-coaster 72.
“I holed a 20-footer from off the green at the first
[hole],” said Goggin, a 33-year-old Australian.
“I holed about a 25-footer at the next and a 15-footer at
the next, and I just didn’t know what was going on.
“I made a few mental mistakes and left a couple of shots in
bad positions or misjudged the wind.”
Kelly, who played with Goggin, had a considerably
less-eventful 72 that included just three birdies and three bogeys.
Seventy-six players made the cut, which fell at 6-over
150—the highest score since 1990.
Trevor Immelman advanced with nothing to spare after missing
the cut in his two previous starts since winning the Masters.
 --AFP
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