Perry opens 3 shot advantage

Kenny Perry celebrated his 41st birthday in style Friday with an eight-under 64 and has opened a three-shot lead after two rounds of the Buick Open.

Perry stands at 14-under-par 130 and is three ahead of Bob Tway, Brett Quigley and overnight co-leader Jim Furyk.

Perry matched the tournament's nine-hole record with his front-nine 29. Six other golfers accomplished the feat at the Buick Open, but only Trevor Dodds turned the trick on the front side at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club.

Perry made seven birdies on his front side, with his only pars coming at the fourth and sixth holes.

"When I birdied 7, 8 and 9," said Perry, who is best-known for losing a playoff to Mark Brooks at the 1996 PGA Championship, "I started thinking crazy numbers. I started thinking 58 and 59."

Perry's 64 could have been lower but he missed opportunities on the back nine. Birdie putts at 10 and 11 missed falling into the cup by inches, but he responded with back-to-back birdies at 12 and 13, including a two-putt from 20 feet at the par-five 13th.

The 41-year-old missed driving the green at the short par-four 14th, but found a terrible lie short of a bunker. He chipped to eight feet, then failed to convert the birdie putt.

Perry had an chance to match the 18-hole and 36-hole records for this event with a birdie at the last but he hit a poor drive and carded his only bogey on the round.

But Perry is not complaining.

"That's about as good as I can play," said Perry, who has not won on tour since the 1995 Bob Hope Classic. "I don't like to end on a bogey on the last hole but that's not an easy golf hole. So it's 64, and get ready for the weekend."

Furyk, 11th on the current U.S. Ryder Cup points standings, is trying to qualify for his third team. After the PGA Championship next week, the top-10 automatically make the team with captain Curtis Strange getting two wild-card selections.

"I have myself in good position for the weekend," said Furyk, who won earlier in the year at the Mercedes Championships.

Tway and Quigley, who played together in the first and second rounds, each posted rounds of seven-under 65.

"When a lot of birdies are being made in your group, it kind of pulls you along," said Tway, who notched eight birdies to only one bogey. "All three of us were playing great golf and that helps make the day go better."

Quigley's score could have also been lower, but he lipped out an eight-inch par save at the first.

Craig Perks (68), Padraig Harrington (67), Ian Leggatt (68), Jonathan Kaye (67) and John Cook (68) share fifth place at minus-10.

Phil Mickelson and first-round co-leader Brian Henninger headline a group of players at nine-under-par 135.

The 36-hole cut fell at four-under 140, the lowest on tour this season. Four players in the top-10 on the American point list for the Ryder Cup team did not qualify for weekend play: Mark Calcavecchia, Hal Sutton, Tom Lehman and Joe Durant.

Retief Goosen, the reigning U.S. Open champion, did not make his first start on the PGA Tour a good one. He missed the cut by one shot.

Email this page to a friend | Return to top of page