Chris KirkDave Einsel
Chris Kirk survived a double-bogey on his final six holes to grab the lead through two rounds of the Shell Houston Open on Friday.
Kirk, a Nationwide grad who has missed four of his last five cuts, had six birdies, a bogey and a double-bogey on the par-5 fourth when he missed the fairway to the right and was forced to take a penalty stroke. He settled for a 3-under 69 to leave him one up on defending champion Anthony Kim and Johnson Wagner.
Kim, looking to become the first player since Vijay Singh 2004-2005 to successfully defend his title, posted a bogey-free round of 64 which was far from routine at the Redstone Golf Club.
On at least three occasions Kim managed to get up-and-down from fairway bunkers, he drained a 60-foot chip from off the green on the par-3 16th and sank another 22-footer from the fringe for birdie on No. 12.
"I have been working so hard on my game and it just hasn't clicked out there and I just haven't trusted it," explained Kim. "Today, even though it was a couple of swings where I didn't trust it, I got away with it, I got up and down and managed to make a par, but it feels great to have that feeling of confidence."
Wagner, who's win earlier this year in Mexico did not qualify him for the Masters, carded a bogey-free round of 67 to join Kim at 8-under.
Padraig Harrington finds himself two back, tied with first round co-leaders Josh Teater and Jimmy Walker, after an eventful round of 69 as well. Starting on the back nine, Harrington had five birdies and a bogey. On the front side, he struggled to consecutive bogeys at Nos. 2, 3 and 4 before closing with an eagle on the par-5 eighth.
"I played good golf over the two days at times and plenty of birdie chances," said Harrington. "Obviously I lost my way for a few holes. It was nice to settle down a bit and make even easy coming home."
Teater, who posted a bogey-free round on Thursday, bogeyed two of his first five holes for a second round 72.
Walker struggled to a 74 after tying the course record with a 63 on Thursday. He dunked his tee shot in the pond on No. 11 and took a double bogey, and made only one birdie the rest of the way.
"I putted just unbelievably well yesterday," said Walker. "Today just felt kind of about the same and going in the opposite direction."
David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., had five birdies and three bogeys for a round of 70 to leave him at 5-under par.
Phil Mickelson, with an eagle on the par-5 fourth, posted his second straight round of 70 to sit at 4-under par.
"It was an interesting day," said the defending Masters champion. "Unfortunately, I got off to a rough start with two 3-putts on the first few holes. I had to fight hard to get it back to under par, but played a couple under on the front. "
Lee Westwood had four bogeys over his first nine holes before settling down for a 72 to leave him at 4-under par as well.
Rookie Joseph Bramlett will make the weekend cut after shooting 68. The first African-American player to make it out of q-school in 25 years didn't get into the tournament until the absolute last minute when Michael Sim withdrew just before his tee time Thursday. After an opening round 73, Bramlett - who had missed four of his last six cuts - came back with six birdies and two bogeys to equal the lowest score of his career.
Fred Couples back acted up late in the second round but the 51-year-old rallied late to make his 18th consecutive cut in the Shell Houston Open.
Couples finished birdie-par-par to end up 1 under, one under the cut line. The old record in Houston was held by Houston native Jimmy Demaret. Ironically, Demaret never won this event.
The cut fell at even par, and former Masters champions Jose Maria Olazabal and Angel Cabrera were among those who failed to qualify for the weekend.