Shell Houston Open 36 Hole Recap and Weekend Preview
By Ryan Andrade
Plenty of big names lurking behind 36 hole leader Charley Hoffman at the Shell Houston Open
The Shell Houston Open at the midpoint: As darkness fell in Humble, Texas several players we’re yet to finish their 2nd rounds due to some early lightning concerns. The clubhouse leader is veteran Charley Hoffman who leads at 10-under-par and by one stroke over Jamie Lovemark. A slue of big names remain in contention as we head to the weekend.
None of the names are bigger than now World No. 2 Jordan Spieth, who lost the No. 1 spot this week after Jason Day won for back-to-back weeks. After a very solid 5-under-par 67 on Thursday, Spieth really seemed to struggle on Friday. He shot a 1-over-par 73 and now is 6 shots off the lead. The scoring conditions were no doubt more difficult, but it wasn’t anything that the Texan isn’t used to.
Spieth’s greatest strength is his mental toughness. Unfortunately that has been the thing that has let him down since his 8 shot romp over the field in Maui to start the year. As you watch Spieth go around the golf course it just looks like he is trying too hard and that has got him into trouble. We have seen way too many negative conversations with caddie Michael Greller about his frustration with himself.
It seems like now when Spieth makes an error like making a bogey with a wedge in his hand or missing a 6 footer for birdie, he comes back in a different way than before. We always thought of Spieth being able to bounce back so well from stuff like this and it just seems like to me it has gone the other way. It starts to unravel and he can’t really ever get it back on track.
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This is something that is really concerning to me as he heads into Augusta next week. He needs to believe in himself more and just keep his head down and play the game. Hopefully he can have a solid weekend to get his confidence high before he heads down Magnolia Lane next week.
Rickie Fowler sits one shot ahead of his good buddy Jordan Spieth at 5-under-par for the championship. Fowler seemed to excel in the windy conditions on Friday. Time after time we saw him be able to control his trajectory and hit quality iron shots. That is part of the reason I believe he will get his first major at the Open Championship this year.
The only concern with Fowler is that he has a tendency to put up big numbers. That has really cost him in the first two rounds as he has made two double bogeys. Without those, Fowler would be right up there with the leaders. Nevertheless, he is in a good place heading into the 3rd round. Not many are better at chasing the leaders than Rickie Fowler.
Long hitting Dustin Johnson is at 8-under-par through his first two rounds. Most of that damage was done with an impressive 7-under 65 in round one. With there being very little rough, it opens up the course a bit more for DJ.
As we all know it usually just comes down to whether Johnson can make putts. He has looked very solid on these greens this week and that is why he is up near the top of the leaderboard. I think Dustin Johnson is the guy to beat heading into this weekend. It’s time he show us that.
Some of the other big names in the field find themselves at 4-under-par. That list would include Henrik Stenson, Patrick Reed, and Phil Mickelson. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a round in the mid 60’s from any of these guys to really get themselves back into a place where they can win come Sunday.
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As of now, however, they are all chasing Charley Hoffman who has always played excellently at this golf course. We are about to find out who will be heading to Augusta next week with a win under their belt.