Checking In at the Halfway Point at The Greenbrier
The second round of the Greenbrier is over. Let’s check-in and see what has happened.
The first tournament of the year has reached its halfway point, as A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier has completed Friday’s round. Although the offseason was short, many of these golfers have started off strong.
Robby Shelton started off Day One with a -8 62, taking a two-shot lead over a handful of golfers, which included Kevin Na amidst the group. Shelton managed nine birdies, with his only bogey coming on the 18th hole.
Scottie Scheffler must have been watching Shelton closely because he decided to join him. Scheffler teed off early on Friday morning and shot a 62 of his own. His was a little cleaner than Shelton’s, as Scheffler went 32-30 in a bogey-free round. He was on fire from hole 9 to hole 17, carding seven birdies over the nine-hole stretch.
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Pairing that with a 65 on Day One, and Scheffler finds himself sitting atop the leaderboard at -13, heading into the weekend at The Greenbrier.
Scheffler wasn’t the only golfer on Day Two to shoot a 62. Joaquin Niemann did the same, albeit in a slightly different way. while Scheffler was eight birdies and no bogeys, Niemann shot his 62 with six birdies and one eagle. It still led to him being tied atop the leaderboard with Scheffler.
Adam Long would get his 62 the same way that Scheffler did, with a bogey-free round. He currently sits -12, one back of the leaders.
The guy that we really need to talk about here is Kevin Chappell. He shot 71 on the first day and was one over. His second round at the Greenbrier was a much different story. He started off with a par on the 10th hole. Wanna know what he did on his next nine holes?
Birdie.
Yeah. On all of them. He had nine straight birdies. NINE STRAIGHT BIRDIES.
NINE STRAIGHT BIRDIES!
https://twitter.com/GolfDigest/status/1172599833057726464
How incredible is that? He tied the record set by Mark Calcavecchia, who did it back in 2009 during the second round of the RBC Canadian Open. He almost made it 10 but left his birdie putt short by a couple of feet.
He sat -9 through 11 holes, with a legitimate chance to set the all-time record low round. The fact that he was able to take advantage of a par 70 course so strongly on the back nine put him in a fantastic position to do so.
He would end up shooting a 59 after missing an 11 footer on the last hole. That would translate to -11, leaving him -10 for the tournament, and within sight of the leaders.
One of my favorite parts of any tournament is the cut line. Watching players fight their way over it, or stumble their way below it.
Sepp Straka played great on Friday, shooting 66. It just wasn’t quite enough to make up for the +1 71 he shot Thursday, and he ended up right below the cut line of -4. Rhein Gibson shot a 71 just like Sepp Straka on Thursday. Unlike Straka, he was able to get to 65 and made it right on the cut line of -4.
Denny McCarthy took it to the course on Friday after struggling on Thursday. A 72 put him behind the pack, but he ate up the Greenbrier event Friday, shooting a 61!
Joel Dahmen, one of my dark horse selections, shot a 65 as well today, but after a 69 yesterday, it brought him to -6 for the tournament. Robert Streb did the exact same thing, carding 69-65 as well. The top Canadian on the board, Nick Taylor, shot a 65 as well. He had a 70 yesterday, and sits at -5 heading into the weekend.
On the other end of the spectrum, there were some golfers who really struggled during the second round. Jimmy Walker was one of them, shooting 65-74, and finishing well below the cut at -1.
Patton Kizzire needed to shoot a few shots under par in order to make the cut today, after shooting even par in his opening round. Instead, He shot one of the worst rounds of the day, as a 77 put him down near the bottom of the leaderboard.
Maverick McNealy only needed a par round, maybe a 69 in order to make the cut. Like Kizzire, he struggled mightily and shot a 76, ending the tournament at +3.
Next. Golf Fashion Gone Wild: The Battle of the Short Socks. dark
If the opening two rounds of the Greenbrier are any indication of what this weekend has to bring, we should be in for a great finish to the opening tournament of the year. Here’s hoping for some more rounds in the low 60’s!