Second-Round Notes – Friday, July 31, 2020
Second-Round Leaderboard
Kyle Stanley +8/+14 – (+22)
Matthias Schwab +9/+11 – (+20)
Robert Streb +11/+9 – (+20)
Branden Grace +10/+10 – (+20)
Things to Know
- Kyle Stanley holds 36-hole lead/co-lead for sixth time seeking to convert for the win for the first time
- Austria’s Matthias Schwab seeks to become the first sponsor exemption to win since Matthew Wolff (2019 3M Open)
- Robert Streb has never missed the cut in five appearances at the Barracuda Championship
- Four bogey-free rounds were all recorded in the morning wave
- Winner earns a spot in the field at next week’s PGA Championship if not already exempt; top two players, not otherwise exempt, finishing in the top-10 and ties, earn exemptions into 2020 U.S. Open
Second-Round Lead Notes
7 Second-round leaders/co-leaders to win Barracuda Championship (most recent: Greg Chalmers/2016) 12 Second-round leaders/co-leaders to win on TOUR in 2019-20 (most recent: Michael Thompson/3M Open)
Kyle Stanley (+22/1st)
- Two-time TOUR winner (2012 Waste Management Phoenix Open, 2017 Quicken Loans National) mixed one eagle, six birdies and three bogeys en route to +14 points and a +2-point lead through 36 holes
- Marks sixth time with 36-hole lead/co-lead on TOUR, failing to convert previous five into a win (most recent, 2020 Puerto Rico Open/T3)
- Sits No. 131 in FedExCup while seeking to advance to the FedExCup Playoffs for the fifth consecutive season and eight overall
- Lone top-10 in 18 starts this season; T3/Puerto Rico Open
- Three previous appearances at Barracuda Championship (T8/2014, T56/2015, 80th/2016)
- One of two players with two eagles through 36 holes (Roberto Castro/+14/T19)
Additional Notes
- Playing on a sponsor exemption, non-member Matthias Schwab (+20/T2) makes his sixth PGA TOUR start and first at the Barracuda Championship; last sponsor exemption and last non-member to win on TOUR; Matthew Wolff/2019 3M Open
- In four previous starts at the Barracuda Championship, Robert Streb (+20/T2) has never missed the cut (best finish: T3/2019)
- At No. 79 in the Official World Golf Ranking, Branden Grace (+20/T2) is highest ranked player in the field; birdied four of last six holes to reach +20 points in his first appearance in this tournament; entered this week off four consecutive missed cuts
- PGA TOUR rookie Maverick McNealy (+19/T5) birdied his opening two holes for the second consecutive day; sits No. 60 in FedExCup standings; two career top-10s have both come this season (T5/AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, T8/Rocket Mortgage Classic); finished T65 at 2017 Barracuda Championship
- Troy Merritt (+19/T5), runner-up at 2019 Barracuda Championship, began bogey-eagle-bogey before notching three birdies in a row (Nos. 7-9) en route to a +11 score; in next week’s PGA Championship, replacing Francesco Molinari who withdrew Friday
- Emiliano Grillo (+18/T7) seeks second PGA TOUR title in his 126th start; win would mark his second title in California (2015 Safeway Open/Napa, California); finished T18 at 2019 Barracuda Championship
- Cameron Percy (+18/T7) makes seventh appearance at Barracuda Championship, advancing to the weekend once in six previous starts (T13/2016); since becoming a TOUR member in 2010, has yet to advance to the FedExCup Playoffs (entered this week No. 139)
- Russell Knox (+18/T7) advances to the weekend after 10 consecutive missed cuts entering this week
- Peter Uihlein (+18/T7) makes third appearance at Barracuda Championship (MC/2013, T18/2019); owns nine top-10 finishes in 97 starts on TOUR, but none in the top-3
- 18-hole co-leaders Adam Schenk (+18/T7) and Ryan Moore (+16/T14) fail to maintain share of lead
- After beginning the day at T118, Wyndham Clark (+8/T50) notched nine birdies en route to a +13 score; nine birdies in a single round is one shy of his career best (R1/2020 Waste Management Phoenix Open)
Barracuda Bonus
The first player to post an albatross on No. 12 (+8 points) in each round will receive a $100,000 charitable donation in his name. Half of all charity dollars will go to local Reno-Tahoe charities (which the tournament will direct) and the remaining 50% will be directed to a 501(c)(3) of the winning player’s choice.
- No player has made an albatross on No. 12 in 36 holes however, five eagles have been recorded at No. 12 in the first two rounds (Seamus Power/R1, Kyle Stanley/R2, Patrick Rodgers/R2, Michael Gligic/R2, Eric Axley/R2) Bogey-free rounds R1 (4): Adam Schenk (+14), Ryan Moore (+14), Seamus Power (+11), Charlie Beljan (+4) R2 (4): Alex Noren (+8), Tim Wilkinson (+8), Brian Davis (+4), Bronson Burgoon (+4)
Kyle Stanley (leader) Quotes
14 points in your round today. Can we just get some comments about how it went out there?
KYLE STANLEY: Yeah, it was good. Actually I’m not sure what I shot. It’s kind of weird, the format out here, you’re kind of focusing more on points than you are what your score is. But I had another eagle today which was nice. I had one yesterday. That’s about half of my point total, which was nice. But yeah, I’ve been driving it well. It’s kind of fun with this altitude, you can kind of swing away. We have some shorter par-4s out here so you can make a go at some of those, a little bit of risk-reward, and just kind of kept the ball in front of me and a pretty clean round of golf.
Can you walk us through that eagle on 12?
KYLE STANLEY: Yeah, so I pushed my drive a little bit and cut a 5-wood, and it caught the far-right side of the green, and then I made a pretty long putt. I’m not sure how far it was. Yeah, it was nice to — second day in a row with one of those, which is nice. Hopefully I can keep that going.
You already have a top 10 at this event. What is it about this format that you like?
KYLE STANLEY: Gosh, I don’t know. It’s a different golf course. I like playing here. I liked the old one, as well. Like I said, you’re not as much focusing on your score as you are just trying to tally up all the points. I don’t know, maybe that mindset. But I feel like I’ve been playing well for a while. My scores maybe haven’t shown that, but I felt pretty good coming into the week. Nice to have a good couple days.
You’re considered one of the bubble boys in the FedExCup standings as we get closer to the Playoffs. How important is this event as we get closer to the Playoffs?
KYLE STANLEY: Yeah, I’m not in the PGA next week, so I have this and Wyndham. Yeah, time to get going. To make the Playoffs I’m going to need a good week here, and hopefully I can have a good weekend and get it done.
What’s kind of your mindset to get yourself in contention on Sunday?
KYLE STANLEY: Yeah, just more of the same. My swing is feeling great. I have a couple keys I’m kind of focusing on with my putting to keep my head still, and really just more of the same. Just keep giving myself opportunities and take advantage of the par-5s and some of the shorter par-4s, and yeah, just more of the same.
Maverick McNealy (Stanford grad) Quotes
A pretty good round out there today. What went well for you?
MAVERICK McNEALY: I didn’t get into much trouble today, which was great, but the name of the game is give yourself a lot of birdie looks and avoid doubles and worse. I gave myself a chance for birdie just about every hole and rolled my putter pretty well again.
It’s a different format this week with modified Stableford format. Do you feel like that fits into your game?
MAVERICK McNEALY: Yes, it does. I think I make a lot of birdies, and I like the aggressive mindset, and I’ve just got to keep myself in every hole and just give my putter as many chances as possible.
Last year Collin won this tournament to kind of boost his career. Does that motivate you earn your first PGA TOUR victory here?
MAVERICK McNEALY: Definitely, definitely. The PGA TOUR is handing out a two-year exemption this week, and that’s the focus of my goal and try to finish off the season strong for the FedExCup Playoffs.
We’re halfway through. What do you have to do this weekend to get yourself into contention on Sunday?
MAVERICK McNEALY: Keep hitting a lot of birdies. Goes are going low and the course is gettable, but like I said, I’ve just got to keep the ball in play, give myself a lot of birdie looks and roll the putter well.
Compiled by Dennis Miller