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March 28, 2014
Second-Round Notes – Friday, March 28, 2014
Weather: Partly cloudy in the morning before becoming mostly sunny and warmer in the afternoon. Highs were in the mid-80s with W/NW winds at 6-12 mph with occasional higher gusts. Highest gust was 26 mph.
A total of 82 players made the cut at 3-over-par 145.
Second-Round Leaderboard
| Steven Bowditch | -8 | (69-67) |
|---|---|---|
| Chad Collins | -7 | (71-66) |
| Andrew Loupe | -7 | (67-70) |
| Cameron Beckman | -5 | (69-70) |
| Pat Perez | -5 | (68-71) |
Steven Bowditch
The Australian native has posted consecutive rounds in the 60s (69-67). It marked the first time he had posted consecutive rounds in the 60s prior to the weekend since last July at the Sanderson Farms Championship in Mississippi.
His best finish so far in the 2013-‘14 PGA TOUR Season was a T19 at February’s AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
Was a two-time winner on the Web.com Tour (2005 Jacob’s Creek Open Championship & 2010 Soboba Golf Classic).
In 109 previous starts on the PGA TOUR, his best finish was a T2 at last year’s The Greenbrier Classic where he was one of four players who finished two back of Jonas Blixt
So far through two rounds, he is 9-under-par on the back nine, but 1-over-par on the front nine.
This marks the first time in his career on the PGA TOUR that he has led or shared the lead in any round. His best previous position was a T2 on four occasions (one 1st rd., three 2nd rds), with one of those happening here a year ago after the second round. He would eventually finish T69.
Andrew Loupe
PGA TOUR rookie Andrew Loupe (pronounced: Loop) is making his eighth professional start on the PGA TOUR. Prior to the 2013-‘14 PGA TOUR Season, Loupe’s only other start on TOUR came as an amateur in 2011 at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans (MC).
After missing the cut in his first five starts this season, Loupe has since finished T27 at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and T12 at the Puerto Rico Open. On the Monterey Peninsula, Loupe opened with a career-low, 8-under 63 to take the 18-hole lead by two strokes.
Loupe made his way to the PGA TOUR this season by virtue of his 32nd-place finish on the 2013 Web.com Tour priority list. The 2011 LSU grad garnered a pair of top-10 finishes in 25 starts on that Tour last season.
When darkness forced the suspension of the first round Thursday evening, Loupe returned Friday morning to finish his round, beginning on the third tee. In all, he played 25 holes on Friday.
Chad Collins
The Indiana native rebounded from an opening-round 71 with a 6-under-par 66 on Friday. His round included seven birdies and just one bogey.
He returned to the PGA TOUR this season after finishing 25th on the 2013 Web.com Tour priority list.
Was a two-time winner on the Web.com Tour, including the 2005 Henrico County Open and the 2009 Miccosukee Championship.
In 12 starts this season he owns one top-10 finish which came in January at the Humana Challenge. He fired successive rounds of 65 on the weekend.
He claimed three individual NCAA Division III titles while playing at Methodist University.
Pat Perez
Followed his opening-round 4-under-par 68 with a 1-under-par 71 and is currently T4. He trails Steven Bowditch by four strokes.
He is making his eighth start in the Valero Texas Open. In two previous starts at TPC San Antonio, Perez finished T5 in 2011 and T22 in 2010.
At the 2002 Valero Texas Open, he was tied for first place after 36 holes with eventual champion Loren Roberts.
Has collected three top-10 finishes in his first nine starts of the 2013-’14 PGA TOUR Season, Perez continues to enjoy his best season on the PGA TOUR since 2009 when he claimed his only TOUR title, the Humana Challenge. In 12 events this year, Perez’ only missed cut came in his second start last October at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
In January, Perez claimed T8 honors at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Two starts later, he claimed his second career runner-up finish with T2 honors at the Farmers Insurance Open in front of a hometown crowd. His third top-10 finish of the season came at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (T7).
Perez, whose father Tony was born in San Antonio, has “hundreds” of relatives still living in the area.
Cameron Beckman
The San Antonio resident made his third cut in four starts this year after rounds of 69-70 and is currently T4 at 5-under-par 139.
He has one-putted 24 of his 36 holes, including 14 on Friday. He made 10 of those during a stretch from Nos. 8-17.
He is playing this week on a sponsor’s exemption and is making his 19th start in the event and 18th consecutive. His best finish is T12 in 2006. Since moving to TPC San Antonio in 2010, Beckman has missed the cut three times. He finished T63 in 2012.
Phil Mickelson
Making his first start in the Valero Texas Open since 1992 (T47), Phil Mickelson struggled in round one with a 5-over 77. His opening-round 77 is his highest first-round score since a 79 at the 2012 Memorial Tournament, an event he withdrew from before the second round. However, he rebounded on Friday to post a 2-under-par 70 and moved up from T134 to T68.
One of the keys for Mickelson on Friday was his putting. After posting 32 putts on Thursday, he had just 24 on Friday, including 12 one-putts. He had just five in his opening round.
Among Mickelson’s 42 PGA TOUR wins are four from the state of Texas (1996 HP Byron Nelson Championship, 2000/2008 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial and 2011 Shell Houston Open).
Jordan Spieth
2013 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year Jordan Spieth rebounded from an opening-round 3-over-par 75 with a 2-under-par 70 and was T42 after 36 holes.
Spieth is making his third consecutive start at the Valero Texas Open. The former Texas Longhorn missed last year’s cut and in 2012, as an amateur, finished T41.
Miscellaneous Notes
So far this season, eight of 18 second-round leaders/co-leaders have gone on to win the event. The most recent to do so was Patrick Reed at the WGC-Cadillac Championship.
Since 2000, five of the 14 second-round leaders/co-leaders has gone on to win the event. The two most recent were Brendan Steele in 2011 and Ben Curtis in 2012.
Among those who appeared destined to miss the cut when play was called for the day were defending champion Martin Laird (+5) and 2011 champion Brendan Steele (+6).
Hole No. 9 was the most difficult to make birdie in the second round. So far, only Kevin Na, Wes Roach, Stephen Ames and Greg Chalmers have made a birdie on the par-4, 474-yard hole. The field averaged 4.482 (+.482)
Andrew Loupe leads all players with 12 birdies.
There are 15 players in this week’s field also competing at the 2014 Masters Tournament; K.J. Choi, Brendon de Jonge, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, Brandon Grace, Billy Horschel, John Huh, Trevor Immelman, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Phil Mickelson, John Senden, Jordan Spieth, Jimmy Walker and Mike Weir.
Fred Funk, the oldest player in the field at 57-years-old, has posted rounds of 70-72 and is currently T16.
As part of tomorrow’s Stronghold Ltd. Military Heroes Pro-Am on the Canyons course, there will be a flyover by vintage aircraft near the practice facility at approximately 7:35 a.m. Saturday morning. Prior to the flyover, the practice facility will be the site of a Military Color Guard and the playing of the National Anthem from 7:20 a.m. until 7:30 a.m.
Five players withdrew prior to or during their rounds on Friday – Ricky Barnes (prior to round), Erik Compton (during round/illness), Tommy Gainey (during round/elbow), Dudley Hart (prior to round/back) and Bryce Molder (during round/personal reasons).
Bogey-free Rounds
| R1: | Justin Hicks (69), Ben Curtis (70), Scott Brown (70) |
|---|---|
| R2: | None |
Scoring Averages at TPC San Antonio
| Round | Front 9 | Back 9 | Total | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | 36.736 | 36.264 | 73.000 | -- |
| R2 | 37.604 | 36.094 | 73.698 | 73.343 |
ABOUT VALERO
Valero Energy Corporation, through its subsidiaries (collectively, Valero), is a multinational manufacturer and marketer of petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products, and sells its products primarily in the United States (U.S.), Canada, the United Kingdom (U.K.), Ireland and Latin America. Valero owns 15 petroleum refineries located in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. with a combined throughput capacity of approximately 3.2 million barrels per day. Valero is a joint venture member in Diamond Green Diesel Holdings LLC, which owns two renewable diesel plants located in the U.S. Gulf Coast region with a combined production capacity of approximately 1.2 billion gallons per year, and Valero owns 12 ethanol plants located in the U.S. Mid-Continent region with a combined production capacity of approximately 1.6 billion gallons per year. Valero manages its operations through its Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol segments. Please visit investorvalero.com for more information.
ABOUT VALERO IN THE COMMUNITY
Valero Energy Corporation, through its subsidiaries (collectively, Valero), and the Valero Energy Foundation are committed to improving the quality of life in communities where Valero has major operations. In 2023, Valero, its employees and the foundation collectively generated more than $77 million in charitable support through direct/in-kind donations, fundraising and volunteerism. Valero employees logged more than 127,000 volunteer hours in 2023 for hundreds of projects in their communities. Valero provides funding to a variety of nonprofit agencies for programs and services supporting education, basic needs, health care and civic initiatives. Through the overwhelming support of sponsors, the foundation’s signature programs, the Valero Texas Open and Benefit for Children, generated more than $23 million raised in 2023 for charities across the United States.
ABOUT THE VALERO TEXAS OPEN
The Valero Texas Open is the sixth-oldest professional tournament in golf worldwide, the third-oldest on the PGA TOUR and the longest held in the same city. In 2022, the tournament celebrated its 100th anniversary.
Its list of champions includes some of the greatest names in golf history: Walter Hagen, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Ben Crenshaw, Hale Irwin, Lee Trevino, Nick Price, Justin Leonard, Zach Johnson, Adam Scott, Jimmy Walker, Jordan Spieth and 2019, 2023 champion Corey Conners to name a few.
Since Valero became title sponsor in 2002, the tournament has become a leader in charitable fundraising among PGA TOUR events. The Valero Texas Open, together with its Benefit for Children and Champions fore Charity initiatives, has contributed more than $232 million to hundreds of worthy charities since inception. Please visit www.ValeroTexasOpen.com for more information.
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