Hideki Matsuyama looks incredulously at his ball moving across the green. The Japanese player was ready to putt, and before even placing his putter on the ground, the ball started to move as if it had a life of its own. Quite something. We’re not talking about oscillating or changing position, no, it was more than two metres. Seconds later, the PGA Tour referees sounded the horn to suspend play. Relief. Respite. Play was suspended for just over an hour and a half and was later called off due to lack of light with 29 golfers still on the course. Action will resume this Friday at first light, and the third round, with the cut already made, will be played in threesomes and from two tees.
The second round of the Farmers Insurance Open was a small hell. The wind blew strongly at Torrey Pines, with gusts over 50 kilometres per hour. The course turned into a trap, especially the greens. Those who fared the worst were those who played the South course on Wednesday in the first round. They were very optimistic on Thursday. Having overcome the monster, the clearly more difficult of the two courses, they were supposed to take advantage of the North to move closer to the lead. Remember that after the first 18 holes, fourteen of the top seventeen players had played on the North. There was reason to rub their hands.
But golf is at the mercy of Mother Nature, and she, with her whims and fancies, can ruin any plan. That’s what happened this Thursday. The wind particularly affected the North course. It was crosswind on practically every hole, to the point that the average score was higher than on the South, something very unusual in these parts. Conclusion: the golfers who benefited the most are those who played the North on Wednesday and the South on Thursday.
How much of a massacre was the second round? The numbers help explain it. The lead on the first day was nine under, and yesterday it dropped to six, shared by Ludvig Aberg (-6), who carded a 75 on the South, and Lanto Griffin (-6), who made a heroic par on the South. Of the 70 golfers currently within the cut, a total of 45 played the North-South rotation, and only 25 did it the other way around. This is also the luck of golf.
The best player of the difficult rotation is Danny Walker (-5), followed by Sungjae Im (-4) and Chris Gotterup (-4), who had the best round of the day on the North alongside Jason Day (-1), a sensational card of 69. Only three players went under 70 on both courses yesterday. The third was Jason Suber on the South, also with 69.
Obviously, the setbacks were the order of the day, starting with the defending champion. Matthieu Pavon shot 80 and missed the cut by a mile. Max Homa withdrew. And also out are Matt Wallace, Thriston Lawrence (another 80), Francesco Molinari, Justin Rose (another 80), Tony Finau, Niklas Norgaard, Si Woo Kim, or Shane Lowry. It’s news that the Irishman didn’t take advantage of the tough conditions.
Among those who have made the cut are Danny Willett, Sahith Theegala, Keegan Bradley, Jason Day, Sami Valimaki, or Hideki Matsuyama. Matteo Manassero is still in it with holes yet to play. The Italian is at -1 with two holes to go, and the cut will be at +1.
