Fred Couples dominated the second day of the Northern Trust Open, shooting a five-under par score of 66 that gave him a two stroke clubhouse lead, before play was called off due to bad light. First round leaders J.B Holmes and John Senden are both tied for
the 2nd place after shooting a 69.
Couples, a former World No 1, last won a tournament in 2003 and now has a limited playing schedule after he hurt his back in 2009. At 51 he is one of the oldest players at the Northern Trust Open. He attributes his performance to his familiarity with the
Riviera Country Club. Couples claims to have played around 150 rounds on the golf course, giving him a distinct advantage over a very strong field.
He made a spectacular 100 foot putt for an eagle on the first hole, and racked up three more birdies on his way to a 66. Couples would’ve been sharing the top spot with fellow countryman JB Holmes had Holmes not shot a double bogey on the 18th
after three consecutive birdies. "He plays very well around here. Freddie is just a legend”, said Paul Casey regarding Couples’ performance.
Earlier in the on Thursday, the lowest first round scores ever for this event were posted as 9 people tied for the lead. These included Scotsman Martin Laird, Aussies Robert Allenby and Aaron Baddeley and American
Bill Haas.
In the second round Allenby could only manage a one under par 70 and dropped to third place. Baddeley too is tied for third, but still had four holes to go in his second round before play was called off. Meanwhile Bill Haas had a disappointing day, shooting
a terrible 74. Although he has yet to win this year he has featured in the leaderboards of most recent tournaments. His showing in the 2nd round, however, has sent him down to 7th place.
Martin Laird also fared only a little better. Scotland’s topped ranked golfer shot a 73 on Friday bringing him down to 6th place on the scoreboard. World No. 4 Phil
Mickleson has also had a rather disappointing tournament so far. In the first round the American had to settle for a level par 71. Along with making two birdies on his opening holes and two later on, he also made
four bogeys. He did marginally better in the second round, scoring a 70, and is now tied for 7th place.
Also featuring on the scoreboard are World No. 6 Paul Casey, former World No. 1 Vijay Singh and Justin Rose who are all sharing 4th place. First round leader Spencer Levin is tied for second place but still has 3 more holes to play.
Fred Couples takes a lead at the Northern Trust Open, 5-under par (Fixed headline)
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