Frys.com Open, Rocco Mediate wins
Rocco Mediate surged to a three stroke victory after scoring a round of 6-under 65 on Friday at CordeValle Golf Club, San Martin, which is the venue for the Frys.com Open.
The player gave an outstanding iron-play and managed to get an eagle posted on his scorecard. The 48-year-old, Pennsylvanian took the 7-iron out for his second shot at the par-4 fourth hole and smashed a 160 yards eagle.
In the first round, he made a hole-in-one on the par 3 third hole and after a gap of one night he followed it with yet another surprise. The veteran has been winless on the PGA Tour since eight years. Therefore, he is eyeing a maiden victory in the tournament.
After two rounds of 64-66, he is seated with an aggregate of 13 under 129.
He was followed by Ryudi Imada, who shot two rounds of 65-67 to take the second spot on the leader board. Next on the list were Dean Wilson and David Duval at a score of 9 under.
United States Ryder Cup player Rickie Fowler fired a 65 to take a share in the fourth spot with Tim Herron, Will MacKenzie, Henrik Stenson and Bo Van Pelt.
Seated in the highest spot, Mediate surprised the crowd with his back to back eagles in consecutive rounds. The last time he was seen with such enthusiasm was back in 2008 US Open, in which he fired similar eagles in the final round. Unfortunately, he lost
against the World number one, Tiger Woods.
Mediate was himself surprised at the hole-in-one shot and the eagle, but at the same time he was happy with his form. The 2001 US Open runner-up had been going through severe back problems, which produced a hurdle in his swing. Moreover, he was overwhelmed
with his momentum, which he was not expecting in the chilly morning conditions. Mediate, teed off at 7:20 am, but this did not hamper his performance. He picked four birdies before hitting an eagle and a bogey.
Speaking to the press he said, “I was a little nervy to start because I was concerned the morning might be chilly and I don't do well in the cold. But it wasn't too bad. I hit a couple of putts and got some momentum. That was my record by miles, 34 holes
without a bogey, I was so disappointed, but how could I be that angry? I wanted to go at least 36 holes. I actually tried to bogey the ninth hole too".
Mediate owed his refined putting to his new swing coach Lee Trevino. He said that he spent four to five hours with him in May, but learned so much from him that he did not want to quit.
The player, who shot the lowest score of the day, Dean Wilson birdied six of the holes. Although, he missed a shot in the starting, he countered it with his superb putting. He told the press that the greens were relatively smooth compared to Thursday’s round.
Therefore, it was easy for him to drive well, find the fairways and then reach the greens.
Duval, who shared the position with Wilson, gave a consistent performance as compared to the first round. He said that he learnt from his mistakes, which he made in the first round and tried to avoid bogeys.
Last but not the least, the young American, Rickie Fowler picked up four birdies to jump into the fifth place. Speaking to the press he said, “I drove the ball better, Rocco set the pace and I needed to stay with the pace. I think I did that".
This is it for the second round of the Frys.com Open, which was taking place at CordeValle Golf Club in San Martin. Rocco Mediate stepped into the lead in the third round with the defending champion, Troy Matteson, falling out of contention after missing
the cut.
Tags: