Jason Day outshines Woods at The Barclays
Where day one was in favour of Tiger Woods, day two at The Barclays inclined more towards the Australian player, Jason Day. He hasn’t received an exact answer about his health, which seems to slowly drain away his energy, but he did finish off with three late birdies for a 3-under 67 and a one shot lead. Jason Day was extremely confident about his position at Barclays. During the play, nine players competed for a shot at the number one position at some time in the game. Kevin Streelman and Vaughn Taylor were a few who were also really close to being in the lead.
As the sun was glaring at The Barclay’s golf course, Tiger Wood’s struggled and missed a 20-inch par putt on the fifth hole and also failed to make a single birdie on the easier front nine. He ended up with a 73, which was 8 shots less than his first round. Woods didn’t quite rise above all in the second round. Looking to the positive side, however, he doesn’t have to stress about Phil Mickelson replacing him as the number one in the World this week, since Mickelson missed the cut. This shouldn’t be taken lightly at all by Tiger because Phil Mickelson is still pretty determined to stay in the battle to be number one.
One player really on top of his game was Kevin Streelman. He ran off six birdies in a seven-hole stretch for a 63 due to which he is now in the final group Saturday. With his grandparents buried in a cemetery nearby and his parents residing in the vicinity, Streelman has a special attachment to the Ridgewood country club. Various players got more excited when they achieved a decent score and thus were closer to Ryder Cup qualification. All the players are eager to earn a wildcard pick for Pavin’s US Ryder Cup team. Stewart Cink, Martin Laird, and John Senden shot sixty-nine, sixty-seven and sixty-nine respectively.
Tiger Woods, who even after the poor performance is at number 112, is confirmed about lasting through next week. He wants to go for the U.S Ryder Cup- for which the team will be announced on September 7th. Even though he didn’t do that well on the second day, his performance so far has been affirming and he does look like a worthy contender. The actual mishap that ruined Wood’s game for the second day was on the 291-yard fifth hole, where Woods missed a par putt. "I didn't have the speed at all on the greens. I was leaving it way short or blowing it by the hole. And it caught up with me", the 14-time major winner said.
In the Ryder Cup, auditions for the European and U.S teams are taking place. The European team will be confirmed on Sunday. Irish golfer, Padraig Harrington, said the last thing he wants is to come here and miss the cut or play poorly. Mickelson, unfortunately, did not make the cut due to four strokes. For the third consecutive time, he has missed the cut and for the ninth consecutive time he has not been able to take Wood’s place as No.1.
Moreover, the second day proved to be as exciting as expected. The leading man, Jason Day who was charmingly taken aback with his achievement due to the lack of practice he’s had, because of his health. He’s still not been diagnosed correctly and was afraid he might be up for a sinus surgery. A doctor subsequent to testing him proposed that Day might have mononucleosis. Streelman really shocked everyone with his remarkable play, and on the other hand Mickleson was somewhat of a disappointment and is reported to have left without saying a word to the press. Tiger Woods, who is especially in the spotlight following his divorce, didn’t play quite as expected but still there are high hopes from him.
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