University Place’s Michael Putnam continued his hot play at the equally hot Albertsons Boise Open on Friday.
With temperatures hovering around 89 degrees at Hillcrest Country Club, Putnam started the second round with three straight birdies, finished with eight total against two bogeys, to post a 6-under round of 65.
“It’s the same exact grass we have at home,” said Putnam, who has posted opening rounds of 62-65 for a tournament-record 15-under 129 total and a two-stroke lead over former University of Washington All-American Richard H. Lee. “We’re just comfortable with it. Little chips around the greens, where some guys grew up with Bermuda (grass) probably fools them the way Bermuda fools us.”
Putnam has chalked up 17 birdies in 36 holes and stamped himself as the man to beat in one of the Web.com Tour’s richest events. The winner’s share is $130,500 out of a total purse of $725,000.
“That’s a lot of birdies,” Putnam said with huge smile. “I’ve had it going at home but this course is perfect. It’s as easy as it’s ever been out here with zero wind and soft greens.”
Lee had the day’s best score at 9-under 62, which included 10 birdies and one bogey. Olympia’s Andres Gonzales made the cut after posting his second consecutive round of 3-under 68.
HEAVY WINDS DELAY WOMEN’S BRITISH OPEN
Play was called off for the day at the Women’s British Open in Hoylake, England, on Friday because of strong wind that disrupted the second round so badly that organizers declared early scores “null and void.”
With wind gusting to 60 mph at Royal Liverpool, players struggled to keep the ball on the tees and greens. Play was suspended at 8:25 a.m. with 36 players on the course and the round was called off at 2 p.m.
England’s Felicity Johnson started with a quintuple-bogey 9. American Cristie Kerr’s ball blew off the 12th tee three times. Co-leader So Yeon Ryu bogeyed her only hole, the 10th, before play was stopped.
The second round is scheduled to restart early today, with conditions forecast to be more playable.The final two rounds are set for Sunday with a two-tee start and no redraw between rounds.
Ryu and fellow South Korean player Haeji Kang topped the leaderboard at 2-under 70
ELSEWHERE
England’s Richard Bland had a 6-under 66 for a one-stroke lead after the second round of the Italian Open in Fiano, Italy. … Australia’s Peter Senior shot a 7-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead at the inaugural Hawaii Championship in Kapolei, Hawaii.
.
Australia’s Karrie Webb, the tournament winner in 1995, 1997 and 2002, was a stroke back along with 16-year-old English amateur Charley Hull, Jiyai Shin, Ai Miyazato, Mika Miyazato, Stacey Keating, Lydia Hall, Vicky Hurst and Kate Kutcher. Two-time defending champion Yani Tseng opened with a 72. New Zealand’s Lydia Ko, the 15-year-old amateur coming off a victory three weeks ago in the Canadian Women’s Open, also was at 72.
HAWAII CHAMPIONSHIP
KAPOLEI, Hawaii (AP) — Australia’s Peter Senior shot a 7-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Champions Tour’s inaugural Hawaii Championship.
Winless in 65 starts in three seasons on the 50-and-over tour, the 53-year-old Senior birdied seven of the first 13 holes and closed with five pars in breezy afternoon conditions.
Senior has five runner-up finishes on the tour, losing three playoffs. He won the 2010 Australian PGA for the last of his 27 regular international victories, and also won the 2010 Australian Senior Open.
Jay Don Blake and Bill Glasson were tied for second. Blake, coming off a victory three weeks ago in the Boeing Classic, finished with eight straight pars after making six birdies in an eight-hole stretch.
Mark McNulty and Eduardo Romero shot 67, and Charles Schwab Cup leader Tom Lehman was another stroke back along with Duffy Waldorf and Willie Wood.
ITALIAN OPEN
FIANO, Italy (AP) — England’s Richard Bland birdied his final three holes for a 6-under 66 and a one-stroke lead after the second round of the Italian Open.
The 39-year-old Bland, winless in 15 seasons on the European Tour, had a 12-under 132 total at Royal Park I Roveri. France’s Gregory Bourdy, Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, South Africa’s Garth Mulroy and Scotland’s Marc Warren were tied for second. Bourdy had a 64, Fernandez-Castano and Warren shot 65, and Mulroy had a 67.
The three European Ryder Cup players in the field had solid rounds. Germany’s Martin Kaymer was 8 under after a 66. Italy’s Francesco Molinari was 7 under after a 69, and Belgium’s Nicolas Colsaerts was 6 under after a 67. Italian teenager Matteo Manassero also was 6 under after a 69.
AP
09/14/12 19:27
AP Entitlement Match: 100502, Member Choice Sports Option
AP Entitlement Match: 30599, AP Sports News (S Wire only)
AP Entry ID: urn:publicid:ap.org:61f08b44e7934608b17de0a0ed479723
AP Management ID: urn:publicid:ap.org:c035ac6784af4718badaa675c4d17b24
RSS file: e:\quickwire\getwire\inet\port7dl\rssfeed 09-14-12 19-46-26.1.xml
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.