Todd’s hole-out helps cut chance
In jeopardy of missing the projected cut line of even par, Brendon Todd holed out from a greenside bunker from 95 feet, 4 inches for a par 3 on his final hole, No. 9, to remain 1-under for the tournament.
“When you know you have to get up and down to have a chance to make the cut. … I was in a tough spot and my caddie told me to focus in because every shot matters and I hit a beauty,” said Todd, whose hole-out completed a 5-under 67 second round.
After pulling his tee shot into a bunker using a hybrid on the 234-yard hole, Todd left his second shot in the bunker, leaving him a challenging third shot. With one foot placed out of the bunker in his stance, Todd pulled off the shot to salvage a muchneeded par.
“It (ball) runs off the mound like it’s supposed to, and I got lucky that it rolled into the hole,” said Todd, who didn’t get frustrated by hitting the ball in the sand twice and composed himself.
“I wasn’t not going to try on the last shot,” said Todd, who scored nine shots better than his 76 on Thursday. “I needed it because I haven’t made a cut yet (this fall). I’m playing good golf, just got to get in there (for the weekend).”
Wind makes 18th play as hardest
The par-4 No. 18 hole was a bear on Friday, playing as the most difficult on the course with a scoring average of 4.891 due to the swirling wind. There were no birdies recorded in the second round. In Thursday’s first round, there were 13 birdies. On Friday, there were 40 pars, 43 bogeys, 26 double bogeys and one other.
On Friday, especially earlier when wind gusts reached 25 mph and the temperature dropped to the low 60s in midmorning, the 18th played more like a par-5.
The hole may wind up being the most difficult par-4 in a single round on the PGA Tour this season. Pars were being celebrated by the players. And that’s after tee boxes were moved up.
“I don’t think there’s another tee box they could have moved it to,” said Mark Hubbard, who bogeyed the hole but sits at 7-under, good for a share of sixth place. “Basically after my tee shot, I was playing for five and they (playing partners Brendon Todd, Chad Campbell) both made fours with 3-woods from the fairway.
“I said good birdie to both of them. At that point, I think that was my first bogey of the tournament, and in my mind I was still bogey free.”
Weather creates ‘tale of two days’
Shawn Stefani and his playing partners caught the brunt of Friday’s early morning nasty weather that dropped the conditions from hot and humid to cold and windy. Stefani, Ricky Barnes and D.J. Trahan were the first group off at 7:15 a.m. on the 10th tee box.
The threesome got 7½ holes in before play was suspended. Over those holes, Stefani, from Mont Belvieu, was 3-under for the round. Stefani came back to birdie the eighth hole for a front-nine 33. On the back nine, he managed two birdies but carded two double bogeys — including No. 18 — for a back-nine 3-over-39.
“It was cold and windy, that’s all there is to it,” said Stefani, whose group didn’t finishing until around 2 p.m. “It was definitely a tale of two days. You wake up this morning, it was hot and humid and sticky, no wind, then you come back out here and it’s blowing 25 (mph) and cold. You’re not prepared for it. It played really tough this afternoon.”
Hossler set up to make a run
Beau Hossler, who was beaten by Ian Poulter ina playoff to win the 2018 Houston Open, played 17 of his 18 holes on Friday in less-than-desirable conditions, battling the wind and cold all day.
Despite the conditions that resulted in not all golfers finishing Friday’s second round due to darkness, Hossler put together a 3-under 69 round that included four straight birdies on holes 2-5. At 5-under over the first two rounds over the Golf Club of Houston’s Tournament Course, Hossler is only five shots out of the lead and well positioned to make a run at the leaderboard over the final two days.
“I feel good for the weekend,” Hossler said. “I like the golf course and I’m looking forward to it. The key is to be patient and try to be a little conservative and be aggressive when you have your opportunities.”