Major second-round problems for Canucks
Hearn falls off leaderboard, Delaet out of Championship
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Neither David Hearn nor Graham DeLaet was satisfied with his play Friday, but at least Hearn gets to go the distance in the PGA Championship. DeLaet gets to go home. Hearn plummeted from a tie for third after Thursday’s opening round into a tie for 50th with a 6-over-par 76, but he remained well inside the cut-off point of top 70. He’ll contest the final two rounds of the season’s final major championship at Oak Hill Country Club.
“I’m not too satisfied with today’s round after putting myself in the good spot that I was yesterday,” said the 34-yearold pro from Brantford, Ont. “Even on a bad day, I probably should have been better than I was today, but that’s golf.”
The biggest difference in Hearn’s play was his putting, with 33 strokes required, eight more than in the opening round. Some of that might have been attributable to spike marks and footprints that accumulated on the Oak Hill greens throughout the day, which began with several hours of heavy rain.
However, U.S. golfer Jason Dufner played at exactly the same time as Hearn, although they started on opposite nines, and Dufner used just 26 putts to fashion a course tournament-record 63. That took him to top spot on the leaderboard at 9-under 131.
“I would have loved to have put in a good round and be more in contention heading into the weekend,” Hearn said.
“Nine under is a tough number to get to. Dufner has played amazing golf.
“If I have a good weekend, there’s no reason I can’t shoot three or four under each day and have a nice finish.”
DeLaet, 31, of Weyburn, Sask., admitted to being somewhat worn down by a busy summer of competition and travel, after also shooting a 76 that left him at 6-over 146, three strokes over the cut line.
So, even with this week off, he’s going to pass up next week’s regular PGA Tour event so he can spend that time with his wife, Ruby, at their residence in Boise, Idaho. He’ll probably also head to a practice range in search a cure for the ball-striking woes that plagued him at Oak Hill.
DeLaet hit just eight of 18 greens in regulation — 18 of 36 for the tournament.
“It feels pretty good around the greens, but that’s probably the worst I’ve hit my irons all year,” DeLaet said. “It’s disappointing.
“I was hitting them solid, but I just didn’t know where they were going.”