Live Report: CA Championship, Round 2 (PGATOUR.com)

March 12, 2010

Phil Mickelson (left) and Rory McIlroy tee off at 9:34 a.m. ET.

HARD WORK PAYS OFF (10:05 a.m.): Ernie Els didn’t exactly come to the World Golf Championships-CA Championship with momentum.

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The 75 he shot in the final round of The Honda Classic was his worst of the season. And that tie for 67th Sunday was glaring after four top-20 finishes, including joint fifth at the Farmers Insurance Open.

“I’ve had a pretty decent season up to that point,” Els acknowledged. “We haven’t really played in big winds, and last week the wind blew, and as I say, I just got my ball position way too far up in my stance, started chasing the ball, was hitting these big, high hooks and big cuts. It wasn’t pretty. So I really had to work on it.

“Sometimes that’s a good thing, because then you really go back to the board and start over, basically.”

The hours on the range refining his technique apparently have paid off. The Big Easy birdied his first hole Friday and moved to 5 under for the tournament and two strokes off the lead.

“I got out of whack,” Els said simply. “My ball position, my posture and my stance, just the basics. When that’s not right, I normally don’t hit the ball very well. So I went back to the drawing board, basically, and just worked on all of that. And that’s a feel thing. That just makes you’ve got to just hit a million golf balls to get used to a new feel, and so that’s what I did.”

Els didn’t need to get a feel for TPC Blue Monster, though. He’s a former champion at Doral, winning the 2002 Genuity Championship.—Helen Ross

ANOTHER CHANGE (9:38): Charl Schwartzel must not have liked all that company at the top of the leaderboard. So he proceeded to eagle the first hole from 10 feet to take a two-stroke advantage.

It’s early, to be sure, but it doesn’t look like the South African, who won twice in his homeland earlier this year, is going to wilt under the pressure. The 25-year-old is playing in his seventh World Golf Championships event. — Helen Ross

PROPER PERSPECTIVE (9:30 a.m.): Robert Allenby has just teed off. Will he be able to get rid of the bad taste left by the end of his first round when he bogeyed the last four holes, in the process turning a commanding lead into a one-shot deficit behind leader Charl Schwartzel?

“It is what it is,” Allenby said Thursday after his first round. “You know, there’s three more days of golf. It ain’t over. I think I’m only one shot off the lead. I might have been four in front, as someone told me, but it’s not a sprint. It’s a marathon.

“We have three more days and we have gnarly weather coming in. It’s not going to be an easy golf course tomorrow, that’s for sure.”

TORRID PACE (9:19 a.m.): Bill Haas just made his 10th birdie in 23 holes to move into a tie for the lead with Charl Schwartzel, Soren Hanson, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh.

Haas opened the second round with three straight birdies and then added a fourth at the fifth hole to move to 5 under for the tournament. He missed a 6-foot eagle putt at the first hole, then rolled a 16-footer at No. 2, a 10-footer at the third and an 8-footer on the fifth hole.

Haas had it going on Thursday, too—playing his first 14 holes in 4 under. But he closed with three bogeys in his last four holes to fall back into the pack.—Helen Ross

BACK ON TOP (9:08 a.m.): An hour into the second round and two players have joined Charl Schwartzel at the top of the leaderboard.

Vijay Singh got up and down for birdie from the greenside bunker at the par-5 10th hole to move to 5 under. Ditto for Ernie Els, who is two groups behind.

That should take the taste of the 18th hole on Thursday out of their mouths. Singh had held sole possession of the lead when he came to what is annually one of the toughest holes on the PGA TOUR while Els was tied.

Singh hit his drive there into the water and went on to make double bogey while Els’ second shot found the lake on the way to a bogey. So Schwartzel, who tees off at 9:24 a.m., was in the lead alone overnight.—Helen Ross

PLAYING THE PERCENTAGES, PART II (9:06 a.m.): Unlike the first-round leader (previous note), whoever leads after today’s second round will see his chances of winning the tournament improve significantly.

In eight of the previous 10 CA Championships, the second-round leader/co-leader has won the tournament, including the last four CA Championships. Five of those eight times, however, involved Tiger Woods, golf’s ultimate closer.

Still, that’s an 80 percent chance of closing the deal, compared to 40 percent for the first-round leader.

CA champions who led after Round 2 Year Champion Second-round score Second-round status 2009 Phil Mickelson 131 (-13) Led by 2 strokes over Watney 2008 Geoff Ogilvy 132 (-12) Led by 1 stroke over Woods 2007 Tiger Woods 137 (-7) Led by 2 strokes over Pampling 2006 Tiger Woods 127 (-15) Led by 5 strokes over Cink, Furyk, Howell 2004 Ernie Els 133 (-11) Led by 2 strokes over Hamilton, Jimenez 2003 Tiger Woods 133 (-7) Led by 5 strokes over Choi, Garcia, Herron, Mediate 2002 Tiger Woods 130 (-14) Led by 2 strokes over Kelly 1999 Tiger Woods 137 (-7) Led by 2 strokes over Pampling

PLAYING THE PERCENTAGES (9:03 a.m.): If history is any indication, Charl Schwartzel has a 40 percent chance of emerging as this week’s champion.

In the 10 previous CA Championships, the first-round leader/co-leader has gone on to win four times. Schwartzel, who tees off in about 20 minutes off the first tee at TPC Blue Monster, grabbed the first-round lead Thursday with a bogey-free 5-under 67.

CA champions who led after Round 1 Year Champion First-round score First-round status 2002 Tiger Woods 65 (-7) Led by 1 stroke over Lowery, Toms 2006 Tiger Woods 63 (-8) Led by 1 stroke over Harrington, Poulter 2008 Geoff Ogilvy 65 (-7) Tied with Jimenez 2009 Phil Mickelson 65 (-7) Tied with Goosen, J.M. Singh, Marksaeng

ROUND 2 WEATHER (8:31 a.m.)—So far, so good. As the second round of the World Golf Championships-CA Championship gets under way, the skies are gray but no rain is falling.

It looks like the worst of the weather won’t arrive until around noon—when the final groups are making the turn. There is a 60 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms until noon when it switches to 80 percent for the rest of the day.

The rain is expected to be heavy at times and the accumulation could be more than 1 ½ inches. Temperatures will be in the lower 80s and the winds will again be gusty in the 15-25 mph range. The skies will clear and the sun returns for the weekend.—Helen Ross

Groups We’re Watching Tee time Players 8:42 a.m. ET,No. 10 Steve Stricker, Ernie Els, Sergio GarciaEls had designs on the lead until finding the water at 18. Stricker (1 over) and Garcia (2 over) aren’t out of it yet. 9:24 a.m. ET,No. 1 Charl Schwartzel, David Toms, Nick Watney Can Schwartzel keep his hot 2010 start going? Toms (T24) and Watney (T36) hope it rubs off. 9:34 a.m. ET,No. 1 Phil Mickelson, Retief Goosen, Rory McIlroyMickelson, without practicing, opened with a 71. McIlroy and Goosen must improve upon 76s. MORE ROUND 1: Tee times | Inside the field | Inside the coursesFANTASY GOLF: Power Rankings | Fantasy Insider | Play our game … free! Play TPC Blue Monster at Doral TPC BLUE MONSTER AT DORAL: The 467-yard 18th hole at TPC Blue Monster at Doral will look a lot less intimidating without huge galleries around it, but the experience will still be worthwhile. You can tame the TPC Blue Monster and experience the course in tournament condition after the World Golf Championships-CA Championship. Enjoy 2 nights/2 rounds from $405 per player—a savings of $270!Click here for package information, tee times, more | Book a golf package