Pernice Jr., Merrick lead lively AT&T National

Tag : iron making
Pernice Jr., Merrick lead lively AT&T National
By JOSEPH WHITE – 8 hours ago
BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — Tom Pernice Jr. matched the courserecord with a 63, then criticized the commissioner. John Merrick,with a boost from some boisterous fans, went 5 under for his lastfive holes. Greg Kraft was forced to make an impossible shot with a4-iron because he only had four clubs in his bag. And 14 playerswere invited to the White House for fireworks.
Oh, the fun that Tiger Woods is missing because of that bum knee.
Tiger's tournament, the AT&T National, carried on merrily withouthim on the Fourth of July. Pernice and Jeff Overton (65) shared thelead at 9 under after Friday's second round, with rising starAnthony Kim (67) and Cliff Kresge (65) three shots back on aCongressional Blue Course that wasn't playing up to its usual toughreputation.
"It's possible to shoot a good number here this week," said 2007runner-up Steve Stricker, who was four off the lead after a cardinga 64. "The greens are a little soft. The course is in great shape.The rough is down a little bit from last year."
To commemorate the holiday, American flags were on the pins at all18 holes. Pernice targeted them better than anybody, making eightbirdies and one bogey. Birdie putts of 19 feet at No. 6 and 21 feetat No. 7 got him going, and he capped the round with an 8-iron to 2feet for a birdie at the 18th.
Pernice's 63 equaled the score posted by Matt Gogel in 2005 whenthe Booz Allen Classic was played at Congressional.
Pernice, a former member of the PGA Tour's policy board, then tookhis seat in the interview chair and said that tour commissioner TimFinchem should be more proactive in dealing with two problematicissues: U-shaped grooves that produce extra spin coming out of therough, and tournaments that have become second-tier because theyare rarely — if ever — visited by Woods or any of theother top players.
"There are some things that the tour could do to help thesponsors," Pernice said. "I think there's got to be something.Michael Jordan didn't get to skip and not go play in Madison SquareGarden against the Knicks when the Knicks were good and he didn'tlike playing there or whatever."
Merrick, meanwhile, finished his round with five 3s — threebirdies, a par and an eagle — for a 64 and to join the largegroup four shots off the lead. He happened to be in the samethreesome as local favorite Steve Marino, the first-round leaderwhose clamorous high school friends again made their presence knownwith golf cheers uttered with football-style intensity.
Fortunately for Merrick, Marino's followers were nonpartisan,cheering loudly for all three players in the group. Merrick didn'tmind a bit.
"We had a good time out there. It was fun. It's always nice to haveguys in the crowd rooting you on," Merrick said. "It's cool to seeguys who are excited to be out here."
Kraft won't be around for the weekend, a fate he realized when hewas at 7 over and play was halted by a late afternoon thunderstorm.He returned with only four clubs — driver, 4-iron, sand wedgeand putter — figuring those would be enough to play the finalthree holes.
However, calamity ensued after a drive into the bunker in theninth. He eventually ended up with a 132-yard shot to the green, sohe pulled out the 4-iron and essentially hit the ball sideways,spinning a high, soft cut to 8 feet, where he made the putt forpar.
"Best shot I've ever seen," said playing partner Fred Funk.
The golfers invited to the White House to celebrate the Fourth aswell as an early birthday for President Bush included expectednotable names such as Stricker, Funk, Davis Love III, Fred Couples,Rocco Mediate, Jim Furyk. Next year, Kim might earn his way ontothe list.
Living up to his billing as the next young threat in golf, Kimappeared poised to catch the leaders until the 1 1/2-hour stormdelay slowed his momentum. A bogey on the par-5 ninth gave him a67, although he's still very much in the hunt.
"I can't be too disappointed," Kim said. "I hit some poor shots andgot nothing out of my game after the break, and that wasunfortunate. But I've got two more days to go."