Golf roundup
Mayfair chasing Toms at Honda Classic PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) – Billy Mayfair says he’s feeling good vibes this week, and it shows.
As a standout junior player, Mayfair won at a few venues not far from Mirasol’s Sunrise course, site of this week’s Honda Classic. He prevailed at PGA National, right across the street, and captured the 1987 U.S. Amateur title a few miles away at Jupiter Hills.
Now, he’s in position for another big prize – his first tour win in eight seasons.
Mayfair shot a bogey-free round of 67 on Friday and finished alone in second place, one shot behind David Toms at the Honda’s midway point after another day of fierce winds and fast greens.
“Yeah, we’ve had some high winds and there’s been some tough scores out there and the conditions are tough,” Mayfair said. “But for me, I just like playing that way. I like the way the greens are set up here a lot.”
Mayfair finished with four birdies in his final five holes, taking advantage of the less-perilous front side of the course to climb the leaderboard.
And the front side continued to be kind to Toms, who made six birdies on that half – including a run of four straight for the second day in a row. He’s got 11 birdies on his two jaunts across the first nine holes.
Toms shot his second straight round of 67 and is at 10-under par. Then there’s Mayfair, and three shots behind him is a group of four golfers – including defending champion Padraig Harrington (67) and Daniel Chopra, who turned in a five-birdie, one-eagle, no-bogey effort for a 65, the week’s lowest round so far.
“You don’t have to hit bad shots to miss these greens and especially in conditions like this, it just makes it even that more difficult,” Chopra said. “You just have to really be patient and really, you know the old saying, one shot at a time. This golf course is one of those golf courses.”
When Toms lost his patience, he nearly lost the lead.
He was rolling along after his sizzling 31 on the front, and another birdie pushed him to 11 under after 12 holes – allowing him to take a short-lived five-shot lead.
But an overaggressive approach on the 14th hole led to a bogey, and he chunked his approach at the 16th to drop another shot. At the par-5 17th, he struck a perfect drive, which landed in a very deep divot.
From there, his second went over the green – but he chipped in for eagle, and ensured he’d finish how he came in, leading the tournament.
“Did a lot of good stuff today,” Toms said. “I hit some bad shots, but overall, another good, solid round of golf and put myself right there with a chance to win the golf tournament going to the weekend. You know, that’s what I’m here to try to do. So I’m in good position so far.”
Geoff Ogilvy and Mathias Gronberg, who were part of a four-way tie for the lead after the first round, each shot 71s on Friday and are four shots back, tied with Chopra and Harrington. Lee Westwood (66), Luke Donald (67) and Paul Azinger (67) are among eight golfers tied at 5-under par.
LPGA
HUIXQUILUCAN, Mexico – Annika Sorenstam shot a 5-under 67 in her first competitive round of the year to finish tied for the lead with Italy’s Silvia Cavalleri in the MasterCard Classic.
The world No. 1 stayed consistent, hitting fairways and reaching greens easily before sinking a 7-foot putt on the par-5 No. 18 for her fifth birdie.
Sorenstam, who sat out the first two tournaments of the season in Hawaii last month, also made her 2005 debut here, winning the 54-hole event outside of Mexico City.
Cavalleri began on the back nine and sunk a nearly 40-foot putt for birdie on No. 17 before going uphill to hole out from 15 feet on the third hole. She had seven birdies, offsetting two bogeys.
Champions Tour
VALENCIA, Calif. – Mitch Adcock shot a 5-under 67 to take the lead after the first round of the AT&T Classic by one stroke over Ben Crenshaw and Jay Sigel.
Adcock, who has to rely on Monday qualifying to get into Champions Tour tournaments, shot a 4-under 32 on the front nine, with no bogeys.
On the back nine, he had three birdies and two bogeys, including a missed 5-foot par putt on the final hole at Valencia Country Club.
Adcock was a journeyman player for most of his career, playing a couple of uneventful years on the PGA Tour in the early 1990s and then playing in Europe and on mini-tours.
He turned 50 last year and failed to get his card at the Champions Tour Qualifying School. He got into this event by earning one of the two spots in a Monday qualifier that attracted 84 golfers.