Los Angeles – Tom
Hoge was sitting atop the leaderboard with a one point lead in the
second round of the weather-plagued Barracuda Championship which was
suspended for the second straight day due to storms.
Hoge had five birdies and two bogeys Friday to reach 21 total points
at the Montreaux Golf and Country Club course and vault into the lead in
the PGA Tour’s lone modified Stableford scoring system tournament.
Under the unique format, eight points are awarded for an albatross,
five for eagle, two for birdie and zero for par, and a point is deducted
for bogey and three deducted for double bogey or worse.
Starting on the back nine, Hoge delivered three birdies in his first four holes.
“I just try to get in the fairway,” said Hoge, who is seeking his first PGA Tour title.
“And there’s a lot of opportunities from there with short irons, you
can get to all the par-fives, some drivable par-fours. It’s a fun golf
course to play and fun format.”
Friday’s action at the Reno, Nevada, event was originally halted at
13:58 local time then called off for the rest of the day at 17:05 after almost 2.4 centimetres (one inch) of rain fell on Friday.
Americans Beau Hossler, Collin Morikawa and John Chin were tied for
second with 20 points, one point ahead of fifth place Brendan Todd and
Troy Merritt.
First round leader David Lingmerth, of Sweden, was the top player
still on the course with 17 points and 14 holes to play. More than half
the field will conclude the second round Saturday before starting the
third round.
American long hitter John Daly, who is battling osteoarthritis in his
right knee, had minus-two points after finishing just two holes in the
second round.
The 53-year-old Daly is playing his second event since he was
approved to use a golf cart last fall. He failed to make the cut last
week in at the Barbasol Championship.
