Kirk Overcomes Wind, Takes Lead at McGladrey

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Chris Kirk was at his best when the wind was at its worst Friday in the McGladrey Classic.

Kirk rolled in a 40-foot birdie putt from off the green, chipped in from nearly 60 feet for birdie on another hole and wound up with another 4-under 66 at Sea Island to take a one-shot lead going into the weekend.

''Definitely shot my score on that back nine,'' said Kirk, who started the second round on the back. ''I made a pretty easy bogey on No. 10 and it was just kind of like, 'Yeah, this is going to be a pretty tough day.' But I didn't let it bug me.''

He followed with five birdies to get into the lead, and stayed there with a pair of saves – one for bogey on No. 4, another from a plugged lie in the bunker on No. 8.

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Kirk was at 8-under 132, one shot ahead of Kevin Chappell (68), Webb Simpson (68), John Senden (67) and Briny Baird (70).

Eighteen players had to return Saturday morning to finish the round, none closer to Kirk than three shots.

Even though he recently moved back to the Atlanta area, Kirk was one of the early PGA Tour pros to settle at Sea Island. This was one time where it paid off. The conditions were cold and blustery, with gusts up to 35 mph, and Kirk was ready for just about anything.

''I've played this course hundreds of times,'' he said. ''I've seen every wind direction, every wind strength. I've seen it blow way harder than that before. You still know how well you've got to play to shoot a good score, but at least there's no surprises.''

He missed his 3-wood ever so slightly into the wind at the start of his round and had to hit hybrid for his second shot. It's normally a 3-wood and a wedge.

''I guess that is a little bit of an advantage, just not being shocked by it all,'' he said.

Chappell had a few surprises, good and bad. He reached the par-5 15th hole in two and felt a gust helped blow his eagle putt into the hole. That was good. But on the par-3 third, aiming at a small tent well right of the green to cope with a strong right-to-left wind, he came up so short of the green that his ball disappeared into a hazard that Chappell didn't even know existed. That led to a double bogey.

''You hit some not-so-perfect shots and get some bad breaks with the wind gusting and you get exposed really quickly,'' Chappell said. ''I think I was fortunate to come to that realization that there's some luck involved today and that maybe for a period of time I was one of the luckier guys out here. But that tough stretch in the middle of the round I wasn't so lucky, and the law of averages, it averaged out.''

The law of averages was reflected in the scoring.

George McNeill finished off the fog-delayed first round Friday morning with an 8-under 62, when the course was soft and benign. It only made sense to Kirk that the lead going into the weekend was 8 under.

Simpson, who lost in a playoff at Sea Island in 2011, had a flawless round spoiled with a bogey from the bunker on the 17th hole. Even so, he was poised to go after his second win since this wraparound season began a month ago. Simpson already has won in Las Vegas.

The group at 6-under 134 included Jason Kokrak, who had the low score of the second round at 65. That included a birdie on the par-4 fifth hole, which wraps around a marsh. With the wind helping, the big-hitting Kokrak took a short cut toward the green and came up just short, setting up a chip-and-putt for birdie.

That was two shots worse than how he played the hole in a pro-am round. With a similar wind, he smashed his driver over the marsh, onto the green and into the hole for an albatross ace. Too bad it was only practice.

''I think it will play into my favor to play a little bit windy,'' Kokrak said. ''Maybe not quite as gusty and windy as it is today for the putting aspect, but 15 to 20 mph wind would be fine with me. I think it's an easier golf course for me to climb closer to the leaders with a little bit of wind as opposed to shooting 7 , 8 under par like the first round.''

McNeill struggled in the wind, making five straight bogeys on his way to a 76. He was six shots behind.

Kirk moved to Sea Island in 2007, among the early settlers of PGA Tour players, and he still keeps a place here. It's not a big problem being a local and having to deal with ticket requests. ''I'm probably the seventh- or eighth-best player on the island,'' he said with a laugh.

But he has been the best over two days, thanks to a mixture of solid shots and long birdies. Perhaps his best shot of the day came at the par-5 15th, when Kirk had a tree blocking his second shot to the green. He had to play a hook around the tree, not easy considering the wind was hard from left to right.

''I had to effectively hit a 30-, 35-yard hook just to get it around the tree and fight the wind,'' Kirk said. He would have taken the left bunker, but instead hit the shot into about 10 feet and two-putted for birdie.

DIVOTS: Tournament host Davis Love III, who shared the 54-hole lead a year ago at Sea Island, went 75-74 and missed the cut. ... Will MacKenzie was 7 under in his first 13 holes and 11 over on his next 13 holes. He went 66-79 to miss the cut. ... Matt Kuchar opened with rounds of 68-68 and was four shots behind

Kirk leads; Simpson One Back at McGladrey Classic

Scoring conditions were tougher on Friday thanks to strong winds, but several players were still able to go low in the second round of The McGladrey Classic. Here’s how things shape up after two days at Sea Island, where play was suspended because of darkness:

Leaderboard: Chris Kirk (-8), Webb Simpson (-7), Kevin Chappell (-7), Briny Baird (-7), John Senden (-7)

What it means: The fog stayed away on Friday, but the breeze kicked up making scoring conditions much tougher at Sea Island. Due to a fog delay Thursday, not everyone was able to get in their second rounds. Keep an eye on Seung-Yul Noh, who is three shots off the lead with four holes to go when play resumes on Saturday morning.

Round of the day: Despite opening with a bogey, long-hitting Jason Kokrak recorded the lowest round of the day, a five-under 65. Starting on No. 10, Kokrak shook off his lone bogey with an eagle on the par-5 15th, plus four more birdies coming in to finish at -6, two shots off the lead.

Best of the rest: Thanks to a late bogey by Simpson, Kirk was able to finish the day with the lead after a second-straight 66. Kirk's round included an impressive six birdies and only two bogeys.

Biggest disappointment: They say it's always tough to follow up a really low round, and George McNeill proved that notion once again on Friday. Coming off an 8-under 62, McNeill managed only one birdie against seven bogeys on Friday for a 6-over 76.

Biggest storyline heading into Saturday: Having already won in Las Vegas, Simpson has a chance to add another title to his resume before the calendar hits 2014. A late bogey cost Simpson a share of the lead, but he's clearly the favorite heading into the weekend. Given his hot-hand and major-championship experience, Simpson is the most battle-tested player near the lead. But keep an eye on Sea Island resident Matt Kuchar, who is only four shots back.

Seeking First Tour Victory, Chappell Cards 68 in Rd. 2

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Sometimes, the breaks just go your way. Such was the case Friday for Kevin Chappell, who successfully battled windy conditions to post a 2-under 68 in the second round of the McGladrey Classic.

“You hit some not-so-perfect shots and get some bad breaks with the wind gusting, and you get exposed really quickly,” explained Chappell, who held the clubhouse lead after posting a 7-under 133 total through 36 holes. “I think I was fortunate to come to that realization that there’s some luck involved today, and that maybe for a period of time I was one of the luckier guys out here.”

On a day when gusty winds forced the Seaside Course scoring average well over par, Chappell was able to move up the leaderboard thanks to a round that included four birdies in addition to an eagle at the par-5 15th hole. The former UCLA standout found it easier to deal with Friday’s blustery conditions knowing in advance what to expect.

“I think in the back of our minds we all knew this was coming,” he said of the winds that routinely exceeded 20 miles per hour. “This was what they’ve been predicting, so at least they were consistent and correct.”

Firmly in contention heading into the weekend, the 27-year-old is maintaining a balanced perspective as he looks to secure his first career PGA Tour victory after a pair of runner-up results.

“It was good. It always could be better,” he added. “But you know, the goal on a day like today when you’re in the lead is to not play out of it. It was going to be hard to run away with it.”

Kirk Overcomes the Wind for Sea Island Lead

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. (AP) Chris Kirk was at his best when the wind was at its worst Friday in the McGladrey Classic.

Kirk rolled in a 40-foot birdie putt from off the green, chipped in from nearly 60 feet for birdie on another hole and wound up with another 4-under 66 at Sea Island to take a one-shot lead going into the weekend.

"Definitely shot my score on that back nine," said Kirk, who started the second round on the back. "I made a pretty easy bogey on No. 10 and it was just kind of like, `Yeah, this is going to be a pretty tough day.' But I didn't let it bug me."

He followed with five birdies to get into the lead, and stayed there with a pair of saves - one for bogey on No. 4, another from a plugged lie in the bunker on No. 8.

Kirk was at 8-under 132, one shot ahead of Kevin Chappell (68), Webb Simpson (68), John Senden (67) and Briny Baird (70).

Eighteen players had to return Saturday morning to finish the round, none closer than three shot of Kirk.

Even though he recently moved back to the Atlanta area, Kirk was one of the early PGA Tour pros to settle at Sea Island. This was one time where it paid off. The conditions were cold and blustery, with gusts up to 35 mph, and Kirk was ready for just about anything.

"I've played this course hundreds of times," he said. "I've seen every wind direction, every wind strength. I've seen it blow way harder than that before. You still know how well you've got to play to shoot a good score, but at least there's no surprises."

He missed his 3-wood ever so slightly into the wind at the start of his round and had to hit hybrid for his second shot. It's normally a 3-wood and a wedge.

"I guess that is a little bit of an advantage, just not being shocked by it all," he said.

Chappell had a few surprises, good and bad. He reached the par-5 15th hole in two and felt a gust helped blow his eagle putt into the hole. That was good. But on the par-3 third, aiming at a small tent well right of the green to cope with a strong right-to-left wind, he came up so short of the green that his ball disappeared into a hazard that Chappell didn't even know existed. That led to a double bogey.

"You hit some not-so-perfect shots and get some bad breaks with the wind gusting and you get exposed really quickly," Chappell said. "I think I was fortunate to come to that realization that there's some luck involved today and that maybe for a period of time I was one of the luckier guys out here. But that tough stretch in the middle of the round I wasn't so lucky, and the law of averages, it averaged out."

The law of averages was reflected in the scoring.

George McNeill finished off the fog-delayed first round Friday morning with an 8-under 62, when the course was soft and benign. It only made sense to Kirk that the lead going into the weekend was 8 under.

Simpson, who lost in a playoff at Sea Island in 2011, had a flawless round spoiled with a bogey from the bunker on the 17th hole. Even so, he was poised to go after his second win since this wraparound season began a month ago. Simpson already has won in Las Vegas.

The group at 6-under 134 included Jason Kokrak, who had the low score of the second round at 65. That included a birdie on the par-4 fifth hole, which wraps around a marsh. With the wind helping, the big-hitting Kokrak took a short cut toward the green and came up just short, setting up a chip-and-putt for birdie.

That was two shots worse than how he played the hole in a pro-am round. With a similar wind, he smashed his driver over the marsh, onto the green and into the hole for an albatross ace. Too bad it was only practice.

"I think it will play into my favor to play a little bit windy," Kokrak said. "Maybe not quite as gusty and windy as it is today for the putting aspect, but 15 to 20 mph wind would be fine with me. I think it's an easier golf course for me to climb closer to the leaders with a little bit of wind as opposed to shooting 7-, 8-under par like the first round."

McNeill struggled in the wind, making five straight bogeys on his way to a 76. He was six shots behind.

Kirk moved to Sea Island in 2007, among the early settlers of PGA Tour players, and he still keeps a place here. It's not a big problem being a local and having to deal with ticket requests. "I'm probably the seventh- or eighth-best player on the island," he said with a laugh.

But he has been the best over two days, thanks to mixture of solid shots and long birdies. Perhaps his best shot of the day came at the par-5 15th, when Kirk had a tree blocking his second shot to the green. He had to play a hook around the green, not easy considering the wind was hard from left-to right.

"I had to effectively hit a 30-, 35-yard hook just to get it around the tee and fight the wind," Kirk said. He would have taken the left bunker, but instead hit the shot into about 10 feet and two-putted for birdie.

DIVOTS: Tournament host Davis Love III, who shared the 54-hole lead a year ago at Sea Island, went 75-74 and missed the cut. ... Will MacKenzie was 7 under in his first 13 holes and 11 over on his next 13 holes. He went 66-79 to miss the cut. ... Matt Kuchar opened with rounds of 68-68 and was four shots behind.

Cheat Sheet: Are We Entering the Era of Henrik Stenson vs. Tiger Woods?

He's back! Stenson, that is.
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Adam "contention" Scott strikes again
Skipping from Turkey to Australia; Adam Scott is leading his country's PGA Championship by two shots after two rounds -- three shots ahead of Rickie Fowler -- and at this point has officially (not officially, but you get what I mean), become a "getting into contention" machine. Since the end of the 2013 PGA Tour season, where he finished with six top-10s and 10 top-25s in sixteen events, including a major, he won the Grand Slam of Golf and is the odds-on favorite to collect another victory.

Related: Adam Scott Swing Sequence

Keep calm and stand with Briny
There's a certain skill to what Briny Baird's done with his golf career. Having banked more than $12 million in earnings, Baird holds the distinction of being the richest player never to win on the PGA Tour -- his closest call came in 2011, when he lost to a birdie on the sixth extra playoff hole. He's been going at it since 1995 and has lost his full PGA Tour status twice since first making the tour in 2000. Now, at 41, he's back healthy and still searching for his maiden win. Sitting one shot off the lead through two rounds at the McGladrey Classic, it's hard not to pull for this guy.

One last thing

Kevin Chappell is among those tied with Baird one shot back of the lead at the McGladrey Classic. Here's a video I shot of his swing on the range at the Barclays in August, for your viewing pleasure.