Garrigus hits stunning shot on way to three-shot Tampa lead
American Robert Garrigus hit one of the best shots of his life on the way to a three-shot lead after the second round of the $5.7 million Tampa Bay Championship on Friday.
|Last Updated: Mar 15, 2014, 11:19 AM IST|Source: Reuters
Palm Harbor, United States: American Robert Garrigus hit one of the best shots of his life on the way to a three-shot lead after the second round of the $5.7 million Tampa Bay Championship on Friday.
Garrigus moved closer to his second PGA Tour victory with a near-flawless five-under-par 66, the best score of the day on the demanding Copperhead course at Innisbrook in Palm Harbor.
"I had some great up and downs, made a lot of good putts and you have to do that on a course like this, as difficult as it is," he said after posting a seven-under 135 halfway total.
Fellow American Kevin Na (68) is alone in second place on four-under.
Garrigus birdied all four of par-fives but it was a recovery shot at the par-four 16th hole that will be remembered longest when he had to thread his second shot from a bare lie through a small gap in the trees after pulling his drive into trouble.
With a pond on the other side of the fairway waiting to gobble up an unlucky ricochet, Garrigus, the son of Olympic shooting silver medallist Thomas, made the extremely risky shot look easy, punching a "low cut" five-iron from 209 yards to within 15 feet of the hole.
Though he missed the birdie putt, the tap-in par preserved his lead.
"I probably hit one of the top-five shots of my life there," said Garrigus, 36, who lost a playoff in this tournament two years ago, one of his six runner-up finishes on tour.
"It rose up over the pine tree and cut 40 yards. It was a lot of fun to try it and to pull it off was even better.
"I spent half my life in the trees ... so I knew exactly what I had to do and I hit the exact shot that I needed to. That was pretty special."
Eighty-four players made the cut, which fell at three-over 145.
Joint first round leader Danny Lee was among those to miss it. He birdied the first hole but it was downhill from there as he stumbled to a 79, which was 11 strokes better than John Daly, whose 90 was his worst score ever on tour.
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.