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VERONA, N.Y. -- Steve Flesch didn't glance much at the
leaderboard. He was too busy watching his irons perform their magic
again.
Turning Stone Resort Championship Leaderboard
1. Flesch (-13)
T-2. Gove (-12)
T-2. de Jonge (-12)
4. Warren (-11)
T-5. Hendrix (-10)
T-5. Stroud (-10)
T-5. Hoffman (-10)
• Complete scores
Flesch shot a 7-under 65 Friday to take sole possession of the lead after two rounds of the inaugural Turning Stone Resort
Championship. He was at 13-under 131 and one stroke ahead of
first-round co-leader Jeff Gove (67) and Brendon de Jonge, who had
a second straight 66. Charles Warren (65) was alone in fourth,
another shot back.
Conditions again were ideal on a hazy, humid day with
temperatures in the 80s and a slight breeze, and the lefty-swinging
Flesch quickly built on his opening 66. He started by making four
birdies and an eagle for a record 30 on the back side of the
forgiving 7,482-yard Atunyote Gold Club course, with its wide
fairways and soft, smooth-rolling greens.
"I've always said my iron game is the strength of my game, and when you give us generous fairways like this, if I get the ball on the fairway, I usually can find the pins with my irons," said
Flesch, who has hit 34 of 36 greens in regulation. "I just keep
giving myself birdie putt after birdie putt. And if I get that
putter going, I'll make some birdies."
Flesch, who began play one shot off the lead, hit a 3-wood to 14 feet at the 562-yard, par-5 12th hole and made eagle to reach 9
under, birdied the next two holes and sank a 15-foot birdie putt at
No. 18 to tie de Jonge for the lead at 12 under.
Flesch, who held the 36-hole lead at Reno in late July and went
on to win, took the lead with a 17-foot birdie putt at the par-4
second hole. The lone blemish on the day was a three-putt bogey
from 35 feet on his final hole, which nullified a birdie putt at
No. 8.
If not for No. 9, Flesch would have a bigger lead. He made
double bogey there on Thursday.
"I've just played it poorly," he said. "My putter let me
down. It's all right. I made so many putts today."
De Jonge, a 27-year-old native of Zimbabwe and a former star at Virginia Tech, began to move up the leaderboard with an eagle at
the 548-yard, par-5 fifth hole, hitting 3-wood to the right fringe
and sinking a 26-foot putt. That made up for a bogey at No. 4, and
he made four birdies on the back side to take the lead until Flesch
came through a couple of hours later.
"The position that I've put myself in coming into these last
seven events, I have to play well," said de Jonge, who has made
only seven cuts in 20 events. "You
know, I've pretty much got nothing to lose. It's almost, in
essence, a seven-week tour school for me, so I have to play well."
Gove, who started at No. 10, finished with five birdies on a
bogey-free round, tying de Jonge with a 3-foot birdie putt at the
par-4 eighth hole.
"Most of my play today I was staying in the moment, playing well, staying positive and trying to stay aggressive because the
scores are low," said Gove, who birdied two of his first three
holes and then reeled off eight straight pars. "You've got to stay
patient. You have to just wait for your next little run."
Turning Stone, with a purse of $6 million, kicks off a new
seven-tournament run called the PGA Fall Series that will decide
the final money leaders list. The top 125 players retain fully
exempt status to play on Tour in 2008, and the Fall Series
determines Nos. 31 through 125.
After two rounds, a shakeup near the bubble was at hand.
Steve Allan (69), who began the tournament at No. 125 in
earnings, improved on his first round by seven shots but failed to
make the cut, as did Joe Durant (No. 121) Bob Heintz (No. 122),
Doug LaBelle II (No. 124), John Merrick (No. 127), Frank Lickliter
II (No. 130), Jason Dufner (No. 132), Ryan Palmer (No. 136), and
Tripp Isenhour (No. 137).
Four players near the cutoff -- Ryan Armour (No. 123), Bill Haas (No. 126), Alex Cejka (No. 128), and Johnson Wagner (No. 131) -- will play on the weekend. And Wagner, Haas, and Cejka were in
position for a decent payday come Sunday.
Divots
Eric Manning, in his first season as assistant pro at Yahnundasis Golf Club in nearby New Hartford, had an opening 69 in just his third PGA Tour event, but missed the cut after a second-round 73. ... The cut was at 4-under 140, the second-lowest on the PGA Tour this year. The Wyndham Championship was 5 under. Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
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