It’s hard to call a 9-under-par 62 disappointing, but Tim Clark’s in today’s second round of the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston, which gave him a one-stroke lead over Mike Weir, might have been. The 32-year-old South African was 10-under through 13 holes and 11-under through 16, before bogeying the eighth and ninth (his 17th and 18th). An 11-under round would have broken Mike Weir and Vijay Singh’s competitive course record, and 12-under would have given him a 59.
For his part, Clark didn’t express any disappointment.
“I’m certainly not disappointed, because I’ve only played 36 holes and there’s a lot more golf to play,” Clark said. “I’m disappointed about the 59, but at the end of the day I’m still playing the second round of the tournament and I have t keep going if I want to win.”
Ben Curtis and Vijay Singh stand two behind Clark, while Jim Furyk, Kevin Streelman, Sergio Garcia and Ernie Els are three back.
Handicapping this tournament is difficult, with so many players posting so many birdies. Weir looked good for the second day in a row, but so did Curtis, Singh, Garcia, Els and Anthony Kim. The wildcard, at least in my opinion, is Streelman. The Tour rookie has a pair of top 10s in his last two tournaments and looks as confident as anybody out there.
Sunday’s forecast is 82 degrees and sunny, so maybe that will toughen up the course. Cloud and rain kept the greens soft until the very end of the day, when sunshine firmed them up.
I’m heading to the youth tournament at the Boston Golf Club in Hingham that’s going on in conjunction with the Deutsche Bank in the morning, but I’ll check back in before the leaders tee off to report what’s happening.
