SAN ANTONIO, April 16 – Former US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy was part of a rare seven-way tie atop the second-round leaderboard at the wind-whipped Texas Open.
Australia’s Ogilvy was more than satisfied with an even-par 72, which gave him a 36-hole total of three-under 141.
"Today par is a great score," said Ogilvy, who teed off in the morning.
His assessment was born out by the day’s scoring average of 75.289 — more than three strokes over par.
Ogilvy, whose round included a double-bogey at the par-four 12th, three bogeys and five birdies, said the early start made little difference as far as playing conditions.
"It was blowing when it was dark this morning," he said.
"I definitely could have had quite a lot worse," added Ogilvy, who is coming off a tie for fourth at the Masters. "The score is good if you hit really, really good shots, but as soon as you miss one there’s a potential disaster on every hole so I’m pretty happy with that score."
US PGA Tour rookie Brendan Steele defied the difficult conditions for much of the afternoon, but he had a double-bogey at the par-four 15th to lose a two-shot lead.
He, too, carded a 72 to join the leading bunch.
"I got pretty beat up out there," Steele said. "I think we all kind of did."
It ranks as the second-most crowded leaderboard in US PGA Tour history after 36 holes, one shy of the record of eight sharing the halfway lead in the 2001 Greater Hartford Open.
Rich Beem (70), Kevin Sutherland (70), Charley Hoffman (73), Brandt Snedeker (72) and Kevin Chappell (73) also had a share of the lead.
Defending champion Adam Scott of Australia posted a 74 to lie one shot off the lead on 142.
He was joined by Cameron Tringale (71), Matt Every (69) and Dean Wilson (72).
Scott, who finished tied for second at the Masters last week, said the wind made a tough course even tougher.
"This course is very difficult around the greens anyway, and when that bit of control that you do have is taken away, it’s magnified by the severity of these greens," said Scott, whose round included two birdies and four bogeys.
Five more players shared 12th place on 143.
Those who didn’t survive the halfway cut included Argentina’s Angel Cabrera — who carded a 78 to miss it by one stroke — and Kevin Na.
Na’s failure to advance was no surprise after a first-round 80 that included a miserable 16 at the par-four ninth hole. He followed up with a 77 on Friday.
