Aug 11, 2007, 1:25 GMT
Tulsa, OK - Here are some of the highlights of Tiger Woods' historic second-round 63 on Friday.
* It matched the lowest score in a major championship.
* Woods become the 22nd player to shoot 63 in a major and the ninth to do so in a PGA Championship. Thomas Bjorn was the last to shoot 63 in the third round of the 2005 PGA Championship.
* He tied Raymond Floyd's course record at Southern Hills. Floyd shot his 63 in the first round en route to victory in 1982.
* Woods is in great shape with the 36-hole lead. In the six previous major championships contested at Southern Hills, the winner has held at least a piece of the 36-hole lead.
* Woods has held the third-round lead in all 12 of his major victories, so if he can hang on Saturday, history favors Woods.
STORMY SECOND ROUND
Graeme Storm, the unheralded first-round leader, came back to Earth a bit on Friday. After a 65 gave him the lead on Thursday, the Englishman shot a six- over 76 in the second round and is tied for 15th place.
'Didn't get around on the ball like I did yesterday,' said Storm, who won this year's Open de France on the European Tour. 'One of those things where I suppose everything went for me and today it didn't.'
Storm started poorly with back-to-back bogeys at two and three, but rebounded with birdies at four and five. He bogeyed the seventh, doubled the par-three eighth, but birdied No. 9.
He bogeyed two of his first three on the second nine, but birdied the par-five 13th. Bogeys at 15, 16 and 18 dropped him down the leaderboard, but certainly not out of reach.
'I'm not that far away from where the leaders are now,' said Storm, who trails Scott Verplank by five. 'So like I say, I am disappointed that I'm not where I started. But I'll take it on the chin and just come back fine tomorrow.'
Storm played in the first group out Friday morning and admitted that the nerves associated with being a leader in a major championship for the first time caught him.
'I tried to chill out as much as I could last night,' said Storm. 'Got to sleep early for me at 10:00. Unfortunately I woke up between 2:00, 2:30, on and off, worried about missing my alarm clock.
'I feel differently obviously. It's a great experience, one I'll learn from. But hopefully I can have a good weekend.'
HIGH AMES?
This is the final week for the 10 automatic spots on both the American and International Presidents Cup teams. On Monday morning, captains Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player will make their final two picks and one player near the top of the leaderboard hopes to get a phone call or maybe even an automatic spot.
Stephen Ames, originally from Trinidad & Tobago, but now a Canadian citizen, is 19th on the list and will need a spectacular week to catch Player's eye.
He's almost there after a one-under 69 on Friday. Ames stands at three-under par for the championship, three shots out of the lead.
'I think having it in Montreal deserves having a Canadian on the team,' Ames said. 'If it means that I have to play my way in or at least give Mr. Player a tingle of a thought that Mr. Ames has played well at the PGA, maybe he deserves to get on to the team, yeah, that's my goal, try to get onto there.'
Some of the players ahead of him on the list have experience, or maybe a higher profile. Andres Romero vaulted into 10th this week after an amazing run that saw him contend at the British Open, win the Deutsche Bank Players' Championship and post a high finish last week at Bridgestone.
'If I was a captain, I would be picking him without a doubt. Too good of a player to leave out,' said Ames, referring to Romero. 'He's proved himself as a performer to some extent. I mean, he almost won the British.'
Ames may have some precedent on his side. When Player tabbed Tim Clark in 2003 it came as a bit of a shock, but Player based his decision on Clark's third- place finish that year at the PGA.
'Hopefully I will fall into that category,' Ames said.
* Temperatures once again hovered around the 100-degree mark.
* Rocco Mediate and Richard Sterne withdrew on Friday.
* U.S. Senior Open champion Denis Watson shot a 14-over 84 on Friday and missed the cut by 13 strokes.
* The only two club professionals to make the 36-hole cut were Mike Small and Ryan Benzel. Both are tied at plus-three.
* The following former winners did not make the cut: Rich Beem, Davis Love III, Vijay Singh, Jeff Sluman, Steve Elkington and Mark Brooks.
* Through two rounds, the easiest hole has been the par-five 13th. There have been seven eagles and the hole has played to an average of 4.64.
* Also through two rounds, the most difficult hole has been the par-four 18th. The closing hole has played to an average of 4.47.
© 2007 The Sports Network
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