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Hunter Mahan follows his tee shot on the 13th hole during Round Two of the AT&T National at Congressional Country Club on June 29, 2012 in Bethesda, Maryland.
(June 28, 2012 – Source: Rob Carr/Getty Images North America)

BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — A punishing golf course. Temperatures that topped 100. Hunter Mahan still managed to make Friday at Congressional feel like a breeze.

Mahan finally had a good score to match the efficient way he has been swinging the club. He made seven birdies in the stifling heat for a 6-under 65, giving him a two-shot lead going into the weekend at the AT&T National as he goes after a PGA Tour-leading third win of the year.

Chris Couch sought medical attention and struggled to finish in the oppressive conditions. One caddie had to stop after nine holes, and another vomited to the side of the 13th green from drinking too much water.

Tiger Woods stayed in the game with a 68 in the morning, when it was still so hot that towels were used to wipe sweaty faces more than to clean clubs. He talked about the value of staying fit and strong to survive days like this. He was five shots behind.

Mahan, though, has set himself apart for two days.

“I hit a lot of good shots,” said Mahan, who missed only two fairways and three greens. “I hit so many fairways and greens, I made it easy on myself. This is a pretty punishing golf course if you get off line a little bit. I put myself in some great spots to make putts. And I felt like I played well on the back, when it was getting really hot and you’re getting a little bit more tired.”

Mahan was at 7-under 135. His two rounds fulfilled what his swing coach, Sean Foley, said Thursday when describing his ball-striking as “a laser show.”

Robert Garrigus had his sixth straight sub-par round at Congressional – that includes last year at the U.S. Open when he became a footnote in history as only the fourth American to break par all rounds of a U.S. Open – with a 67 and was two shots behind, along with Jimmy Walker and Brendon De Jonge, who each had a 69.

Stewart Cink, who draped a towel over his head waiting his turn to putt on the 14th green, showed signs of a resurgence with a 68 that put him in the group three shots behind, along with Vijay Singh (70), Pat Perez (69) and Rod Pampling (67).

Woods was at 2-under 140, in a tie for 11th.

More telling than only 18 players who remained under par was the cut at 148. It was one shot higher than the cut for the U.S. Open last year at Congressional, and it was the highest score to make the cut at a regular PGA Tour event since 149 at The Barclays in 2009.

Congressional was tough – fast and firm on the course, scorching in the air – but it was fair.

Mahan twice had to save par over the last five holes. He came up short on the 14th, but he had a couple of options. With the pin all the way to the back behind a ridge, he could run it up the slope to the hole, or even play long and have it roll back to the hole. He chose to lag it to the hole, hit it thin, and got away with the slight miss when it rolled back to 2 feet.

“I expected to hit it a little bit cleaner off the club face, but that how you shoot 65,” he said. “Get good breaks like that.”

He was more pleased with the 17th, which he called the one loose swing of the day. Mahan missed the green to the right, but saved par. On the 18th, he ripped a tee shot and had sand wedge into the green to 12 feet for one last birdie.

Woods was as happy about two pars as he was with his 50-foot eagle putt on the 16th hole that put him under par for the first time all week.

He was in trouble early after a few tee shots were caught in the dense rough that makes Congressional feel like a U.S. Open and forced him to hack out short of the green. Both times, he hit wedges that landed by the hole, bounced 15 feet by and caught the slope to come back within 3 feet.

“The pars at 14 and 15 were something I needed to have happen,” Woods said. “I hit two good wedge shots in there after two poor drives and gave myself a couple good looks, made those, and then I rewarded all that hard work at the next hole with eagle.”

Woods was three shots behind when he finished, and didn’t expect to fall back much farther. The course, already looking like it was supposed to play last year for the U.S. Open, was getting firm and crusty from the scorching heat. It was the kind of day reminiscent of when Ken Venturi won the 1964 U.S. Open at Congressional, so dehydrated he almost didn’t finish. And high heat was expected well into the weekend, making this a test of survival.

But there were birdies available, with some pins tucked behind slopes to feed the ball close to the hole.

Garrigus took advantage of a forward tee on the 12th hole to stuff his approach inside 4 feet, and then he really let his length work to his advantage toward the end of the back nine. He belted a 348-yard tee shot beyond the bunkers on the par-5 16th that left him only a 6-iron into the green. And on the 18th, with the tees move up to 481 yards, he hit a drive so far along the downhill fairway that he had only a lob wedge left. He spun that back to a few feet.

He closed out his round on the par-5 ninth, which played 597 yards. He hit 7-wood for his second shot just short of the green to set up an easy birdie.

Garrigus was rightfully proud when he mentioned Thursday evening that he was only the fourth American with four sub-par rounds in the U.S. Open. The others were Lee Trevino at Oak Hill in 1968, Lee Janzen at Baltusrol in 1993 and Curtis Strange at Oakmont in 1994. Strange and Garrigus are the only ones in that group who didn’t win.

Even going back to previous AT&T National events at Congressional, Garrigus has quite a record – this was his 18th round, and he has only been over par three times.

“Everything about this course fits my eye,” he said. “If I’m playing well and swinging it good, I feel like I can hit every fairway, just the way everything sets up. They give you perfect targets. There’s stuff to aim at. That’s what I love.”

Length never hurts, but it helps to cope with the heat. Perez, who grew up in San Diego, was asked five questions after his second straight round of 69. Three of those answers included the words, “It’s hot.”

The biggest tease of the day was the sound of a sprinkler – not on the course, but in a backyard next to the 14th green.

SENIOR PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Defending champion Fred Couples birdied the final three holes in sweltering conditions for a 7-under 63 and the second-round lead in the Senior Players Championship.

Couples, the winner last year at Westchester Country Club in Harrison, N.Y., reached 11 under at Fox Chapel on a day when the temperature reached 96 degrees with a heat index of 105. He won the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic in March for his seventh victory on the 50-and-over tour.

Couples is thriving in the heat, in part because it’s better for his chronically bad back. He has complained about stiffness all week, saying his back is sore after receiving his regular anti-inflammatory injections two weeks ago. The 1992 Masters champion has one bogey through two rounds.

Joe Daley was a stroke back after a 64.

Tom Lehman, the Regions Tradition winner in his last start, was third at 7 under after a 66. Mark Calcavecchia, coming off a victory Sunday in the Montreal Championship, was 6 under along with Bill Glasson, Michael Allen and Jay Don Blake. Calcavecchia and Blake shot 65, Glasson had a 67, and Allen a 68.

Olin Browne had a tournament-record 62 to reach 5 under. He opened with a 73.

NW ARKANSAS CHAMPIONSHIP

ROGERS, Ark. (AP) — Veronica Felibert shot a career-best 6-under 65 on Friday to take the first-round lead in the LPGA Tour’s NW Arkansas Championship.

Felibert, a rookie from Venezuela who made the field as the second alternate, had seven birdies and needed only 27 putts at Pinnacle Country Club. The round came after the former Southern California player missed the cuts in her previous three tournaments, and one week after switching to a new putter.

China’s Shanshan Feng, the LPGA Championship winner this month, was a stroke back.

Top-ranked Yani Tseng, the two-time defending champion and a three-time winner this year, opened with a 2-over 73, her fifth straight round over par. No. 2 Stacy Lewis, the former University of Arkansas star who has won twice this year, had a 70.

Karine Icher, Inbee Park and Mi Jung Hur were two strokes back at 67.

Michelle Wie’s season-long struggles continued Thursday with a 1-over 72. Wie has broken par only three times in 22 rounds this year and has made only one cut.

Juli Inkster, making her return to the tour after elbow surgery in January, shot a 78.

IRISH OPEN

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland (AP) — Frenchman Gregory Bourdy shot a 5-under 67 to take a one-stroke lead in after the second round of the Irish Open, while home favorite Rory McIlroy edged his way into contention.

Bourdy had an eagle, six birdies and three bogeys to reach 12 under at Royal Portrush.

Englishman Mark Foster was second after a 67.

McIlroy, the 2011 U.S. Open champion from Northern Ireland, climbed 29 places and into a tie for 24th at 5-under with a 69. Fellow Northern Irish major winner, Graeme McDowell, also was 5 under after a 68.

PGA champion Keegan Bradley missed the cut in his first tournament in Europe, shooting 73-71.

Golf Recap: Hunter Mahan builds two-shot lead at Congressional is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

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