Martin Laird shoots nine birdies in a second-round 65 at Texas Open

Martin Laird, the former Scottish youths champion from Glasgow, shot nine birdies for a round of seven-under 65 in the second round of the Valero Texas Open at San Antonio.

Laird birdied five in a row from the first, also the ninth, 11th, 14th and 15th. He bogeyed the 12th and 18th. His halves were 30-35.
Laird, pictured,  was T5 going into Saturday's third round.
Jointly leading the field are Americans Zach Johnson (70-65) and Ryan Moore (68-67) on 135.
Russell Knox from Inverness miss the cut by a shot with rounds of 74 and 72 for 146.
A total of 80 players at one-over 145 made the cut.


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2018 Valero Texas Open

San Antonio, TX                April 19-22, 2018                   FedExCup Points: 500   Purse: $6,200,000      

TPC San Antonio – AT&T Oaks Course                          Par/Yards: 36-36—72/7,435

                                             First-Round Notes – Thursday, April 19, 2018

Weather: Mostly cloudy, with a high of 64. Wind SE 15-25 mph. 

36-hole cut: 80 players at 1-over 145 from a field of 156 professionals.

Second-Round Leaderboard

Zach Johnson                       70-65—135 (-9)

Ryan Moore                         68-67—135 (-9)

Andrew Landry                    69-67—136 (-8)

Grayson Murray                  67-69—136 (-8)

                                               

Zach Johnson

Beginning on No. 10, 2008 and 2009 Valero Texas Open champion Zach Johnson reeled off four consecutive birdies (Nos. 12-15) en route to a 7-under 65. He made additional birdies at Nos. 17 and 1 and holed a greenside bunker shot for an eagle-2 at No. 5.

This marks the ninth time Johnson has held at least a share of a 36-hole lead on the PGA TOUR. The only one which resulted in victory was the 2004 AT&T Classic outside Atlanta.

Through 36 holes, Johnson has played the AT&T Oaks Course in even par on the front nine and 9-under on the inward nine.

Johnson won the 2008 and 2009 Valero Texas Open at LaCantera Golf Club in his first two starts in the event and is one of just four winners in tournament history, dating to 1922, to successfully defend his title (Bill Mehlhorn/1928-29, Arnold Palmer/1960-62, Justin Leonard/2000-01).

On his way to the 2009 victory, Johnson set the LaCantera Golf Club course record and tied his career low score with a 10-under 60.

In five starts at the Valero Texas Open since moving to TPC San Antonio, Johnson has missed two cuts (2010, 2017) and claimed one top-10 finish (T6/2014). He finished T20 and T29 in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

Johnson has collected 12 PGA TOUR victories. With the exception of the 2015 Open Championship, each

win came in one of just four different states. With four, Texas has produced Johnson’s most wins (2008 and 2009 Valero Texas Open, 2010 and 2012 Fort Worth Invitational). He has won three times in Georgia, twice in Illinois and twice in Hawaii. 

Today’s 65 marks just his third round in the 60s (18 rounds) at TPC San Antonio; 68/R2/2010/MC, 69/R1/2016/T29.

Now with 12 starts on the PGA TOUR this season, he has missed no cuts and finished inside the top 10 on one occasion (The RSM Classic/T8).

Ryan Moore

With scores of 68-67—135 (-9), Ryan Moore is the only player in the field to remain bogey free.

This marks the seventh occasion on which Moore has held a lead/co-lead after 36 holes. The only one which he converted into victory was the 2016 John Deere Classic.

Moore is making his fourth start in the Valero Texas Open this week; 2017/T18, 2012/T8, 2005/T53.

Through 36 holes, Moore has hit 25 of 28 fairways in regulation and 27 of 36 greens.

Moore, a five-time winner on the PGA TOUR, is in search of his first win since the 2016 John Deere Classic.

Second-Round Lead Notes

Since 2000, seven of the 18 second-round leaders/co-leaders of the Valero Texas Open have gone on to win, most recently being Jimmy Walker in 2015.

This season, six of 23 second-round leaders/co-leaders have held on for the win, most recently being Patrick Reed at the Masters Tournament. 

Andrew Landry

After a bogey at his first hole of the day, No. 10, Andrew Landry (T3) made six birdies to post a 67 and get to 8-under 136.

Landry made his way onto the PGA TOUR this season by virtue of his fourth-place finish on the 2017 Web.com Tour priority list.

Landry has claimed three top-10 finishes this season on the PGA TOUR, each of which came in his first seven starts (T7/Safeway Open, T4/The RSM Classic and P2/CareerBuilder Challenge). He lost on the

fourth extra hole of sudden death at the CareerBuilder Challenge to Jon Rahm.

Landry was T2 after three rounds of the 2016 U.S. Open before carding an 8-over 78 in the final round to finish T15.

In his only other start at the Valero Texas Open, Landry finished T51 in 2016.

Miscellaneous Notes

Joaquin Niemann, the former World No. 1 amateur who is making his professional debut this week, made the cut and is T25 following scores of 72-70—142 (-2).

2015 Valero Texas Open champion and nearby Boerne resident Jimmy Walker (T13) sits at 4-under 140 through 36 holes. He is making his 13^th start in the Valero Texas Open this week, and 11^th straight. In addition to his 2015 win, he finished inside the top 10 in 2010 (T3).

Making his first start in the Valero Texas Open since 2011, and third overall, 2010 champion Adam Scott posted scores of 75-73—148 (+4) to miss the cut. Scott made three consecutive birdies on two occasions, but took a triple bogey at the par-4 first hole and a double bogey at the par-4 10^th.