Soccer
  • Home
  • Golf
  • Halfway hut at the Texas Open: Tringale on top but Spieth the dangerman

Halfway hut at the Texas Open: Tringale on top but Spieth the dangerman

A round-up of the best stats, quotes and social after 36 holes of the 2021 Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio

Cameron Tringale is playing in his 297th PGA TOUR event this week.
The good news: he's built himself a two-shot lead at halfway after firing rounds of 66 and 69.
The bad news: he's still seeking to secure a first win at this level.
Tringale has been trying since 2009 and this is just the second time he's had a halfway lead. The first was at the 2014 Northern Trust and, although he didn't get it done, the American did battle away to finish tied second.
It's the win he wants though and, fuelled by a run of five straight birdies in round two, he'll take a handy lead into the weekend.

But in his rearview mirror is the ominous figure ofย Jordan Spieth.

Spieth wobbled a little in round two with bogeys at 11 and 13 but hit back with birdies at 14 and 15 to maintain his challenge and finish the day in joint second.
It means Spieth resides in the top 10 after 36 holes for the fifth time in his last six strokeplay events.
Of course, Spieth hasn't converted any and, indeed, his desire for a win will be just as intense as Tringale's.
Despite his recent upturn in form, the three-time Major winner has gone 82 starts since his last victory - the 2017 Open Championship.
England's Matt Wallace shares second place with Spieth and - like leader Tringale - he's also yet to post a win on the PGA TOUR.
Wallace has four victories on the European Tour but his best in America is tied third in the 2019 PGA Championship.
Two shots further back at 5-under are the quartet of Kevin Stadler, Kyle Stanley, Erik Van Rooyen and Brandt Snedeker.
Van Rooyen is another yet to win on the PGA TOUR while Stadler and Stanley last tasted victory in 2014 and 2017 respectively.
Snedeker is the most recent winner in the top seven even though that came three years ago.
In other words, as we head into the weekend, the tournament looks wide open. Here's how the bookies see it:

Paddy Power odds after 36 holes:ย 2/1 Spieth, 13/5 Tringale, 8/1 Wallace, 18/1 Van Rooyen, 22/1 Matsuyama, Kuchar, 25/1 Snedeker, 28/1 Hoffman, Stanley.

Here are the best stats, quotes and social from TPC San Antonio as we head into the weekend.

Click here for the leaderboard

Stats

Tringale has fuelled his fast opening with superb iron play.
He's ranked 1st for Strokes Gained: Approach and that's a great pointer to success as the last three winners of this event have ranked in the top two for that category.
Tringale is also 8th for Strokes Gained: Putting while his tally of 14 birdies is the best in the field.
Four second round leaders/co-leaders have gone on to claim victory since the Texas Open moved to TPC San Antonio in 2010 although the last was in 2015.
As for Spieth, the stats suggest he's leaning on his short game. The 2015 Masters champion is 2nd for Strokes Gained: Around The Green, tied 1st for Sand Saves and 1st for Putts per Greens In Regulation.
He's 23rd for SG: Approach although recorded a negative figure in round two.
Wallace, who shot a bogey-free 68 on Friday, is 7th for SG: Approach and 2nd Tee To Green. He'll want his putter to heat up a little though as he ranks 32nd in SG: Putting.

Quotes

Cameron Tringale summing up his second-round 69
"My takeaway was that it was a good day. I made a lot of birdies and when I was in the fairway, I took advantage most of the time. Except for the last hole, I kept it in play and just had a lot of looks and a few went in. I'd like to hit a few more fairways. My driver was just kind of leaking left, or not fading back. Hit a few extra drives tomorrow. But other than that, I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing."

Jordan Spieth on his battling 70

"It was fun. I just tried to take a really good attitude into today knowing that we were going to get some really windy conditions. I thought the start was key for me and I got off to a great start in that and put some really good swings on the ball after kind of being a little sloppy at the end of yesterday's round. I thought 2-under was a good score today and certainly could have shot lower, but was able to climb back from a couple bogeys on the back nine. It's kind of just stay in there, stay in there, stay in there and give yourself a chance come the back nine Sunday. That's really the best prep I can do for not only trying to win this golf tournament, but also for next week."

Matt Wallace after his bogey-free 68

"Very happy. Whenever you go bogey free, whatever golf course it is, it's nice, but especially here. Wind's picking up now, greens are firming up. I drove it nice for the most part of the day and felt comfortable. I've been feeling comfortable about my game for a while now, just trying to hole a few more putts and keep the scoring going and making the right putts at the right time."
Kevin Stadler on his two solid days of golf
"Just kind of kept it in play, which I've really struggled to do for a long time now. But I drove it decent. Didn't hit a ton of fairways, but didn't miss wide, so I was kind of always in play out there. And honestly, this kind of course is more my favorite where you're really just pretty much playing defensively. So there's disaster out there all over the place. You're just kind of playing for pars and take the birdies when they may present themselves. So two fairly difficult days. And I just played good enough, just kind of plodded along. Made a couple mistakes here and there and sprinkled in some birdies."
Erik Van Rooyen on the turnaround in his game
"It's been there for the last couple tournaments. And the putting's kind of tagging along today, so it was a really fun round. This game, it's going to be a rollercoaster sometimes. You're going to play really well and you're going to play bad at some points and it's just kind of trying to ride that out. It was a terrible first eight weeks for me results-wise. You can get kind of hard on yourself sometimes, but you've got to stay patient, you know, and trust yourself, trust the process. It's so cliche, but it's the truth. And again, played well last week and it's kind of coming along, which is nice."

Socials

Jordan Spieth being heckled and seeing kids dragged off the course, numerous hole-outs andย Phil Mickelson responding expertly to the 10 on 18:

D.J. Trahan and hole-outs seem to be a perfect combination:
Cameron Percy inches away from an ace:

Kevin Stadler makes only his second cut from 24 PGA TOUR starts:

READ MORE:ย Resurgent Jordan Spieth continues ominous build-up to The Masters

More Articles