Swafford leads by 1 at soggy La Quinta
LA QUINTA, Calif. — Hudson Swafford beat the rain Friday in the CareerBuilder Challenge, and Phil Mickelson played his best in the worst of the conditions. Then, there’s Danny Lee. “I actually wanted to play in the rain, so I could experiment with myself,” Lee said. “Hopefully, it rains tomorrow.”
The New Zealander probably won’t get his wish today, but another storm could pass through the desert oasis Sunday afternoon.
Swafford finished just before the rain moved in, shooting his second straight 7-under 65 to take a onestroke lead. Winless in his four-year PGA Tour career, the former Georgia star had a bogey-free round on the Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course at PGA West after opening the pro-am tournament Thursday at La Quinta Country Club.
“Managed to keep the ball in the fairway,” Swafford said. “That gives you a lot of nice approach shots into greens. I’m driving the ball beautifully.”
The rain-seeking Lee and firstround leader Dominic Bozzelli were tied for second.
Lee closed with a birdie for a 64 at La Quinta, far exceeding his expectations after a month off.
“Just trying to break 80, seriously,” Lee said. “Trying to not shoot something overly ridiculous, since I’m playing with the amateurs.”
Bozzelli followed an opening 64 on PGA West’s Stadium Course with a 67 at La Quinta.
“It wasn’t my best today, but I was able to save par, made some pretty big par saves throughout the round and kept it going,” Bozzelli said.
The tee times were moved up an hour to 7:30 a.m., and Swafford and many players finished before the storm rolled in over the San Jacinto Mountains at about 1 p.m.
Mickelson got to use all of his rain gear, playing the final six holes in intermittent showers in the secondto-last group off the 10th tee on the Nicklaus course. The tournament ambassador followed an opening 68 at La Quinta with a 66 to reach 10 under in his return from two sports hernia surgeries.
“I hit a lot more good shots today than I did yesterday, but I’m still hitting some really bad ones,” said Mickelson, the 2002 and 2004 winner. “And that’s fine. It’s to be expected. I knew that was going to happen, but I’ve been able to kind of manage those and get away with some pars.”
HSBC: New year, same old story for Martin Kaymer at the Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) HSBC Championship.
The two-time major winner from Germany set up another chance for a fourth victory at his regular year-opening tournament, shooting a second straight 6-under 66 Friday to take a one-stroke lead after the second round.
“My favorite golf course,” Kaymer said after tapping in a birdie on the par-5 18th to nudge ahead of Rafa Cabrera Bello with a 12-under 132 total.
Kaymer has averaged 68.73 in 38 rounds over the 7,583-yard National Course, a long track that suits his eye and his game.
“He’s a dangerous player around here,” said Henrik Stenson, who gave up his first-round lead to his Ryder Cup teammate.