Litchfield Park, Ariz. (Wednesday, December 30, 2015) – Adam Wood, from Duke University, posted a 1-under-70 and is 3-under thru two rounds at The Patriot All-America Invitational on the Gold Course at The Wigwam in Litchfield Park, Ariz. Braden Thornberry, from University of Mississippi, was the biggest mover of the day, whose 4-under 67 jumped him 14 spots to second.
Wood had an up-and-down round that included six birdies and five bogeys. He moved into a brief tie for first with opening round leader Federico Zucchetti after a birdie on the second. He would drop out of the lead after bogey on the next hole but moved into sole possession of first after a birdie at No. 4. Another bogey at No. 6 would drop him into a tie for the lead with Chris O’Neill. Both players birded the seventh and eighth before O’Neill’s bogey at No. 9 knocked him out of first. Wood bogeyed No. 10 to drop back into a tie with O’Neill.
O’Neill would again take the lead after his bogey-birdie-par stretch at Nos. 13-15 bettered Wood’s bogey-birdie-bogey stretch. O’Neill carded triple bogey at No. 16 to fall into a tie for third. Wood birdied No. 17 to move to 3-under for the tournament and in sole possession of first place.
“The front 9 was kind of up and down,” Wood said, “I made two birdies in my first six holes but I also matched it with two bogeys. I kind of butchered both the par 3s on the front side. But I had a lot of momentum going into the back. I birdied 7 and 8 and made a good par save on 9. But on the back nine I made one too many bogeys. Bogeying a par 5 probably wasn’t according to plan. But I made a nice birdie there on 17 and a quality putt here on 18 to round it out. I probably made enough birdies to cancel out one too many mistakes but all-in-all, it was pretty solid and I’m pleased going into tomorrow.”
Starting the day T-16th after an opening round 2-over-par 73, Thornberry opened with bogey to drop to 3-over. A birdie at No. 6 helped move him back to even par for the round. Starting on No. 12, Thornberry birdied five of the next six holes, including four straight, to move to 3-under and into third place. After a bogey on 18, Thornberry wound up shooting 67 for the day and is two-under for the tournament.
Wood and Thornberry are tied for the tournament lead with 10 birdies a piece.
“I bogeyed the first hole so I was kind of off to a slow start,” said Thornberry. “Putts weren’t going in but I stayed patient and they started going in. Then I turned onto the back nine and made four birdies in a row so I really jumped my round going and I went from there.”
The third round will commence with a shotgun start at 11:00 am.
Top 10 Individual Results
- Adam Wood69-70=139 (-3)
- Braden Thornberry73-67=140 (-2)
T3. Carson Jacobs 71-71=142 (E)
T3. Shotaro Ban 70-72=142 (E)
T3. Chris O’Neill 70-72=142 (E)
6. David Kocher72-71=143 (+1)
7. Sean Crocker71-73=144 (+2)
T8. George Cunningham 69-76=145 (+3)
T8. Will Grimmer 74-71=145 (+3)
T8. Chris Petefish 72-73=145 (+3)
T8. Carson Schaake 71-74=145 (+3)
Patriot All-America Invitational
Second Round Quotes
Adam Wood
On his round:
The front 9 was kind of up and down, I made two birdies in my first six holes but I also matched it with two bogeys. I kind of butchered both the par 3s on the front side. But I had a lot of momentum going into the back. I birdied 7 and 8 and made a good par save on 9. But on the back nine I made one too many bogeys. Bogeying a par 5 probably wasn’t according to plan. But I made a nice birdie there on 17 and a quality putt here on 18 to round it out. I probably made enough birdies to cancel out one too many mistakes but all-in-all, it was pretty solid and I’m pleased going into tomorrow.
On tomorrow’s game plan:
I had two bogeys and a double yesterday and I had five bogeys today. I’d like to cut down on that a little bit. I’m hitting enough good iron shots and enough good putts to where I think I’m going to make a few birdies. But that’s only going to help you so much if you’re matching them with bogeys. So I think if I cut down on the mistakes and limit the amount of bogeys I make tomorrow, I think I’ll make a few birdies and I’ll be right there at the end.
Braden Thornberry
On his day:
I bogeyed the first hole so I was kind of off to a slow start. Putts weren’t going in but I stayed patient and they started going in. Then I turned onto the back nine and made four birdies in a row so I really jumped my round going and I went from there.
On the four-straight birdies:
I just did what I was doing all day, the putts just weren’t going in earlier and they started to drop, I got some lucky breaks and things just started to go my way.
On tomorrow’s game plan:
I don’t know what the lead is going to be at, I’m assuming something like four, five (under) something like that, so I’ll be a couple back. I’m just going to be aggressive just like I was today.