CPC scores go blowing in the Kiawah Island wind

The blistering wind that whipped the famed Ocean Course was so tough that no one broke par on Friday in the 38th PGA Club Professional Championship. In fact, the field posted a scoring average of 79.06 on the day, shattering the CPC single-round record of 78 set back in 1981. Alan Morin of Florida and Travis Long of Nevada share the lead at even-par 144.

By Bob Denney, PGA of America

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. (PGA.com) -- What kind of a day was Friday at the 38th PGA Club Professional Championship? Perhaps "Survivor" host Jeff Probst could have served as the official starter.

It was Probst's kind of day on Kiawah Island. And golfers found no means of immunity.

The Ocean Course, caressed by 25-mile-per hour gusts, befuddled the nation's finest PGA Professionals by sending scores to an event-record-high level and leaving Alan Morin of Royal Palm Beach, Fla., and rookie Travis Long of Henderson, Nev., feeling shell-shocked yet sharing the 36-hole lead at even-par 144.

"It was not fun, not fun at all," said Morin, 36, who had shared the first-round lead and then battled to hold on. "Even on the downwind holes, it was tough to keep the ball on the greens. It's hard to pick a club, to make a decision. It's a survival test."

Seventy-five players earned a ticket to the weekend's final 36 holes, including lone female entrant Suzy Whaley of Farmington, Conn. She posted a 2-over-par 74 for a 152 total, two strokes above the CPC record cut line of 10-over-par 154.

"I made reservations for the weekend, and now I'm here," said Whaley. "This is what I had worked to get to. I'm proud of the way I played, the way I hung in there."

There are 20 players within four strokes of the lead. Morin, who began the day at 4-under, finished with a 76, while Long struggled in several hours earlier with a 75, then watched the remainder of the field finish on television from the comfort of a hotel room.

Morin, a PGA Assistant Professional at the Falls Country Club in Lake Worth, Fla., hit only five greens in regulation and took 27 putts to hold his round together. Long, a PGA Assistant Professional at Southshore Golf Club in Henderson, Nev., also had 27 putts, while hitting just nine greens.

"I was just trying to make the cut," said Long, "but I figured that if I could get to even par, it would be in great position, and it turns out, it is."

The Ocean Course yielded a scoring average of 79.06, shattering the CPC single-round record of 78 strokes set in 1981 in the third round at PGA National Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Long and Morin's challengers in the $500,000 national championship are led by Jim Sobb of Barrington, Ill., who finished with a 74 and 145 total. He had eight one-putt greens and needed just 13 putts on the back nine to make a statement.

"I can't wait for the weekend," said Sobb, a 49-year-old PGA Head Professional at Ivanhoe (Ill.) Club. "It's anybody's game."

Two-time Champion Tim Thelen of Richmond, Texas, led a fivesome two strokes back at 146 that included Scott Spence of Shorewood, Minn.; Craig Thomas of Oceanside, N.Y.; first-round co-leader Mark Mielke of East Norwich, N.Y.; and Chris Starkjohann of Encinitas, Calif. Thomas and Brett Melton of Monee, Va., who is at 147, were the only players to match par.

For Morin, three back nine bogeys overshadowed the fact that he was still sharing the lead.

"I'm a little tougher on myself than that," said Morin. "I should have at least held it together better. I do think having the experience of being a leader in this has helped and will help. You learn how to deal with it, and it's just experience."

What was a new experience for Morin came at the par-4 10th hole, as he hit his approach left and up on a small sandy ridge. He pitched to the green and made a 12-foot par saving putt. But the hole had its share of dramatic happenings to leave Morin shaking his head.

"My ball had a huge clump of mud on it and I hit it and it came out like a Phil Niekro knuckleball," said Morin. "As I got to the green, I saw this snake come wiggling across. I wasn't about to ask him what he was doing there. I gave him the right of way. And, I also was looking at my ball near a fire ant hill. I didn't want to check it out for sure. It was that kind of a day."

Saturday's third round will begin at 7:30 a.m. ET, with players split into a two-tee start.

The 38th PGA Club Professional Championship is being contested for the first time in South Carolina. The field of 156 players is composed of players representing 39 states and 39 PGA Sections.

The Championship concludes Sunday, with the low 25 scorers earning a berth in the 87th PGA Championship, Aug. 11-14, at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J. The low eight scorers will join the 2003 and 2004 national champions on the 2005 U.S. PGA Cup Team that faces Great Britain and Ireland, Sept. 23-25, at The K Club in Straffan, County Kildare, Ireland.

The 38th PGA Club Professional Championship is presented by Titleist, FootJoy and Cobra; Buick; Club Car and Amstel Light and Buckler. The Greg Norman Collection is the Official Golf Apparel of the CPC, and The Golf Channel an exclusive media partner and the PGA Tour a contributing partner.

The PGA of America, founded in 1916, is a not-for-profit organization that promotes the game of golf while continuing to enhance the standards of the profession. The Association is comprised of more than 28,000 men and women PGA Professionals who are dedicated to growing participation in the game of golf.

• News Index