Las Vegas, Nevada (August 6, 2011)–A picture is worth a thousand words. And a quote is worth similar. And now the Las Vegas PGA Tour pros are talking about the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and Reno-Tahoe Open. Two Las Vegas golfers are tied at the top of the Bridgestone along with a former Las Vegas golfer while another lurks at Reno. –By Brian Hurlburt.
Adam Scott, a former UNLV Rebel, recorded a scorching 8-under par at the Bridgestone in round one but cooled off in the second round. "I had a lot of momentum yesterday and seemed to find my rhythm off the tee and into the greens and on the greens," Scott told the media after round two. "But today was a little tougher. I started really solid, but couldn't make anything on the front nine, and then — or on my first nine today. And then I just hung a couple drives out to the right, so I was in the rough and scrambling a little bit coming in. But it was fairly solid golf, other than that. It was fairly solid other than that; 70 around this golf course is never really that bad. So hopefully I can hit a few more fairways over the weekend."
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Scott answered a question as to why it is so tough to follow up a very low round. He answered after his second-round 70 following a first-round 62. "The last time I shot 62 was probably a long time ago, so am I going to expect to do it two days in a row?" said Scott, rhetorically. "I don't think so. But it's a hard golf course, and unless you hit a lot of great shots — the first 15 holes yesterday was near perfection for golf, for me anyway, and I've done that once this year. So to do it two days in a row would be exceptional. But it's a hard golf course, and if you're just a little off, you get quite severely penalized. There's no real secret that it's not easy to shoot a couple 62s."
Scott was tied with former UNLV Rebel Ryan Moore and Rickie Fowler, who for a time lived in the Las Vegas Golf Region. "This is where you want to be obviously going into the weekend," said Moore about being tied for the lead. "It's hard to say what Jason might go shoot 7- or 8-under again today. He's certainly capable of it, got the game for it. But I'm right in the mix, I'm right up there where I want to be and need to be, and really for me it was — I played two really solid rounds in a row, and I like that. You know, it's nice to get out and shoot a 7-, 8-under. But at the same time, just shooting a couple solid 4-under rounds of golf where I kind of fought through a little early frustration today and still hung in there and had a good back side. And yesterday was just a good, solid all-around day. Kind of doing it two different ways but two really good solid rounds of golf are a really good way to start off a tournament."
Fowler lived near the TPC Las Vegas for a time before, reportedly, moving to Florida (he also maintains a home in Southern California) "I've been playing well, and it's nice to be in the position I am this past month or so," said Fowler. "I've been playing good golf and putting myself in contention. But it is nice to have Tiger back. But it's not something where I'm out there worrying about what he's doing. Definitely you can feel the energy he's bringing out, a bunch of people, he definitely draws some crowds. And it's nice to be competing against him again, and hopefully he plays well. It's good for the game. We need him. And like I said, he's fun to have around. But I'm focusing on what I'm trying to do, and we'll see what happens for the rest of the week."
Chris Riley was in the top 10 at the Reno-Tahoe Open, a so called second-tier event. Riley doesn't thiknk so. "This is a great opportunity for all the pros like myself that have been there, done that, and then for the young guys trying to get their first win," said Riley. "These opposite events are very important for us. It was kind of funny, I was watching the Golf Channel and they don't even mention this tournament. All they talk about is Tiger. I promise you the guy who wins here on Sunday is gonna have a big smile on their face and it will jumpstart their career, like I did in '02 when I won. It elevated me to the Ryder Cup in 2004.
So don't ever underestimate the Reno-Tahoe Open. It's a PGA TOUR event and it's a great field. You can see the numbers speak for themselves."