While the leaderboard was a star-studded affair through one round in Charlotte, the second day of action saw many of the big names struggle. Here’s how things look after 36 holes at the Wells Fargo Championship, where Angel Cabrera and Martin Flores share the lead:
Leaderboard: Angel Cabrera (-9), Martin Flores (-9), Justin Rose (-8), Shawn Stefani (-7), Martin Kaymer (-6), Kevin Kisner (-6)
What it means: Cabrera held the lead after the first round and now shares it with Flores, who carded a 68 Friday and is in search of his first PGA Tour win. A number of notable names remain within striking range, including former major winners Rose, Kaymer and Stewart Cink.
Round of the day: Golf is a funny game, and Brendon de Jonge can certainly attest to that fact. De Jonge struggled to an 80 in the opening round, failing to record a single birdie, but then turned around and fired a bogey-free 62. The effort tied the Quail Hollow course record, as de Jonge carded seven birdies and an eagle at the par-4 14th hole. After starting the day near the bottom of the standings, the Zimbabwean made the cut with ease and nearly matched Kevin Stadler (81-61, 2008 Frys.com Open) for the biggest turnaround in recent memory.
Best of the rest: Kisner is one of several players in contention for a maiden win, and moved into a tie for sixth with a 6-under 66 Friday. Kisner followed his only bogey of the day at No. 6 with an eagle at the par-5 seventh, and enters the weekend in position to record what would be just his second career top-10 finish on the PGA Tour.
Biggest disappointment: Several big names struggled, including Rory McIlroy (76) and Phil Mickelson (75), who both moved backwards after over-par rounds. They’ll still both play the weekend, though, which is more than can be said for Lee Westwood. After an eventful 1-under 71 Thursday, Westwood carded a 76 that included a trio of double bogeys on Nos. 4, 7 and 16. At 3 over, the Englishman missed the cut by two shots.
Main storyline heading into Saturday: Cabrera is still in search of his first non-major win on the PGA Tour, though he certainly knows how to close after wins at both the 2007 U.S. Open and 2009 Masters. The player to watch at this point, though, may be Rose, who logged a solid effort last week in New Orleans and is still in search of his first win since breaking through last summer at Merion.
Shot of the day: Flores started his round with a bang, knocking in a birdie at No. 10 before holing a wedge approach from 105 yards at No. 11. The birdie-eagle start propelled Flores to an outward 32.
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