The Starter: Round 2, CA Championship

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Mar. 13, 2009
By PGATOUR.COM staff

LIVE@: Coverage from Doral, 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET

The first group will soon tee off in today's second round of the World Golf Championships-CA Championship. Here's how it sets up:

Groups We're Watching

Tee time	Players
11:05 am ET No. 10		Padraig Harrington, Justin Leonard, Robert Allenby Harrington has struggled with his form this year, but he's off to a good start this week. Track 'em
11:35 pm ET No. 10		Martin Kaymer, Phil Mickelson, Andres Romero Mickelson chipped in three times Thursday but was only lukewarm for half his round. Can he put together 18 good holes? Track 'em
12:35 pm ET No. 1		Tiger Woods, Mike Weir, Robert Karlsson Woods was frustrated on the greens Thursday, but thought he played well otherwise. If Track 'em

EXPERT PREVIEW: PGA TOUR Network on-site correspondent Mark Carnevale previews Friday's second round:

I have decided that after Round 1 at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship, they need to change the name of the golf course to the Red Monster as 53 rounds were shot at 1 under or better. That is about two thirds of the field shooting under par. I don't remember this golf course playing easier. The weather is expected to be very similar for the second round, with the wind picking up slightly. Unless it picks up a lot, I would expect to see continued good play and low scoring.

Friday's forecast

Partly Cloudy
Temp: 78 high/68 low
Intervals of clouds and sunshine throughout the day. Winds will come out of the east-southeast at 10-15 mph.

Before Round 1, I wrote about the new DVD on short game that Phil Mickelson is releasing. Well, as I said before, I am going out to buy one in April -- Phil had 20 putts in the first round and chipped in three times. Before his round, he said he went back over his notes, and that really helped make the course appear much simpler to him and allowed him to go out and just perform. With that attitude and confidence, look for Phil to continue his good play as this tournament moves along.

I actually saw something in the first round that I've never seen before. I was out with the grouping of Tiger Woods, Mike Weir and Robert Karlsson, and Karlsson's caddie was wearing a watch on each arm. They weren't just any watches, but two-tone Rolexes. I later found out that he wears both watches because one of them is Robert's and he does not want to risk losing it in the bag or scratching it. Now that is some good caddying!

The world's No. 1 was just a hair off in Round 1. I thought Tiger Woods drove the ball quite well. He and teacher Hank Haney have been working on keeping Tiger's tee shots between the trees. Based on what I saw, he is well on his way to doing that much more consistently than in the past. If that's the case, Tiger will be back in form really soon. A 71 in Round 1 has Tiger six shots back of the lead. Look for Tiger to post 4 or 5 under in Round 2, getting closer and gaining some confidence.

Stat of the day

Phil Mickelson matched the third-fewest number of putts for nine holes in PGA TOUR history for his back nine on Thursday with eight. Stan Utley needed six putts on the front nine of the second round of the 2002 Air Canada Championship, and Bill Nary used seven putts on the back nine of the third round of the 1952 El Paso Open.

NOTEWORTHY NUGGETS:
Compiled by Elias Sports Bureau

• Sean O'Hair began his first round with eagles on the first and second holes. This was the first time in his career that he's made two eagles in a row. The last player to have two eagles in a row at Doral was David Toms, who, in 1999, eagled the same two holes O'Hair eagled.

• Tiger Woods finished the first round at 1 under, a tie for his highest first-round score at Doral. His finishes at Doral have been much heralded as he has finished in the top 10 in each of the six tournaments he has played at this course. In 2007, Woods also finished 1 under in the first round of this event, and he went on to win.

• Woods' impressive play at Doral might be because he seems to be able to hit most of the greens even though he tends to miss many fairways. Entering this week, Woods had hit 54.5% of the fairways and 73.4% of the greens, a difference of 18.9%. That is the second-largest difference between fairways-in-regulation to greens-in-regulation for courses that he has played 15 or more times. His largest disparity is at East Lake, where he's hit 44.6% of fairways and 72.9% of all greens, a difference of 28.3%.

• Jeev Milkha Singh finished tied for the first-round lead at 7 under -- his career-low round on the PGA TOUR. Singh also recorded eight birdies on his round, also a career best. The only other round Singh has led on TOUR was the first round of the 2008 PGA Championship, where he went on to tie for ninth.

Thus far at Doral

Round	Leader	Low round (par 72)	Key links
	Phil Mickelson, Jeev Milkha Singh, Prayad Marksaeng, Retief Goosen (-7)	65: Mickelson, Singh, Marksaeng, Goosen	Daily Wrap-up \| Live Report Ross column \| T.J.'s Take Live Report \| Notebook

The Film Room

	PGA TOUR Today Win McMurry updates action from the first round at Doral and previews what to watch for in the second round. Watch it
	Shot of the day Phil Mickelson chips in for birdie on the 17th and 18th holes on his way to a share of the lead. Watch it
	Inconsistent start for Woods Tiger Woods carded a 1-under 71 then talked about his putting with Mark Carnevale from the PGA TOUR Network on SIRIUS XM Radio, among others. Watch it