Greg

Owen

We haven’t heard much from Owen since he had that meltdown at Bay Hill in March.

Owen hit only 11 greens today but he limited the damage to one bogey against five birdies. Overall, he’s hit 24 greens and taken just 53 putts. At the time he signed his card today, his 12 birdies led the field. The Brit hasn’t had a top five on the PGA TOUR since Pebble Beach in 2007 (T4).

Owen hit 14 greens in his second round and circled another six birdies to finish with a field-high 13 at the time he signed his card. Interestingly, only four of his birdies have occurred on par 5s. The only conversion of note this afternoon measured a mere 11'5" at the second hole.

Owen posted a T9 at Pebble Beach. The top 10 earned him an exemption into last week’s Northern Trust but he missed the cut. He regained form today in converting a field-high seven birdies. Overall, he hit 14 greens and took 28 putts.

Owen is trending well after posting his second top 20 of the season at last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational. He ends the week at 9-under-par 279 and tied for 14th. The Englishman landed 54/72 GIR and rolled a steady putting average of 1.704. He is not eligible for the Masters.

The Brit continues to play well. He’s logged top 20s in three of his last six starts, including a T20 at Bay Hill last week, site of his devastating loss in 2006. In his opener at Redstone, he hit 15 greens and required only 27 putts en route to seven birdies. That set included conversions a 33-footer at the third hole as well as conversions of 23'5" and 22'10" at the fourth and 18th, respectively.

Owen finds himself at 2-under 73-74-67=214 for the tournament and looking to post his third top-25 finish of the year. His third round included eight birdies to three bogeys as he hit 14 GIR and posted a putting average of 1.714. One of the biggest reasons for his third-round success was his ability to avoid the dreaded double-bogeys. He had three in the first two rounds, but avoided them on Saturday.

It’s unknown if he was a late entry or a sponsor exemption this morning. Owen’s infamous three-putt on the 71st hole at Bay Hill is already six years ago. He’s missed the cut in all three return visits and has recorded six consecutive rounds over par.

Owen shared ninth place at Pebble Beach to earn a top-10 exemption into the NTO. He ranked T3 in greens in regulation last week. This will be his fourth appearance at Riviera where he’s cashed twice but has yet to post a top 35.

Owen is 2-under-par 75-67=142 thanks to eight birdies on Torrey Pines North today, including at his final two holes to advance. He’s currently T68 and one of 79 to survive the cut. Therefore, a second cut of low 70 and ties will occur after 54 holes.