SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- Dean Wilson fired an 8-under 62 Friday to move into the lead after two rounds of the Texas Open. Wilson stands one stroke clear of the field at 12-under-par 128.
Jeff Maggert and John Senden, who shared second place entering the round, each posted rounds of 4-under 66. They remain tied for second at 11-under-par 129.
First-round leader Robert Gamez posted a 2-under 68, He was joined in a tie for fourth place at minus-10 by Bob Heintz (65), Woody Austin (67) and Olin Browne (65).
Wilson played the back nine first on Friday and got on the board with a birdie at the par-4 12th. He moved to 6 under with a birdie on the par-5 14th. Two holes later, the 35-year-old picked up his third birdie of the day.
The Hawaiian climbed to minus-8 as he dropped in a birdie putt on the 18th, his ninth. Wilson then converted a birdie chance on the par-3 third on the Resort Course at LaCantera Golf Club.
Wilson, who is better known to some for playing with Annika Sorenstam at the 2003 Colonial, dropped his approach shot to the seventh 10 feet from the cup and sank the putt for birdie.
At the next, Wilson’s approach shot stopped within 5 feet of the hole and he made that for his seventh birdie of the round. He stuck his second shot to the 18th within 3 feet, setting up his final birdie of the round.
‘It was a little windy starting the day and I think it just kind of stayed constant all day,’ Wilson said. ‘Maybe the last couple of holes I felt some wind coming up, so maybe we were getting a little bit of that hurricane weather coming up.’
Wilson owns just three top-10 finishes all season, but two of them have come in the last seven weeks. He has also missed three cuts during that span though.
‘It seems like the last month or so I’ve thrown in a good round and a bad round, so I’ve had some glimpses of decent golf,’ Wilson said. ‘It feels nice to get a couple of good rounds in here.’
Maggert opened with a birdie on the par-4 first. He maintained his strong play with birdies on the fourth and seventh to get to 10 under. The 41-year-old parred his next six holes before converting a birdie try on the par-5 14th. He parred out to share second.
Senden played his first five holes in 1 over as he bogeyed the 12th, his third. The Australian ran off three straight birdies from the 15th to jump to 9 under.
The 34-year-old moved into a tie for second around the turn as he birdied the first and third. Senden remained at minus-11 as he parred his final six holes.
Mark Wilson carded a 3-under 67 to take eighth place at 8-under-par 132. Alex Cejka, Ted Purdy, David Hearn and J.J. Henry are one stroke further back at minus-7. Defending champion Bart Bryant is tied with five other players for 13th at 6-under-par 134.
The other big story this week is 2001 British Open champion David Duval making the cut. Duval posted a 2-under 68 and is tied for 31st at 3-under-par 137. He snapped a streak of 17 straight missed cuts.
‘It’s a cycle that needed to be broken, but I’ve been playing a lot better than my scores have reflected for the last six weeks,’ Duval said. ‘Each day I seem to hit the highest score I possibly could, the last six or eight rounds I’ve played. It’s no different this week so far. I’ve hit it really well, just made a couple stupid mistakes.’
A total of 74 players made the cut which came at 1-under-par 139.
Related Links:
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up
