US Open: Paul Casey grabs share of lead with closing birdie at Pebble Beach

Published on Friday 18 June 2010 10:21

ENGLAND'S Paul Casey will start today's US Open second round as tournament co-leader.

• Paul Casey is in contention at the US Open

The Ryder Cup player birdied Pebble Beach's dramatic closing hole to card a two-under-par 69 and join American Shaun Micheel and Brendon De Jonge of Zimbabwe at the head of the field.

The leaders hold a one-stroke lead over a six-man group that contains another Englishman, Ian Poulter.

Casey had been two under after five holes but dropped a shot at the ninth before finishing birdie, bogey, par, birdie and the 32-year-old was delighted with the finish to a solid day's work spent battling some indifferent ball-striking.

"Even today I struggled with it, missing it both ways, which isn't great," Casey said. "But I did a wonderful job of managing my way around this golf course.

"I had low expectations coming in because of the ball-striking and practice had been certainly frustrating and I went out there thinking just have a great time, enjoy the crowds, enjoy Pebble Beach, it's a wonderful place to be any time of the year, let alone when it's gorgeous sunshine.

"And it paid dividends. The putting was obviously very good today. That was the key to the round. I made the putts and made the par saves when I needed to."

Poulter was also satisfied having limited his round to a couple of over-par scores on a difficult day on Pebble Beach's firm fairways and small greens that produced a combined two eagles and 341 birdies against 730 bogeys and 132 double bogeys or worse.

"I just played really solid," world number eight Poulter said. "I didn't miss many greens and drove it well.

"I gave myself plenty of looks from the right side of the pins. You need to do that around this golf course. It's all about distance control with your irons. You can drive it well and have a few looks at birdie and you can put together a good score.

"One under is a good score today.

"If you're going to limit your bogeys to two a day around this golf course, you're going to have a lot of shortish iron shots...and I think that's probably five or six chances out there."

Poulter shares second place with Korea's KJ Choi, Canada's Mike Weir, Spain's Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Alex Cejka of Germany and 18-year-old Japanese star Ryo Ishikawa, while another Englishman, Luke Donald, and Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell are in a group a further shot back at level par.

World number one Tiger Woods did not drop a shot until the par-four ninth but two more bogeys, at the 16th and 18th, left the man who tamed Pebble Beach at the 2000 US Open with a birdie-free 74, three over par.

That was the same score as playing partner and world number three Lee Westwood, with two-time champion Ernie Els the best of the marquee group at two over following a double-bogey five at the 17th.

Ireland's three-time major winner Padraig Harrington and Masters champion Phil Mickelson endured frustrating rounds but will not be too distressed to be sitting three and five shots off the lead following a 73 and 75 respectively.

Harrington, just three weeks on from undergoing minor knee surgery, had a three-birdie, five-bogey round while five-time US Open runner-up Mickelson, who turned 40 on Wednesday, went birdie-free for the first time since 2007 with his 75 – one of his bogeys coming at the 18th, his ninth, when the left-hander's second shot bounced off the sea wall down the left and into the ocean.

"It's just frustrating because I came in here prepared," Mickelson said.

"I hit a lot of good shots today, gave myself a lot of birdie opportunities and putted terrible."