Australia’s Marcus Fraser proved today that he’s no one-round wonder. It was not quite the 63 he shot in round one, but a two-under par 69 makes Fraser the first 36-hole leader in modern Olympic Golf history. Fraser kept the round two lead the same way he captured the round one lead: fairways and greens.
Going 14/18 for the second day in a row, which means he has hit 78% of his greens. That will lead to positive results anywhere, for the man who is not yet well-known on the PGA Tour.
Fraser leads by one stroke over Belgium’s Thomas Pieters, and two over Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, the Open Championship winner who is probably the hottest player in the world right now.
Top 10
1 Marcus Fraser (AUS) -10
2 Thomas Pieters (BEL) -9
3 Henrik Stenson (SWE) -8
T4 Gregory Bourdy (FRA), Justin Rose (GBR) -6
T6 Rafa Cabrera-Bello (ESP), Graham DeLaet (CAN), Danny Lee (NZ), Fabian Gomez (ARG) -5
T10 Cheng Tsung Pan (CHT), Thorbjorn Olesen (DEN), Alex Cejka (GER), Seamus Power (IRE) -4
American Golfers
T14 Matt Kuchar -3
T18 Bubba Watson -2
T22 Patrick Reed -1
50 Rickie Fowler +4
Three Best Round 2 Scores
1 Danny Lee (NZ) -6
T2 Thomas Pieters (BEL) -5
T2 Rodolfo Cazaubon (MEX) -5
Three Worst Round 2 Scores
1 Julien Quesne (FRA) +8
2 Wen-Tan Lin (CHT) +6
T3 Espen Kofstad (NOR) +5
T3 Jhonattan Vegas (VEN) +5
T3 Roppe Kakko (FIN) +5
About the Leader & Social Media
Fraser is a great follow on social media. One of his funniest tweets was this recent comment where he lumped himself in with Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson.
Congrats Phil & @henrikstenson we now have 6 majors & 1 Russian Open between us, pleasure watching you boys battle it out. @TheOpen ??
— Marcus Fraser (@Marcusfraser) July 17, 2016
U.S. Senior Open Update
Central Ohio native and fan favorite Joey Sindelar shot a four-under 66 to take the lead after two rounds at The U.S. Senior Open in Columbus, OH. Sindelar leads Billy Mayfair by one stroke.
First round leader Vijay Singh could not keep his momentum going, and plummeted down the leaderboard after a round of +5. Not a local resident, but a fan favorite everywhere he goes followed up his respectable even-par 70 with an ugly +11 81. Needless to say, he missed the cut.
Web.com Tour Update
The Web.com Tour is in Springfield, MO this week at the Price Cutter Charity Championship. Brad Elder followed up a 10-under 62 in round one with a four-under 68. At -14, Elder leads the field. He is in the midst of a disappointing season (currently 92nd on the money list), but with this win, would go into the Top 25 in the rankings, helping him get his PGA Tour card for next season.
Quote of the Day
“It’s hard to build any momentum when you’re not making putts. I’m not hitting it as close as I’d like to. I made some good swings in the middle of my round, made some birdies and actually hit some close and made some good putts, it’s tough to really continue the momentum when you don’t piece together shots and make putts on top of it. It’s really close to some great golf right now, it’s just unfortunate, it’s hard to go through the low point” ~ Rickie Fowler on his Olympic struggles.
Rickie’s Roadie
Actor Matthew McCanoughey was a surprising spectator at today’s round 2 action. He spent considerable time following around Rickie Fowler today. Fowler said that they had not met before today.
Nominee for the most interesting conversation of the day…
How'd it play out?#OlympicGolf pic.twitter.com/eRpOojhcD5
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 12, 2016
Are you watching #OlympicGolf?
'Cause it'd be a lot cooler if you did ?. Right, @McConaughey? pic.twitter.com/ZDuZxEMLqq
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) August 12, 2016
Twitter Exchange of the Day
For the second day in a row, Billy Horschel had the most entertaining interaction with a fan. Trolls are a pain every athlete on twitter has to deal with, and Horschel had a classy response to a supercilious post from one of them today.
These guys are amazing. Course maintenance staff/volunteers don't get enough credit week in and week out https://t.co/IOlpJIvJnV
— Billy Horschel (@BillyHo_Golf) August 12, 2016
Adorable Video of the Day: Phelps the Frog
Hunter Mahan’s daughter made a new friend during one of the length rain delays at the John Deere Classic in Northern Illinois.
Workout of the Day
This is a workout from fitness junkie Justin Rose that has a lot of application to golf. This one targets the back and shoulders.
A great training & warm up exercise for the back & shoulders for golfers. Shown here by @JustinRose99 @TeamGB #golf pic.twitter.com/kkk6GRuoMU
— ETPI (@Etpi) August 12, 2016
Analyst Thought of the Day
Aaron Oberholser commented on one of the things that makes Olympic golf so great. In a world where everything is sponsored by some corporation, this event is pure.
"Olympic Men's Individual Stroke Play". No title sponsor, no "presented by". Pretty cool.
— Arron Oberholser (@ArronOberholser) August 12, 2016
Off-Week Video of the Day
England’s Chris Wood, one of the few great golfers who did not get the chance to turn down an Olympic invitation (Justin Rose and Danny Willett are representing Great Britain), decided to play some football by the pool.
What does the #BMWchamp @chris3wood get up to in his spare time….. #GolfersTan #Tekkers pic.twitter.com/HtZMC8Vgsh
— Octagon Golf (@OctagonGolf) August 12, 2016
Someone should ask @McIlroyRory if he thinks this is a good idea.
Beef Golf Post of the Day
Because you can’t get enough ‘Beef’, here’s a look at Beef being Beef. He might be jealous of that beer sponsorship Smylie Kaufman landed yesterday.
On there way out on the course. So tempted to start drinking them ???. pic.twitter.com/W672i7aSNX
— Andrew 'Beef' Johnston (@BeefGolf) August 12, 2016
Creative Shot of the Day
Patrick Rodgers has found a way to practice when it’s raining out. This could spawn an indoor Olympic golf circuit.
So excited that golf has returned to the big games for the first time in 112 years! #ULTRAgolf @michelobULTRA #ad pic.twitter.com/57rwJVuing
— Patrick Rodgers (@PRodgersGolf) August 12, 2016
Behind the Scenes
It takes hard work and a lot of great people to keep these tournaments going.
Real heroes don't wear capes. pic.twitter.com/vaFwxC0lzV
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 12, 2016
Photo of the Day
This is a look at the Olympic gym from Spain’s Rafa Cabrera-Bello.
Equipment
Marcus Fraser likes these shoes, and he’s the 36-hole leader at the Olympics. Perhaps you should like these shoes as well. They are the Tour 360 Boa Boost Shoes from Adidas.
The #TOUR360BOOST with boa technology. Available now: https://t.co/7frk4DEFpP pic.twitter.com/4so1Tk4hiz
— adidas Golf Europe (@adidasGolfEU) March 18, 2016
Number of the Day
115
Marcus Fraser’s season scoring average of 72.29 rank 115th on the European Tour. Through two rounds, his Olympic scoring average is 66.00.
