Yesterday’s second round of the Farmers Insurance Open was very interesting.  There were some predictable outcomes, but also a few surprises.  So far my predictions from earlier in the week have been relatively accurate.  Let’s review them and discuss what to look for in round 3 today.

1. Phil Mickelson wasn’t able to plug the leaks.  Despite a solid 68 in round 2, his first round 77 proved mortally wounded him this week.  It’s clear that hitting only 50% of the fairways in two rounds, along with averaging more than 30 putts per round aren’t going to cut it.  And they didn’t.

2. Brandt Snedeker as I predicted shot a sub 66 round.  In fact he shot a 64 and made a charge to solo second place.  He’s tied for 9th this week in driving accuracy, but more importantly he is ranked 1st this week in putts per round at 25.  That’s nearly 6 less putts than Phil.  I’d look for Brandt to keep it going today.  Perhaps even taking the lead.  Again, the question with Brandt is whether or not he can finish a tournament.  He holds great stats for scoring in the first three rounds, but he drops way off in the fourth round scoring average.

3. Rickey Barnes  and Nick Watney haven’t played as well as I had thought they might.  I had expected they’d both step up yesterday on the north course at Torrey Pines and make a charge.  They shot 70 and 68 respectively.  Nick Watney could still make a top five finish, but he needs to have a great moving day today.  Ricky Barnes could make a move, but it’s looking more like a potential top 25 finish as opposed to a top 5.

4. Ryan Moore had a disappointing week.  So much for my prediction of a win.  He missed the cut and is on his way home.  Hitting less than 50 percent of the fairways and barely 50 percent of the greens in regulation make for a tough day.  Ryan needs to regroup if he’s to find the magic of last season.

5. Anthony Kim  as predicted missed the cut.  Two terrible rounds of 77 and 75 put him at +8 for the week.  Ouch!  Maybe he can find a good party in Vegas this weekend before heading to Phoenix for the year’s rowdiest event, the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

It sound be an interesting round three today.  What are your thoughts about the weekend?