Friday Notes: Farmers Insurance Open

A few notes from the Farmers Insurance Open at the halfway point:

Star Watch

- Phil Mickelson moved into the top ten with a 2nd round 65 on the easier north course. Along with him at -7 is the much-publicized rookie Ricky Fowler. Watch for both of them to make a move on the weekend.

- The Big Easy finds himself at -5 after two days with a 2nd round 69. Els drove the ball wildly today with a 29% driving accuracy, but made up for it by being deadly on approach shots (94% GIR). He needs to putt better if he wants a chance on the weekend, as he had 33 putts today.

Notables

- Biggest surprise on the leaderboard is Matt Every, who is in a tie for third at -9. He is probably most well known for competing on Big Break: Mesquite, which seems to have been by far the best Big Break in terms of success of the competitors on professional tours. Another notable contestant from the show is James Nitties, who made nearly $1 million on the PGA Tour last year as a rookie (although he missed the cut this week).

Trunk Slammin'

- Bubba Watson never got it going, shooting 70 and 74 to miss the cut after a promising 2nd place finish last week at the Bob Hope Classic. Watson is well known for his gargantuan drives and imaginative play, but he has failed to produce wins even with all his talent. The 2nd place finish last week was encouraging, so we'll see how he does throughout the course of the year.

- John Daly has missed yet another cut, with a 1st round 79 doing him in. I really hope he can get his life (and game) back on track; the tour needs his unique personality and exceptional talent. The past years have been hard on him but he has begun to turn it around since last year. I'll be rooting for his comeback.