The Live Report, Round 2: FBR Open

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Nick Watney moved into contention Friday with an 8-under 63, matching his career low score.

The FBR Open is the fourth tournament of the PGA TOUR season. PGATOUR.COM's The Live Report will provide updates all day long for each of the five rounds, so check back often. (All timestamps listed for Eastern Time.) LIVE ESSENTIALS: Shot Tracker -- follow every shot | Live Scoring -- in real time | PGA TOUR Network -- SIRIUS 209/XM 146

WAITING GAME (7:20 p.m.): It looks like those guys who finished 36 holes at 1 over are going to have to sleep on things before they learn their fate. Like the opening round, there will be a few groups left on the golf course as darkness descends on the Valley of the Sun and currently the cut is at even par.

A player can drive himself nuts in his room or the locker room watching his computer and hanging on every posted score. For those players who have finished at 1 over they likely won't know whether or not to suit up for the third round or pack up for next week until after breakfast on Saturday. -- John Maginnes

SUCCESS IN THE DESERT (6:35 p.m.): There is something about having ties to the desert that agrees with the players this week. Current leader Charley Hoffman is a desert rat. He won the 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer in Palm Springs last year and makes his home in Vegas. Ryan Moore lives in Vegas as well and went to UNLV. Cameron Beckman, who is making a run up the leaderboard here on Friday afternoon, won just around the corner last fall at the Frys.com Open.

For east coast players there is a rather large learning curve when it comes to playing in the desert. But all you have to do is look at Chris DiMarco, Mark Calcavecchia and Rocco Mediate, all of whom have won here before, to realize that Florida boys can have success in the Valley of the Sun. Of that group, though, it looks like only Rocco has a chance to be around this weekend. -- John Maginnes

WHAT TO WATCH FOR ON SATURDAY (6:00 p.m.): As the second round wraps up from TPC Scottsdale, it's clear the course is generally playing tougher in the afternoon with the greens firming up. Not to mention the fairways are already pretty well squeezed from previous years.

What does all that mean? Expect scores to be not quite as low over the weekend, but do look for players to continue to make their move on the par 5s and short par 4s like 17 where they can go for the green off the tee. -- Brian Wacker

LITE ON THE LOGOS (5:34 p.m.): Looks like James Nitties isn't the only one going logo-less today. Here's a snippet from Ryan Moore:

Q. Well, you're going sans logo, no logos, on the hat, shirt, you've got a kelly green and blue bag. How did you pick the kelly green and blue bag?

RYAN MOORE: You know, I have no idea. It was just kind of random. Now that I think about it, it's kind of Seahawks colors, and I'm from the Seattle area. I was sorting through, I looked at what they had available, and I kind of liked that one. It might change shortly, we'll see.

FROM THE INTERVIEW ROOM (5:15 p.m.): One of the reasons Nick Watney is playing so well is that he's long off the tee and good at finding the green. Another is the work he put in this off-season with Butch Harmon. Here's a snippet from his press room interview today. -- Brian Wacker

Q. The work you did in the off-season on your putting, your confidence was higher going into this season on the greens?

NICK WATNEY: Yeah, well, I've been working with Butch a lot, and then I kind of really tried to make things much more simple and pick a target and hit it there and kind of forget about all the other things and kind of try to putt like you did when you were a kid, like 13 or whatever. You tell a kid to hit it at the spike mark and he'll do it, so that's what I've been trying to do.

Mayfair

MAYFAIR SPORTS CARDINALS JERSEY (4:59 p.m.): Earlier this week, Billy Mayfair told PGATOUR.COM viewers why he thought the Arizona Cardinals would win the Super Bowl.

And on Friday during the second round of the FBR Open, he showed the fans in Phoenix that he was behind the hometown team when he wore No. 34 Tim Hightower Cardinals jersey as he played the 16th hole.

Mayfair was greeted by cheers as he came out of the tunnel, where he had donned the jersey. The noise continued as he hit his tee shot on the green and made par.

Mayfair

Mayfair could be looking at an early exit from the tournament, though. He opened with a 6-over 77 and was in last as he played the 16th hole. As much as the Arizona State product would love to be around for the weekend, at least he'll be home for the Super Bowl party. -- Helen Ross

MICKELSON MISSES CUT (4:20 p.m.): Phil Mickelson, making his 2009 PGA TOUR debut, missed the cut at the FBR Open for only the fourth time in 20 starts. He has nine top-10s during that stretch, including two victories, most recently in 2005, and he lost in a playoff last year.

"It just didn't come together," Mickelson, who shot 77-73, said. "I didn't play well. The course is beautiful. It's in great shape, and it's an exciting time here with the Cardinals being in the Super Bowl. But I didn't get that momentum and play well.

"I'll go home and get some work done over the weekend and see if I can get things on track for San Diego next week."

Mickelson didn't know the last time he missed the cut in Phoenix -- for the record, it was 2007 -- but he did recall making an early exit at last year's AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and winning the following week in Los Angeles.

"This will give me a few more days to get my game sharp," Mickelson said. "Again, I didn't feel as far off as the score indicated obviously, but I'll get some good work done this weekend and hopefully come out sharp and ready to play next Thursday. -- Helen Ross

PAST CHAMPION CHECK (4:05 p.m.): A lot of times, particular players play well at particular courses. In other words, there's a reason J.B. Holmes has won here two of the last three years. That, of course, isn't always the case and you need look no further than Phil Mickelson missing the cut in a season-opener for the first time in his career. With that in mind here's a closer look at how past FBR Open champions from the last five years are doing this week. -- Brian Wacker

GOOD LUCK MEAL? (3:40 p.m.): Briny Baird may have bagged the sponsorship deal, but Kenny Perry was a walking advertisement for P.F. Chang's on Friday.

"We were sitting there eating, and I was telling the Scotts ... and my wife and my son, I said, "That meal was so good I'll probably shoot 63 tomorrow.'" Perry said. "That's the exact words out of my mouth, and I go shoot it, so what does that tell you? It tells you how strong the mind is."

Turns out, first round co-leaders James Nitties and Lucas Glover had eaten at the same P.F. Chang's the previous evening.

"The waiter told me I should have been there the night before because they were in there and what they shot," said Perry, who is two strokes off the lead held by Nick Watney. "It was pretty interesting. I might need to go there again tonight." -- Helen Ross

MATCHING 63s (3:25 p.m.): Nick Watney, one of our sleeper picks this week, and Kenny Perry just turned in the best rounds of the tournament so far. How the two got there, however, was a bit different. One similarity? They both scored well on the more difficult front nine at TPC Scottsdale. -- Brian Wacker

Here's a look at Watney's scorecard, followed by Perry's:

TOUGH PREDICTIONS (3:00 p.m.): What experts? (Click here for our Expert Picks)

The top three picks made by PGATOUR.COM's panel of experts have missed the cut -- Phil Mickelson, defending champion J.B. Holmes and Anthony Kim.

Mickelson, who had never missed the cut in his season opener, shot 7 over while Kim and Holmes each were 4 over. Before you start taunting us, though -- how many of you would have made the same choices? -- Helen Ross

WATNEY SURGES AHEAD (2:45 p.m.): Nick Watney is on pace for possibly a career round right now after two eagles and three birdies moved him to 7 under for the day and into the early lead.

Watney has never fared all that well at TPC Scottsdale, where he has failed to crack the top 30 in any of his four previous starts at the FBR Open. So far, he hasn't had much trouble this week, even on the more difficult front nine. -- Brian Wacker

Here's a look at Watney's scorecard today. Follow his round live by clicking here.

ZACH ATTACK (2:15 p.m.): Zach Johnson is already off to the best start he's ever had in a season with a T6 at the Mercedes-Benz Championship and a win at the Sony Open in Hawaii that put him atop the FedExCup standings and the money list.

Johnson

After taking last week off to get some much-needed rest, Johnson is back on the course and playing well. He's 5 under through 15 holes today and currently tied for sixth, moving up from T54 after an even-par 71 yesterday.

Johnson's best previous start to a season was in 2006, when he finished third at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship before finishing T15 at the Ford Championship at Doral. -- Brian Wacker

BIG NAMES IN TROUBLE (1:55 p.m.): Phil Mickelson, who shot a 6-over 77 yesterday, isn't the only big name in danger of missing the cut today.

Anthony Kim, playing this week after taking last week off because of a sore shoulder, was 2 over yesterday and isn't playing much better today at 2 over through 14 holes.

Mike Weir, coming off a T3 at the 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer, will tee off shortly, but unless he goes 4 or 5 under today, he could be sent packing as well.

Camilo Villegas, also set to tee off shortly, shot a 72 yesterday and will probably need to be a couple under today as well with the cut line currently hovering at even par.

David Duval, meanwhile, is already going home. He withdrew due to illness. -- Brian Wacker

PERRY HAS BEST ROUND OF DAY GOING (1:35 p.m.): Not only does Kenny Perry have the day's best round going after he just eagled No. 3 (his 12th hole of the day) to get to 7 under on the afternoon, but he may be headed for his lowest score since a 64 in the final round of last year's U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee. He finished T6 that week. -- Brian Wacker

BACK-NINE BIRDIES AND MORE (1:10 p.m.): The back nine at TPC Scottsdale is clearly playing much easier than the front so far. And you don't need to look at just Nick Watney's eagles on Nos. 13 and 15 today for proof of that. Speaking of Watney, he quietly put together three very nice rounds at the Bob Hope Classic and is one of the best players in the field off the tee and into the green.

Now back to TPC Scottsdale. Yesterday, five of the nine holes on the back played under par. Just one hole on the front -- the par-5 third -- played under par. It looks like that trend is continuing today-- Brian Wacker

NITTIES FINDING HIS NICHE (12:44 p.m.): James Nitties may be a PGA TOUR rookie, but it hasn't taken the first-round co-leader long to learn the ropes.

The 26-year-old Aussie came to Scottsdale without a hat sponsor but he's found a way to get the partisan crowd on his side -- and maybe find a longer-term deal in the process.

"Yes, blank hat, hint-hint, nudge-nudge," Nitties told the media when asked about the empty space of his chapeau. "Actually I've got a little Cardinals pin on the back.

"I figured I might as well support the team that's in the Super Bowl where I'm actually playing the tournament, so brownie points."

Nitties also can count PGATOUR.COM columnist and PGA TOUR Network announcer John Maginnes among his fans. The handsome young Aussie was honest enough to list "clubbing, girls and movies" as his special interests in the media guide which struck a chord with Maginnes.

Another interesting tidbit about Nitties -- his father once played with the rock band AC/DC.

"He was good friends with Bon Scott, which was the singer before Angus Young, and he used to play pool and have a couple beers with him a lot," Nitties said. "Dad was a guitarist, and he filled in for the backup bass guitarist for a couple nights." -- Helen Ross

PERRY PLAYING WELL (12:30 p.m.): Kenny Perry has never won the FBR Open, but he's had pretty good success here with a tie for second in 2002 and a seventh-place finish in 2005.

Today, he's off to a great start after making the turn on the back nine in 31. At one point, he birdied three holes in a row (Nos. 13-15) before driving the short par-4 17th to set up another birdie. The rest of Perry's birdies came as a result of (not surprisingly) his accuracy with his approach shots, all of which landed within 15 feet.

Since 2000, Perry has finished outside the top 25 at the FBR Open just three times, and that includes a WD after the first round one year. -- Brian Wacker

Below is a look at Perry's scorecard. Follow his round live by clicking here.

EARLY MOVERS (12:05 p.m.): Looks like Ryan Moore losing the upside-down noose around his neck helped his golf game. Moore, who's battled injuries some in his still young career, has jumped up the leaderboard thanks to a 3 under effort through his first nine holes today -- sans the necktie he wore yesterday.

Moore

A day after shooting 69, he's currently tied for third after starting the day in a tie for 21st. He birdied four of his last five holes on the back nine at TPC Scottsdale, where conditions are proving to be a little more difficult this year thanks to higher rough and pinched fairways.

Moore is looking to rebound from a 2008 season in which he made just as many cuts -- 12 -- as he missed. While he did miss the cut at last week's 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer, it looks like he's going to make the cut here for just the second time in four tries. The last time Moore made the cut at the FBR was in 2006, his first year on the PGA TOUR, when he tied for 40th. -- Brian Wacker

Groups We're Watching

Tee time Players   9:58 am (7:58 a.m. local) Lucas Glover, Rocco Mediate, Luke Donald It'll be interesting to see what Glover can do to follow up his impressive 65. Track 'em 3:20 pm (1:20 pm local) Jarrod Lyle, Webb Simpson, Rickie Fowler These are three young guys who could be future stars. Look out for Simpson: He opened with a 68.Track 'em 10:16 am (8:16 am local) Zach Johnson, Justin Leonard, Phil Mickelson Johnson was even in Round 1, while Leonard was 1 under. Mickelson needs a great round to make the cut. Track 'em

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