3 things to know after Round 2 of the Safeway Open

The leader leads. One-hundred-and-fifty-six players played. Yeah, yeah. It happens. The player in second holed out his second shot on his par-5, finishing hole. An albatross. It happens. Once in every 6 million shots. Here are three things you should know after Friday’s second round at the Safeway Open at Silverado Resort and Spa North in Napa, Calif., the first event of the PGA Tour’s new season.  

Sam Burns leads 

Several shots happened on Sam Burns’ second hole. He knocked his first one in the water. He finished with a double bogey. 

Few shots happened after that. He played the next seven holes at 5-under, and he played the back nine at 4-under for a 7-under 65, a 15-under total and a two-stroke lead over Harry Higgs. 

“I think it pissed me off a little bit, woke me up, I guess,” Burns said of the double bogey. “It was early, cold. It was kind of like it picked me up, like, ‘Hey, let’s go.’ Just kind of stuck with it, and the golf course opened up for me the rest of the day.”

Harry Higgs makes a walk-off albatross 

Higgs had been five shots behind Burns. He finished two shots behind with one swing.

Higgs’ second shot on the par-5, 557-yard 9th hole, Higgs’ last hole after starting on the back nine, flew 230 yards, took four bounces and rolled about 10 feet before dropping into the cup. A 2. On a par-5. Higgs had been 10-under. He finished 13-under. An albatross (a 6-million-to-one shot, according to the PGA’s website). To jump into contention. To end his round.

“Somebody, the guy, the volunteer off the left just started screaming and then he said, ‘It’s in the hole, it’s in the hole!’” Higgs said. “I mean, I just – I didn’t know what – I don’t really remember what I did. I guess maybe I’ll be able to see it, but I just took my club and threw it on the ground. It was just full panic. At least I didn’t throw the club, that was probably a good thing.”

Cameron Percy, Russell Knox and D.J. Trahan are at 12-under and three shots out of the lead, James Hahn and Doug Ghim are at 11-under and four back, and Pat Perez, Rob Oppenheim, Tom Hoge and Brian Stuard are 10-under and five back. 

Phil Mickelson is at 6-under. 

Jordan Spieth misses the cut 

Among the players missing the cut, at 5-under, were Jordan Spieth, Sergio Garcia and Shane Lowry.