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SAN ANTONIO — Organizers of the Valero Texas Open have long been planning a birthday party for Friday night, one with an impressive guest list that includes past champions Ben Crenshaw, Tom Watson, Hale Irwin, Lee Trevino and former PGA Tour commissioner Deane Beman, who won the event in 1969.
The cause for celebration is the tournament’s 100th anniversary, which makes it the longest-running event still played in the same city.
Since a birthday party of this magnitude is sure to come with plenty of candles, it seemed appropriate that Friday’s conditions included a healthy dose of wind to help extinguish those candles.
On a balmy, blustery day, a pair of Texas veterans showed what it takes to navigate such conditions as native son Ryan Palmer and adopted favorite Dylan Frittelli had little trouble shooting up the leaderboard while others struggled at the TPC San Antonio Oaks Course.
When the day was done, Palmer — who played at Texas A&M University and lived in San Antonio for three years — was atop the leaderboard, posting a bogey-free 66 that put him at 10 under through the second round.
Valero: PGA Tour Live streaming on ESPN+
Frittelli, a former star at the University of Texas who now makes his home in Austin, kept pace with Palmer, also finishing the day with a 66. He sits in a tie for second with Matt Kuchar and Kevin Chappell at 8 under.
When asked about how he felt, Palmer said an invigorated game off the tee had him feeling right at home.
“Awesome,” he said. “Bogey-free on this golf course is good any day, but when you throw in the winds we had, it makes it that much more special. I’m excited with the way I’m driving the ball again. I spent the last month and a half really struggling and my results have kind of shown. I’m able to take the left side of the golf course out of play now and I brought it here this week and it’s showing.
“My driver’s back to where it was a year ago, my game’s where it was I feel like a year ago, my mind…
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Source : yahoo
