Chrysler Championship Round Two: Els should know what to do when the wind blows

I wonder if K J Choi will rue that double bogey on his 17th hole Friday? He might not think it such a “good experience” if he loses by a stroke or two come Sunday. This is certainly not the wire-to-wire win he pulled off in 2002. Friday, he muffed a great chance to kill off a lot of potential challengers.

As it is, with windy conditions threatened for Saturday - gusts of up to 30 mph are forecast - it’s anyone’s guess who will emerge the most unscathed.

What a day of contrasts Friday was, ignoring the keystone kops chasing two burglars across the course. All swings and no roundabouts was the lament of one disgruntled punter.

Adam Scott, one of my favourites, sank without trace and another, Trevor Immelman, almost joined him. What a graveyard of high ambitions it looks below the cut line: Retief Goosen, defending champion Carl Pettersson, Bo Van Pelt, Charles Howell III, Ben Curtis, Brett Quigley . You have to think some did not have their minds fully on the job.

Going in the other direction, Justin Rose did a superb Lazarus impression to finish 8 shots off the pace - not an impossible target over two days - and even Tag Ridings was able to drag himself off the floor to make some money.

Most puzzling were some of the afternoon performances, particularly Joe Durant. One poor forumite told how he logged off to watch a TV programme with Joe 5 under on the day, only to return to find three bogeys and a double bogey added to his card over the final holes. It was certainly a bit harder going in the afternoon, by an average of just under a stroke.

Things have moved on so little overall I would still give Vijay Singh a chance 7 shots back, although he will surely have to improve on 1.9 for putts per GIR. Ugh!

You can’t rule out Frank Lickliter either: I’m thinking he should seek sponsorship from lastminute.com. And Stewart Cink is still enough of a danger that I’ll take a small hit on him to cover myself.

There are plenty of other interesting propositions in the mix - Jonathan Byrd for instance has been periodically threatening to notch his third PGA victory - but it seems it’ll be a question of who masters Saturday’s gusty conditions.

If anyone should know how to handle wind it’s Ernie Els. This is a far better chance for him to secure a ticket to Hawaii in the New Year than the Tour Championship, Tiger or no Tiger. Els now looks a safe bet for the season finale and is currently wielding the hottest putter on the course. How good would it be to see the Big Easy back to wiinning ways?