Wyndham Championship round two: Marino makes his rookie pitch

I suspect at the start of the season many people had Anthony Kim down to win the PGA Tour’s rookie of the year award. So far he has largely not disappointed, although he has shown signs of going off the boil of late. Now he needs to watch his back for Steve Marino moving up swiftly on the outside. Four top tens and four more top 20s so far this season have already eased him into the FedEx playoffs. Now he’s just two rounds away from a serious result.

His strong driving plays well on this course, but it’s his ironwork that has stood out so far this week, putting him top of the pile for greens in regulation. A bit sharper with the putter and he’d surely be out on his own. As it was he was unlucky his ball skewed out of the hole on the ninth Friday.

One thing he has going for him is that the rough holds no fears, because he’s used to hacking out of the same Bermuda grass down in Florida. So perhaps Marino’s greatest handicap this weekend is going to be his lack of experience and plain old nerves. But then that’s something likely to afflict his co-leaders too.

Like Marino, Jeff Overton and John Huston have been among the most consistent at hitting greens - they both managed to find 16 Friday to Marino’s 17. But after that they diverge, with Overton taking the power route to success off the tee and Huston easing his path by finding more fairways.

Proof that there’s more than one way of beating this course is provided by Carl Pettersson, who hasn’t stood out in any single department yet maintained his blistering pace to end a shot off the pace and a serious threat. But then there are so many menacing golfers jammed together at the top of the board it’s more packed than a rush-hour bus.

And didn’t I tell you Anders Hansen’s opening price of a little over 50 might look a steal? It’s now less than 16 and, while it might be tempting to let it run he’s probably due a correction Saturday. With so many ambitious souls around him it might be wise to lock in a profit.