The Barclays round two: Alas, poor Ernie

Ernie Els’s monosyllabic answers after his par round Friday displayed intense frustration at a great opportunity thrown away. We were lucky even to get those few words out of him, because at the time he clearly believed he was just four shots adrift and still in with a fighting chance. Instead, thanks to another stonking round from Korea’s finest, K J Choi, he’s six shots behind and looking every inch a loser again. At Westchester a six-shot deficit at the half-way stage is a very tall order, even when its wet. Word on the fairway is that it’s going to dry up quite a bit as temperatures hit the 90s. Finally the course looks set to bare its teeth.

Sitting with Els is a pretty impressive lineup - Kenny Perry, Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott, Retief Goosen - but if they look at recent Barclays/Buick form they’ll realise why I am all but counting them out. Since 2000 the biggest second round deficit to be overcome is five, by Garcia in 2004, and even then he had to go to a playoff. So for my money our search for a winner has narrowed to the top five.

Naturally, after last week, I am wary of precedent, but it’s difficult to ignore the fact that Choi is four from four winning from a half-way lead. I bet before this season few people had him down as potentially the main challenger to Tiger Woods. As I understand the FedEx system, if he wins this he takes over from Tiger as “top seed". It is perhaps symbolic for him to do so in a competition where Vijay Singh, the last man to steal Tiger’s crown, slips unceremoniously below the cut line. Two missed cuts in a row spells gloomy times for the Fijian.

While we are on the statistical bandwagon, a crumb of comfort that can be thrown at the chasing pack of Rich Beem, Steve Stricker, Rory Sabbatini and Geoff Ogilvy is that in 42 years of this competition only 12 half-way winners have sealed the deal. Beem’s presence at the top is a surprise even, one suspects, to him: his course form is poor, as are most of his efforts this season. Yet he’s first for putting, seventh for greens in regulation, 13th for accuracy off the tee and 24th for driving distance. Go figure!

Of the other three Geoff Ogilvy interests me most. Looks like his sixth place in the Tulsa oven was a sign that he is back to some solid form.