Fry's Electronics Open round two: Watch out for a windy Sunday

Ryan Moore has been a frustrating player to follow this season. His talent has been obvious, but only now is he starting to show the all-round consistency that suggests the problem with his injured hand is behind him.

No one comes close to his figures for the first two rounds: he’s missed just three fairways and four greens, is fifth for putting and 16th for distance off the tee. Small wonder he’s now a firm favourite at just under 4.

If only life were that simple. I suspect Moore will come to regret falling back to a three-shot lead with that bogey on 17 Friday. Even if he does overcome the tendency to fall away at the weekend, by all accounts there’s a strong wind gonna blow Sunday to upset the applecart. Gusts of up to 30mph are predicted. and that is likely to be a particular challenge on greens as tough as these.

But at least Moore is around for the weekend, which is more than our supposed leading lights can boast. How often do three of the top four in the betting miss the cut? Phil Mickelson put his woes down to lack of momentum. I think the correct word also starts with an ‘m’ - motivation. Mind you, I am feeling a bit of sympathy. It’s a long season all right.

It’s a quirky fact that of the top 10 or 11 in the initial betting, the level of success here seems in inverse proportion to how they finished in the FedEx Cup. Of the six who made it to the Tour Championship only one is now left - Tim Clark. The two who were eliminated after the second round, Mike Weir and Justin Leonard, have come out the best. And Weir is in with a big shout this weekend, if he can sharpen his putting a little.