Tour Report: Manassero could set mark (PGATOUR.com)

Matteo Manassero has only played three tournaments in the United States. So the Italian teenager is just beginning to develop a fan base here.

The way Manassero is playing at the Transitions Championship, though, it won’t be long before even the casual golf fan knows who he is. The 17-year-old pro fired his second straight 68 at the Copperhead Course on Friday to move with three strokes of the lead.

“Obviously I’m not far away,” Manassero said. “My focus is try to hit better, maybe just more consistent golf shots and see if the putts will work like this all the week. So it’s definitely going to be a good week anyway.”

Manassero became the youngest winner on the European Tour last year when he captured the title at the Casetello Masters at the age of 17 years, 188 days. Manassero, who turns 18 on April 19, could earn that distinction on the PGA TOUR, as well, if he wins the Transitions Championship.

Here are the youngest winners on the PGA TOUR:

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Rose back to putting by feel

Rose

Justin Rose won twice in three tries on the PGA TOUR in early summer 2010 — but the putter he used last year, the TaylorMade Ghost, is out of his bag.

Rose felt something needed to change. The Brit felt he’d been hitting the ball better that ever — that is why he added the Transitions Championship to his schedule — but he’s been missing key chances on the greens. He placed an older Scotty Cameron model in his bag this week at Copperhead, and it’s paid off.

After the round, Rose tweeted: “That was fun. Weather was about as perfect as I’ve ever played in. Ball striking was lovely again and holed couple putts over 10′!”

Rose needed only 27 putts on the large Copperhead greens on Friday. He ended up with a 65 that vaulted him into a tie for third, and he gave full credit to the putter change, saying he wanted to go back to something with a little more feel.

The new putter is something I’ve had in my garage for a few years,” Rose said. “I used it in the ’08 Masters. I putted nicely at the time. And it’s just a different look. I think that’s what I needed. I had the Ghost, which had a lot of lines on it and I just thought I was getting a little bit too technical.

“I’m trying to be more instinctive. I feel like I’m threatening the hole from 20, 25 feet more than I have been all year. If I can dial it all in, speed and line, which I’ve been narrowly missing this week, hopefully on the weekend I’ll see some putts going in.”

Indeed, a check of the putting stats backs up what Rose was suspecting. He was 40th on TOUR in putting average last year, but has slipped to 89th this year (in six starts). His 29.30 putts per round ranked 103rd, a noticeable spike from the 28.64 he used in 2010.

“Often when you hit a lot of greens, you don’t hit as many putts as you feel like you could,” Rose said. “I feel like I’m holing out quite well, and really that’s how you tell if your stroke is good or not or if you’re lining up the blade well.”

JUSTIN ROSE: Scorecard | Shot Tracker

Copperhead: Downright soft!

Is this the same course that Sean O’Hair won with a 4-under total over four rounds in 2008? Due to no wind and perfect weather conditions, players are finding the Copperhead Course downright scoreable, if that’s a word (probably not).

Midway through the second round, the field is averaging 70.566 on the par-71 layout. The field averaged 70.819 in Round 1, and the scores were actually dropping in the afternoon.

The tournament record of 18-under 266, set by Vijay Singh during his epochal 2004 season, still appears to be safe … unless Round 1 leader Paul Casey goes ultra-low again. Given the perfect conditions, it’s a real possibility.

Willis avoids repeat of last year

Garrett Willis is the player who shot 65 in the opening round of the Transitions Championship last year — and wasn’t even around to play on Sunday after missing the 54-hole cut.

Willis

He shot 66 on Thursday … and promptly bogeyed his first hole Friday even though it’s an easy 552-yard par-5.

“Same as last year. Here we go again,” Garrett said. “All I had to do was hit a 7‑iron up the middle of the fairway, hit a wedge on the green to give myself ‑‑ to make a putt. But no; I wanted to hit 3‑wood up in the neck, and if I hit it good to where I can have an easy birdie, and I just missed it a little bit. Goes under the tree, dumped under the bunker and made bogey.”

Turns out, it was the last mistake he’d made. He pitched in for eagle on the par-5 fifth and made three more birdies coming in, polishing off a 67 that had him off work in time to see No. 9 seed Tennessee take on No. 8 Michigan in the NCAA West Regional in Charlotte (Willis played collegiately at East Tennessee State).

“I’ll get to go home, hang out with the family, hang out with infant son Gage,” Willis said. “Tennessee is playing basketball here shortly.”

“Heading straight home. No practice, no nothing. Golf’s behind me until tomorrow morning.”

Willis’ 133 total is good for the current lead, although Paul Casey, who shot 64 on Thursday, has just teed off.

GARRETT WILLIS: Scorecard | Shot Tracker

Morning Movers: Round 2

Amanda Balionis delivers exclusive video from the 2011 Transitions Championship and sets the stage for the second round from the Innisbrook Copperhead Course:

SERGIO GARCIA: Scorecard | Shot Tracker

Meet (and tweet) Scott Stallings

Scott Stallings’ rookie year on TOUR hasn’t gone well. The 25-year-old cruised through q-school after finishing 53rd on the Nationwide Tour money list last year, but he’s made only one cut so far in six tries.

Stallings

The Tennessee Tech grad hasn’t even been in the United States for several weeks. He played in the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico and the Puerto Rico Open, and he also teed it up in the Nationwide Tour’s Pacific Rubiales Bogota Open. So when the Transitions Championship called and offered him a sponsor’s exemption, he jumped at the chance.

He’s also made the most of it. Stallings isn’t a name that rings a bell among casual golf fans, but he’s a prolific Twitterer who uses his business degree to write a blog on bnet.com (find it here). His blog has some great insight to what it’s really like to be a typical player on the PGA TOUR — by typical, one that has to worry about reshuffles, the logistics of travel and the constant worry of having a job.

He’s also among the leaders of the Transitions Championship as the second round continues at Copperhead. Stallings, who shot 66 on Thursday despite finishing in the dark, is 2 under on Friday and has a lock on playing on the weekend for the second time this year.

Stallings, who earlier this week Tweeted his excitement about playing a practice round with veterans Kenny Perry and Shaun Micheel, is already one of the longest hitters on TOUR. Through six events, he’s seventh in distance at 302 yards a pop, ahead of noted bombers Robert Garrigus, John Daly and Gary Woodland.