CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE — Bubba Watson kept himself in contention at the BMW Championship with a 4-under-par 66 on Friday, and it was his drive and second shot at No. 17 — his eighth hole of the day — that kick-started his round.
Watson, who started on No. 10 at Cherry Hills Country Club, hit his driver 364 yards (over the first set of cross bunkers) on the 555-yard par-5 — then plunked a 9-iron to 6 feet from the pin.
From there, it was an easy putt for eagle.
“Obviously I guessed right on the yardage and everything, and it trickled up there to about 6 feet,” Watson said after the round.
Actually, it was 4 feet, 10 inches from the hole. But who’s counting?
In the first round Thursday, Watson hit driver and 8-iron, then two-putted from 76 feet for a birdie on No. 17.
“I hit 8-iron (Thursday) to that front pin. I wanted to go past the pin. Didn’t want to come up short in the water,” Watson said. “Stronger wind (Friday), same kind of wind, but stronger wind. So, it was a 9-iron (Friday).”
Watson trails leader Sergio Garcia by four strokes heading into the third round of the BMW Championship. Watson trailed by three strokes heading into the second round after shooting an even-par 70 on Thursday.
He had one of only three eagles in the second round. He also had four birdies — all with putts of 7 feet or less — and two bogeys Friday.
Always a long hitter, Watson said the rain overnight softened the greens compared with Thursday, when they were running faster and he was able to dial in on the holes.
“I made a few putts,” said Watson, who had eight one-putts and 28 putts overall (same as his first round).
That was important, he said, because the fairways were slower because of the moisture and his drives didn’t run out as much as they did Thursday.
“The wind was a little bit stronger I think (Friday), but the golf course was a little softer, so it equaled out,” Watson said.
Carlos Illescas: 303-954-1175, cillescas@denverpost.com or
